fired... where can a bad nurse go to find a job?

[NurseCard]

Just got fired. Right now I just want to quit nursing and get a job waitressing, but that might not be practical for my family.

So, where do I go. I'm a crappy nurse. I've been a nurse for eight years and have never been good at it. Should I go back to psych?

This is a completely serious post.

[nightengalegoddess]

PS. Maybe you are smarter than you think, and also the "upper people" just have some personality conflict with you and single you out, pointing out any error that comes along. Nurses can be pretty mean, it is a mean field...(and a mine field)....us RNs are moving targets.

[DeLana_RN, BSN, RN]

Do you do well in psych? Maybe that is just where you are suppose to be in nursing. If not then maybe think about going back to school in a different career catagory. Maybe you weren't meant to be a nurse but a secretary or lawyer or well you get the point. The one thing going for you is that you can honestly say "I am a crappy nurse and have never been good at it in the last 8 yrs." it takes a mighty big person to say that. Good luck in whatever endeaver you take.

Well, I have seen a lot of truly crappy nurses, and the funny thing is, they all thought they were great nurses. Somehow, I just don't think this applies to the OP.

OP, I getting fired is a very stressful experience in life. I think you need to take care of yourself and possibly get some counseling to help you decide how to proceed from here.

I'm not, however, convinced that you're a "crappy nurse".

Best of luck!

DeLana

[nola1202]

Considering the places I've worked, they are all happy to find a person to throw under the bus...it's called taking corrective action and they can show on paper the situation has been dealt with. Problem is, the situation is usually to do with inadequate staffing, leading to overwork and missing some important details.

I have not reported a critical value until several hours later if I know the MD does not want the value called to him unless it is above or below a certain value. Also some patients (renal come to mind) have totally messed up values and we expect them. Low crit? Did they come in with it, does the MD already know? These are all things I consider before calling a lab at 4am vs 6am

or later. If it's something I'm not sure about, yeah I call.

I've also had a lab or two slip by me, it doesn't make me a bad nurse, it makes me one who messed up and her peers caught it, called it, got orders and let me know I screwed up. I have seen people focus on other nurses and really go all out to knock their self confidence and get them out of the unit. It's more common in specialty units but it happens in med-surg too. My friend is a life long psych nurse and her first med-surg experience is why. They were horrible to her, blamed things on her that had nothing to do with her shift..she did her year and got out. If you really think your skills are lacking go back and do one of those returning RN couses that include clinicals and classwork..expensive but worth it if you feel skills are lacking. If it's a situation of being bombarded with multitasking, and pt ratios/aquity not matching up, don't beat yourself up, we all are struggling. I want you to make a decision when you are not so down on yourself, take a few days and decide what to do. If you want to work in another field do. (I got burned out and worked in retail for a couple of years.)

Just don't let someone else tell you who and what you are. Good luck and keep us updated.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

Not all "critical values" are all that critical.

You aren't stupid, you aren't a bad nurse. If you were, you wouldn't know it.

Give yourself some time to collect yourself before you make any major decisions. And good luck in the job hunt.

[enchantmentdis, BSN, RN]

Just got fired. Right now I just want to quit nursing and get a job waitressing, but that might not be practical for my family.

So, where do I go. I'm a crappy nurse. I've been a nurse for eight years and have never been good at it. Should I go back to psych?

This is a completely serious post.

I wish you didn't feel so bad, but i know where you are at. You'll pick up where you left off. Take the job at the psych ward; it's a job and you need the money. Or, can your husband or partner, if you have one, allow you some off time by supporting you emotionally and financially for awhile?

You are not a "crappy" nurse just because you've been fired. Maybe nursing is a bad fit for you. I always thought it was not my niche--an idiot talked me into it years ago; and i have made it work and have made a decent living at it, as you have done for eight years.

It is very hard to get away from nursing because the pay if fairly decent, and the educational sacrifice was so long to become a nurse. Whose got the money and time to seek out another lengthy educational process for an alternative career?

And, yes, i have been fired a few times as well. I was given the ax from my very first nursing job in 1994, because i checked the chart to see if a pt was a DNR before calling a code. The patient was 98 years old and expired because i didn't hit the code blue button. I was also fired for forgetting about a torniquette i left on a pt's arm years ago. There was no injury, and it was one of those cheap blue torniquettes, but nevertheless, i was called incompetent because of that mistake.

I am far from perfect. We all have to learn from our mistakes. Being fired from jobs, as painful as it is, has actually made me a better nurse because i double check everything, document as if Johnnie Cohran is reading the chart: and have found a nursing position that actually allows me more time to bond with family members; keeps me away from management, politics, and other disgruntled nurses.

When you bond with family, they are less likely to report you when you err. Frankly, staying in acute care for so many years was actually detrimental to my physical and emotional health, because management was constantly critical and i was always in trouble; yet i was charge nurse all the time.

Leaving acute care saved my life. And, when i was forced to leave acute care, for awhile, I was actually looking for a job as a waitress, housekeeper, or babysitter when i could not find a nursing job for eight long months. So i know what you mean. Just stay strong, never give up, keep your license and credentials current; in the meantime, read, exercise, surf the web, go to interviews, apply for jobs online, apply for unemployment online; do anything to stay busy. Before you know it you'll have a job and your confidence will improve.

[enchantmentdis, BSN, RN]

So funny that you should say that, OCNRN. I worked as a waitress while I was an undergrad, and it proved to be PERFECT training for nursing. Multi-tasking while under huge stress, chefs reaming you out for not getting food out in a timely manner, patrons demanding a lemon slice with their water while you are under the gun trying to get out entrees for an 8 top, expediters running your food to the wrong tables, and having to keep a smile on your face while serving guests is WONDERFUL training.

Me too, worked as a waitress for Golden Corral, Marie Callender's--absolute nightmare, management made it seem like you were working for rocket scientists. Lol. Also worked at McDonald's, Circle K, "Sambo's"-- when it was called that--named changed for political correctness; worked at Jack in the Box--fired for yelling at a "customer" who was actually the manager going through the drive-thru; one week later, manager fired and new manager gave me a job at the SAME Jack in the Box. Boy, it's been a fun life. Lol....:smokin:

[exnavygirl-RN]

NurseCard,

:hug: