Forced to resign after 7 weeks

[porkdumpling]

I desperately need advice. I was forced to resign my first new grad RN position after 7 weeks, and it's been almost Impossible getting another position. I've used sources on now to articulating my failed experience in a positive light. How I have grown from it, and why I am a better candidate because of it. I used the whole the whole positive, negative, positive formula.

I've even been told by recruiters that I interviewed so well, but the manager probably won't hire me because of it... and I've not gotten a call back yet.

Do I actually NEED to disclose this at all?!

But here is why I was forced to resign:

I was hired as a new grad RN to a med/surg unit. Orientation was 4 weeks in class, and 4 weeks bedside. Week 5, my first week bedside I was not precepted on the unit I was hired for. When I got to my unit I had a different preceptor every day, and it became evident that I did not fit in with the culture of the unit.

How I learn, is by asking (appropriate) questions. I always understood that it was good to ask questions (appropriate), it shows you are interested and actively engaged. Unfortunately on this unit, my inquisitive learning style was constantly misinterpreted as a potential error/mistake and NOT a method learning.

Some examples of my "potential errors" are:

A) Bringing an order for 75 units of lantus to my preceptors attention, (THAT'S A LOT!) questioning the order, and asking her what 75 units of lantus looked like.

-I have never seen 75 units of insulin, and an insulin syringe only holds 30 units of humalog. I couldn't fathom what 75 units of lantus looked like.

**viewed as potential medication error

B) I was in the process hanging Zosyn when my patient told me he was in pain. He had an order for prn dilaudid he could get now.

I know Zosyn runs for 4 hours. I also know give the dilaudid I needed to document a pain assessment, go to the Pyxis, get a vitals machine, document vitals, flush, push over 2-3mins,and flush. All that could take me 15mins.

I know some meds can't be given close together, So I asked my preceptor if I should stop hanging the zosyn and get the dilaudid. She didn't answer me, so I just finished hanging the zosyn then took care of the dilaudid. I did not want to make a medication error by stopping the zosyn in 15 mins to give the dilaudid, but since she didn't answer me I just finished what I was already doing.

******My preceptor told my manager I WAS NOT ASSESSING MY PATIENTS PAIN!!! I NEVER intended on holding the dilaudid for 4 hours, and that is NOT what I DID. I just wanted to know if the zosyn drip could be stopped to give the dilaudid.

When being forced to resign, what the had documented as "ISSUES" were my situation appropriate learning questions. I never DID anything wrong or made ANY errors!! I was beyond floored while being confronted with LEARNING as reason for me being forced to resign.

So- once again, here are my question.. any anyone could answer them:

A) do I need to disclose this 7 week employment on my best job interview(s)?

B) will this job show up on a background check?

[amzyRN]

Try leaving it off and see what happens. 7 weeks is such a short time. I don't think there is a background check for jobs. They usually check the ones you put on the application, but if you leave it off, I don't think they will check. It costs too much I presume to ask social security for that info (they are the ones who keep records of employment for tax purposes).

Or put it on your application and make it positive. Say you appreciated the opportunity and learned a lot, but it wasn't a good fit. Never say anything negative about a previous employer or preceptor on your application, resume, or during an interview. Highlight skills you learned from that 7-week experience. Show enthusiasm and willingness to learn and grow from the experience, even if you perceive it as a failure (the only failure is when you cannot learn from something and improve).

I read what you wrote about your orientation, what struck me is that it is too short for a new grad. You should find a program with an 8 to 12-week orientation and they should be willing to extend it if needed. Find a place that is enthusiastic about hiring you. Your last place wasn't willing to train you appropriately.

From what you wrote it seems like you are very concerned with safety which is a good thing, and that you want to do things the right way, also a good thing.

