First Year After Nursing Licensure-My Story by nrsnic

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

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age: 29

received 1 kudos in 1 post

join date: jan 2010

posts: 3 jan 14, 2010, 02:04 pm

re: verbal, written warnings and termination

i graduated in july of 2009. like many other new grads, i "grew up" being told that i would never have a hard time finding a job, that employers would be begging me to work for them, and that i would never have to worry. i crisply recall one of my nursing instructors telling me that i should "sit down when you get your first paycheck." isn't it interesting how even the thickest bubble can be popped by the smallest pin?

i searched for three months (two of which were prior to my even graduating). at the time, i was doing my last term of nursing school in a neonatal intensive care unit (not something your average nursing student can do in this area) surrounded by nurses that had worked with me for almost seven years. you see, the hospital i was doing my all of my clinical rotations in was the very same hospital that i worked as a phlebotomist, and had for almost seven years. i never worked less than 32 hours a week (until that last term) and i always had at least 12 credit hours of college going in the background. many coworkers and peers cheered my drive and dedication.

that is, until the economy took the job market away.

so i was forced to look for work wherever it came available. i finally got a call back and an interview at one of the community-based care facilities in my area. it was owned and run by a very well known (nationally) geriatric nurse practitioner. i did some research, asked around, and the general consensus was that i would learn a lot from this woman and from working in her facility. even though this isn't the norm for a new grad in this area (most of us start in hospitals and then work our way outward), i went with it. my hire date was 7/27/09.

the first day on the job, i was asked not to wear my name badge because the nurse i was replacing had not been fired yet. i lost around a weeks worth of pay because of a "scheduling snafu" with the orientation classes (i dutifully showed up, and then was asked to go home because my manager was supposed to tell me and didn't...so sorry). on 8/26/09, one of the residents literally busted through one of the secure gates and proceeded to do over $7,000 worth of damage to a car i had only owned for (not quite) two months because he was trying to get home to see his wife. after about two and a half months on the job, my position was changed to that of a shift supervisor. this job required that i supervise the entire campus (as opposed to one home with five residents) of ten homes.

i would like someone to tell me they are surprised i didn't do well. not only had a been a nurse for less than three months, i had also never been a manager or a supervisor. i understand that nursing school attempts to prepare you for the management of staff that potentially work under you (cna's and such), but this wasn't even within a stone's throw of the same. the 15-18 employees i supervised were there from off the street with on-the-job-training and no certifications what-so-ever. i was expected to oversee delegations of duties (such as insulin administration, cbg testing, and various trainings on lift machines), monitor staff performance, and assist with direct patient care where needed.

now i would like to back up a step to the day i came in for the interview. you see, i am a very honest and direct person. i really do feel like honesty is the best policy, even if it doesn't benefit me at the time. i didn't change my resume to reflect how much i would "love" to work at a geriatric facility. not only was that not even my seventh choice of places to work, i never thought i would work in that type of facility at all during my career. i had worked in a hospital for the past seven years and had loved every minute of it. i saw no reason to change.

that being said, i am also realistic and practical. i told them that my becoming a phlebotomist was the same kind of situation. i had just moved back to my home state after a divorce that was more of a teenage tragic romance than an exercise in marriage. i was in dire need of a job and the market was slim for someone without skills and big bills. i discovered phlebotomy from a relative. i never looked back. so with the same enthusiasm, i said that i may not have thought i would work in a place like this, but i am willing to do my best as i do with anything else i put my mind to. i also made sure they understood that i had zero experience (outside of schooling) as a registered nurse.

let's fast forward back to present. last week, on day two of that rotation, when i came in to work, my manager asked me (in short) what i did all shift (previous day). i tried to tell her, but her tone and inflection made me nervous and the past two months had made a wreck of me. i was constantly going home and agonizing over decisions i had made and care that i had provided. most of my shift (2 pm to 12 am) was spent largely alone on the facility grounds. i could call for assistance, but that call was always to my direct supervisor or the geriatric nurse practitioner on call. so when i had to ask questions like "how do i..." i always had to ask those people (instead of a peer). my "training" for my position had consisted of two days with someone who wasn't even a nurse, and various different meetings and inservice had been cancelled due to renovations of various buildings on the premises.

i did what many in my situation would probably do...i shut down. i couldn't think of the list of things i had done the night before. oh i had been busy, but i couldn't tell her why. when i left, i got angry. how dare she? i have been working so hard and been so enveloped in this job that my house was a disaster and my friends and family were starting to worry. can't she see that?

about an hour later, she came to me (just before she left for the day) and said that she felt like the conversation hadn't gone well. i stuck with my honesty policy and told her that i have been struggling and probably the worst part about it is that i didn't know what i needed to succeed. i had been asking questions, but the answers weren't always forthcoming. in fact, not three days after this event, i had asked this very same person how to safely escort a demented resident from one home to another (the resident was refusing to go back to their original residence due to sundowner's) across a busy street at dusk with little to know personnel resources. i did not feel comfortable doing so because i would have to call the police if he got away from me outside of the locked gates, and that situation would have likely ended very poorly for this resident. i got "keep trying" and "good luck" followed by "i'll be in a basketball game from 7-8:30 so you might not be able to reach me."

