Fired after 6 weeks

Here's a hug. (((((hug))))) :icon_hug: I am so very sorry that this occurred.

I'll be the first one to admit that, in a female-dominated field such as nursing, the passive aggression and workplace cliques run rampantly. Some nurses would like to believe that nursing is a true profession, but I don't think we've quite reached that point yet. Other established professions (medicine, law, engineering, business, etc.) do not entail the same level of backstabbing, passive aggressive behaviors, tattling, favoritism, and low self esteems as nursing. For example, you'll virtually never hear of a physician who snitches on another doctor for alleged 'unprofessionalism.'

I was fired after five weeks into orientation because "I didn't fit in."

Oh, yes...I've learned (the hard way) that workplace cliques can either make or break you. If you stand out from the crowd like a sore thumb (different looks, age, culture, dialect, disability, etc.), you'd better watch your step carefully, or you may become the next target of your coworker's passive aggressive tactics.

I'm so sorry to hear that this happened to you. Bad apples with bad intentions everywhere. But what I really don't understand is why you had "mentors" watching your every move anyway. It seems that their purpose was really to spy on you and take back tales to the office. I've never had "mentors". Even when I started in home health (or any job for that matter), once I got on the job I was on my own. That doesn't mean that no one went to supervisors or bosses with tales to tell (usually fabricated), but it still seems like a very "fishy" place to work. You should be glad you did not stay there. Good luck finding something more suitable.

They must have a lot of extra RNs around there with nothing better to do. Although I agree with the skill checkoff in theory I have never heard of it being done in practice. No home health agency or any facility that I have worked for has ever done a skills checkoff with live patients with me. Probably a good thing. I wouldn't still be in nursing if somebody scared me off by criticizing everything I did when I was so brand new. Just be glad you're out of there. I hope you find a "normal" employer. Even if you were not that good in what you were doing, some help, and pointers, and perhaps some practice back at the office would have been in order. They just didn't give you a chance. Your "mentors" were only justifying their jobs.

And the employer lost a potentially excellent employee.