Regarding the dilaudid, you could have paused the zosyn flushed the line given the dilaudid (over 1 minute or 2 if needed based on patient tolerance) flushed the line again and reconnect the zosyn and continue it. That is the correct order of operations, but your preceptor should have been able to explain this without seeing this as a huge mistake on your part.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

I'm curious about the most stupid question in the history of nursing. That would make a great thread, and I'm sure it's a great story.

However, how many times have you heard... "there is no stupid question"?

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

However, how many times have you heard... "there is no stupid question"?

We tell people "There are no stupid questions" or "There is no such thing as a stupid question" to encourage them to ask away rather than pretend to know.

However, the concept of a 'stupid question' definitely exists...

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

I'm curious about the most stupid question in the history of nursing. That would make a great thread, and I'm sure it's a great story.

LOL, I've tried to put it behind me. Maybe I'll do a thread on it someday. My nursing instructors had always told us "don't be stupid nurse when you call a physician." It was one of the rare times I did NOT do my due diligence before calling the doc. Always, always, always, have all relevant patient info in hand and in mind before calling a doctor.

[laritaraine]

You shouldn't have to disclose it. Nurses eat their young. I'm sorry you went through that. You might have to find a "buddy" as well as your preceptor in your next job. Some preceptors tend to be hard. The buddy can be your logic person. There is no way you can learn everything in 4 weeks. 75 units is a lot, but the needles are small. That was a good question.Later you might look back on this and feel bad. That's why I hate they did that to you. Remember this for later and help someone else. I'm a nursing instructor now. Trust and believe, the world of medicine really needs you.

[laritaraine]

I truly believe facilties need to be in charge of their training. The schools have limited areas for students to get a real experience too. I was a staff nurse for 8 years and became a clinical instructor later and found that it was impossible to teach 8 students 1 day a week everything they needed.

Luckily, one of the facility's clinical coordinators believed that the students should work one by one with the nurses on duty and she had specific nurses that she liked to work with the students. What I did was go from student to student all day and work with the both of them together and they got a much more powerful experience. I would pick 3 patients to give meds to and select those students each week.I also loved working with my fellow nurses and picked up new knowledge too. If we found a mean preceptor, I pulled the student away, and they rounded with me for the day. I also taught them to make assignments and charge a little. I did rotations with them from unit to unit each week. If you were in ICU last week, you did Med Surg next week. They often reported they had an awesome clinical experience on their evaluation.

Students were able to see what it was like to have 5 and 6 patients at a time.They often got to help the nurse by running for them or helping with dressing changes,paging docs, turning patients, etc.. It turned out to be a win-win situation. I just had to be very careful that the nurses would not allow the students to give meds without me there. I only allowed them to follow the nurses, not give their meds, chart, etc. Many times the nurses would actually look for me and asked me when was I coming back with my students. At the end of the clinical day, I taught them how to give report in our post conference. It was an excellent opportunity for students to share their own experiences while the other students learned off of the others experiences. You would be surprised at the number of scenarios that will come up during the Post Conference. We would trouble shoot and they could ask questions comfortably.

When I was in school in 2004-6, you would just give students the one patient and you had to be responsible for taking care of that patient for 4 hours. The exposure was very limited so I can see why students would not have been exposed to much when we got to the real world. I also found out that there was limited room for each facility. Constant groups of nursing students were overwhelming to the staff.

Think about the number of Facilities that are available in your city. I found realistically there were too many students,and not enough staff in the hospitals etc. It was hard doing clinicals in the nursing homes too. I would have to have codes to give meds and they couldnt really learn.

I heard diploma grads used to fair better because their clinicals were comprehensive.

Unfortunately, I got injured on my regular job as a Palliative care nurse. I'm unable to work as either nurse or nurse instructor due to the physical work. I can't walk very well due to a severe a back sprain. Be safe out there guys.

[Wuzzie]

We tell people "There are no stupid questions" or "There is no such thing as a stupid question" to encourage them to ask away rather than pretend to know.

However, the concept of a 'stupid question' definitely exists...

I'm in the "no question is stupid" camp but man have I heard some smart questions asked stupidly!!!