still being in a somewhat emotional state, i was basically telling her that i was struggling in my current position, that i had not had a choice when placed in this position, and that i didn't know what to do to make it work. i stated that i wanted to figure it out, but i just wasn't sure how. at one point she stated that she would "open the door" to the idea of me looking for other work. honest once again, i mentioned that i had looked a week prior and the market was worse off than it was when i got this job. this statement is probably what decided her (or others involved), but again, i can't imagine why anyone would be surprised that i might think i wasn't qualified for the position i was in.

on tuesday the following week, i was called in on my day off (called at 1:30 pm and asked to be in by 3 pm), taken into the human resources office, and told that the company "would like to sever their relationship with me." when asked why, i was told that it was based on the conversation described above and the fact that i was a new nurse...something they were aware of when they hired me.

no warning, no written anything, nothing. i realize this is a completely subjective statement, but it seems to me that they wanted to try using a new grad (can we say minimal pay?) and found out that you can't cut that corner without spending some time and money to train.

this employer makes a very big deal about employees being "at will" employees. during my short six month stay, i watched them hire and fire three nurses and one human resources employee (of which they only have one in employ at any time). multiple nurses there have reported that the facility has gone through over 20 nurses (just nurses...they weren't accounting for any other position) in the past three years.

the only positive things that came out of this were that they offered to let me resign to keep a termination off my record and also offered to furnish letters of recommendation (which i asked for and have yet to receive). to be honest (ha), my head it still spinning. i have never been fired in all my working career. ever. i have also never had a "needs improvement" on any evaluation form.

i sincerely hope that the above situation is just a monstrous example of what's out there and i was just "lucky" enough to experience it. i am now floating with what i still feel is zero nursing experience and no job prospects. i am probably either going to have to move out of the area (think out of the entire western states) or find a job doing something else.

for reasons different than most, i am wondering why i spent $45,000 on an education that i currently appear to be unable to use.

thank you to anyone who took the time to read this. it's the first time i have told this story in a complete way and it feels good to get it all out in front me. i understand that it was way more than was needed to explain the situation, but it felt necessary to tell it. many people in the past two days (some of them nurses) are surprised (still!) to hear that someone such as me is having "this much trouble" finding a new job.

all i can say is do what you can to hold on to what you have. take classes, do research, and above all be honest. even though that is probably what ended it for me in the end, at least i can show that without a doubt, i never hid anything from them. when they ask me in interviews i can hopefully get, i can say that i was upfront and honest and i just didn't fit what they needed, which i don't think is unacceptable and shouldn't be a deterrent to my getting hired.

[fiveofpeep]

I am so sorry for what you have gone through, but Im even sorrier that this is such a common thing to hear nowadays. You wrote this so tactfully and frankly. If this could be published in a layman's magazine or newspaper it would shed so much light to what we are going through. I wish you the very best.

[Augustina_Days]

I was so moved and touched by your story. I cannot even imagine what you must have felt and gone through while being employed at that facility. I only hope and pray that 2010 will bring you success and good fortune. I do not believe a nurse so dedicated and honest should be lost through a facilities mistakes, lack of educational resources and transition for new grads. It was not your fault to be thrown into a stressful position without further training and mentoring.

I just hope you do not give up as we NEED amazing and honest nurses such as yourself. Give it time and you will receive a worthy job, suitable and fitting to your needs and skill. Please do stay true to yourself and what you believe is right!!

Best of luck!

[rnrainy]

It sucks, doesn't it? A person with a heart of gold who practices with honesty and integrity gets the short end of the stick. It happens all the time and I know how you feel because it just happened to me. I have a very similar situation, and have left my job in the same way for the same reasons and got the same run around. I think it's called (poor) management! The good news is....there is a health care facility out there that fits your needs, and will treat you like the great nurse you are. Keep trying, you are VALUABLE!

[mysticalmoonray]

As I heard another friend of mine who graduated last June when I did from nursing school. Why do the good nurses always get taken advantage of? Those who really want to make a difference and help people always get overloaded, get the brunt of the work, then get no "thank you" but rather, excuse the term, crapped on. I think its why I see a lot of nursing collegues 'harden' they forget their original purpose and goal and just preform the job.

I think more should be done to ensure the supervisor actually knows what they're doing instead of just putting it onto everyone else. Then when the job is done they take the credit or blame you if anything goes wrong. *sighs* keep strong, hold fast to your goals and the reason you became a nurse and strive to find a better job. I know I'm in the middle of it myself. Good Luck and may you find your way.

[red.tm]

THANK YOU for sharing your story with all of us, with me. Thank you. You will find the right place. It does exist. It will just take longer than it should. And I'm sorry you ever went through what you went through. Lately, I find myself repeatedly upset by the lack of integrity shown by those with power. It is so unnecessary. It is so sad. It is so unjust. It shouldn't and doesn;t have to be that way. It's just incomprehensible to me. You know, I say that having been the owner of a large, successful, profit driven company too. I just never thought to put profit over honesty or humanity. Why? It makes no sense. Anyway, I wish you the best. Honesty is the best policy!!!

[mickeycat]

Thank you for sharing your story. This makes me realize I am not alone with only 6 months experience.I have been a nurse for 1 year. My first 3 months were spent at an internship with a large hospital who kept promising me a permanent job over and over, only to wait until the last day of my 3 months training and ask me to resign. Come to find out they had hired 43 new GNs in my orientation and two weeks later another 39. There were only a handful of positions given in the end. My next experience was with a nursing home and that did not go well. I am a strong patient advocate, and I saw things I did not agree with. When I would bring them up I would go through hell. It is true "Nurses eat their young!!" Since my experience in the hospital was only 3 months I have been told the nursing home experience is not really counted. Back to square one. Myself I have even reapplied in my old field customer service which I have 7 years experience in, and have been turned down due to overqualified. I did start a BSN program last week which has kept me from going insane. I also feel as you do that this education is not worth the money I paid for it. Maybe when things turn around I will feel differently. I know I am tired of people being shocked that an RN cannot get a job, she must not be looking is the assumption. Thank you for bringing this up it does feel better to get it out. I do wish you the best of luck, and I pray that you will find the right job that God has in store for you. Myself, I am starting my bachelors and considering changing it to another field.

[EnkeliRN]

My heart goes out to you. Indeed, thank you for sharing your story with us! I feel like I'm in the same situation as most of you are. It's been little over six months since I started working. I know how you feel, keep your head up and good things will come your way. Although my situation might be a lot different than yours, I have been called into my supervisor's office once or twice to be told the mistakes I have made which I'm still learning and growing. I know it kind of breaks your spirit after all that you have done and to be let go of just like that. My strengths are my peers and most of all the many wonderful patients that I meet each and everyday. Most often I hear encouraging words form these patients when they come back again, and at the end of a hard day many of whom say, "Thank you for taking care of me today". That has kept me going until now.

[chickwith3peeps]

I also want to thank-you for posting your story. My heart goes out to you. I work part-time at a LTC facility and I deal with some of the things you are dealing with. I have worked there since 2006 as a CNA, graduated this past December with my RN. I had very little training/orientation, several RN's have come and gone in the last 3 1/2 years I have worked there, which should have been a red flag to me. I wish you the best on your job search and hope you find something where you are able to not only let your "light shine" but also where you will be respected and made to feel important as you already are.

[fsv1024]

I really hope that you DO NOT give up! You spent so much time and effort into getting your degree and I promise you that your experience is NOT the norm. There will be good/bad in the future... of course... but I do hope that you continue on and try to obtain a position in another facility before giving up on nursing. Have you tried hospitals in your area?

[turtlehappy4]

As sad as many of you may find it, my 1st year of nursing has been very similar.. I took an RN-Clinical Manager position at a Long-term care facility as my first nursing job.. (I might add that I looked for a job post-graduation for over 3 months.) The on-the-job "training" that I have received at the facility that I currently work for is/was slim-to-none.. I felt/feel as though the job was "handed to me"..and the employer said "Go do it". You see, I am VERY stubborn, and if it weren't for that, and my determination, and heart for caring for people (especially those who don't have a "voice" in their care), I would have probably given up on nursing this past year.

In Nursing school, I was taught a lot of pertinent information regarding how to provide nursing care. However, I did not receive a lot of intensive instruction on how to handle the "day in and day out" general job.. such as, Medicare guidelines, Medicare charting requirements, Nursing Facility State Regulations, etc..

I work an approximate average of 50 or so work-week hours.. On one 2 week pay-period, my time card showed 100 hours.. (Salary, I might add, which means, no over-time compensation.)

Right now, I feel as though I am struggling to keep things going.. I have learned A LOT in the past year, and I am very thankful for that. However, where I am at and what I am currently doing was not what I "Signed up for" when I decided to become a nurse. I wanted to begin in a Hospital Setting, get lots of Acute care experience, and then pick up a specialty.

I feel very frustrated at this point, and the things that I have stated in this little blurb are not even the "tip of the iceberg"..

As for madwife2002's story, I empathize, more than you know.. So much of your story mirrors mine! The only thing I can do is keep "hanging on", and hoping that something better is on it's way.. Just ready for things to look up sooner rather than later!

[eager beaver]

good luck to you. thanks for your honesty

-rn student with less than 10 months to grad date