[Wuzzie]

Nurses eat their young.

As a nursing educator shame on you for perpetuating this. While it's true that there are some really seriously nasty people who have gone into nursing the vast majority of us treat our students and nurslings well and should NOT be painted with that broad, inaccurate brush!

[anitalaff, BSN, RN]

To be brutally honest my guess is you tend to talk too much, I do also so not picking on you, just pointing out that you may need to temper your presentation. To me a new RN who is so anxious that she is rattling off stupid questions every 5 seconds puts me on alert. Yes there are imo stupid questions, just like here are winners and losers, so be careful in the future especially about justifying this as "my inquisitive learning style". You may feel the questions were appropriate but it is clear your preceptors and it sounds like there were several did not.

You may need to research some questions on your own and only bring the ones you can't figure out to your preceptor. Good luck and no worries you will get another job.

Are you saying that questioning a suspicious med order is a stupid question? This kind of advice is exactly what causes errors for new nurses- a culture in which they are afraid to ensure the safety of their patients for fear of reprisal.

We only have the questions the OP has listed, which were brought to him/her as reasons for forced resignation. I fear you are extrapolating too far.

[GM2RN]

Employers (or anyone for that matter) can view your tax information. So if you were being paid during your orientation, which is typically the case, your pay records are public information.

No they cannot. Tax records are not public information and employers do not have access to them.

[anitalaff, BSN, RN]

Try leaving it off and see what happens. 7 weeks is such a short time. I don't think there is a background check for jobs. They usually check the ones you put on the application, but if you leave it off, I don't think they will check. It costs too much I presume to ask social security for that info (they are the ones who keep records of employment for tax purposes).

Or put it on your application and make it positive. Say you appreciated the opportunity and learned a lot, but it wasn't a good fit. Never say anything negative about a previous employer or preceptor on your application, resume, or during an interview. Highlight skills you learned from that 7-week experience. Show enthusiasm and willingness to learn and grow from the experience, even if you perceive it as a failure (the only failure is when you cannot learn from something and improve).

I read what you wrote about your orientation, what struck me is that it is too short for a new grad. You should find a program with an 8 to 12-week orientation and they should be willing to extend it if needed. Find a place that is enthusiastic about hiring you. Your last place wasn't willing to train you appropriately.

From what you wrote it seems like you are very concerned with safety which is a good thing, and that you want to do things the right way, also a good thing.

Regarding the dilaudid, you could have paused the zosyn flushed the line given the dilaudid (over 1 minute or 2 if needed based on patient tolerance) flushed the line again and reconnect the zosyn and continue it. That is the correct order of operations, but your preceptor should have been able to explain this without seeing this as a huge mistake on your part.

EXACTLY

[anitalaff, BSN, RN]

I was once precepting a new nurse who drew up 3 units of regular insulin, in a 5 cc syringe. She obviously didn't know what she was doing, and that is worse than asking a question. I had to report this of course, and the nurse was angry at me! I told her, "Look, I just saved you from killing someone, get a clue". So questions of any sort are fine by me, and it's better than making an error. Also, I have noticed that new grads these days are not given the same education regarding syringe sizes that us older nurses were. My most recent job was a fairly stressful working environment, and there was a huge turnover and lots of new grads. I found myself constantly explaining that, "You can choose to use a needle size that is appropriate". They were trying to use 1 inch needles on tiny Japanese ladies (less than 130 pounds) for deltoid injections. I had to explain about 5/8 inch needles for IM. They didn't seem to know this.

I have to agree. There are a few too many humanities-based nursing courses in the BScN program I attended. I believe this is at the expense of emphasizing more basic and practical nursing knowledge. Of course, this is where the whole "stupid question" discussion begins, but really, if you don't know (and there is no time or way to look it up) you HAVE to ask. This is contributing to the drain on experienced nurses who are already working to capacity.

I wish the new nurse in your story had asked. I'm glad you caught that insulin!!!