Got Fired From My First Nursing Job

[Lynker, LPN]

Well, today was my special day! I got fired from my job for giving one (yes, one) injection wrong, and for telling some lady I wasn't trained on how to use an EpiPen. Apparently all of that deems me "unable to safely practice as a nurse" according to them.

And then they had the nerve to ask me if I wanted to work as a scribe with a $15 pay cut. I was SO offended.

How do you guys deal with this? ? I've already applied to new jobs but....IDK. It's just hard to all take in....

Also, I'm pretty sure the lady I told was from the state. Why am I not allowed to be honest with people on things I don't know? Why didn't they just train me, instead of just firing me? I just don't get it. It seems like their goal was to just get rid of me.

[Davey Do]

I feel for you, Jabujabule.

With all due respect and empathy, it is not a good idea to inform some lady- who was not an employee- that we are not trained at a procedure and then do it.

Wrongly.

Hindsight is 20/20, and it's easy to take potshots from the sidelines, but we should never perform a skilled intervention in which we have no training or experience.

I am truly sorry, however, this is the price we pay in this sort of circumstance, for this was not a safe practise.

 

[Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN]

I can't tell if these two things are related-- did you give an epi-pen injection when you weren't trained to do it, or are these two separate unrelated items?

[Lynker, LPN]

1 hour ago, Hannahbanana said:

I can't tell if these two things are related-- did you give an epi-pen injection when you weren't trained to do it, or are these two separate unrelated items?

These are two separate things. I wasn’t trained on how to use the epi, but I didn’t go far enough in the muscle with the covid vaccine. Two separate things. My bad. 

[Lynker, LPN]

1 hour ago, Davey Do said:

I feel for you, Jabujabule.

With all due respect and empathy, it is not a good idea to inform some lady- who was not an employee- that we are not trained at a procedure and then do it.

Wrongly.

Hindsight is 20/20, and it's easy to take potshots from the sidelines, but we should never perform a skilled intervention in which we have no training or experience.

I am truly sorry, however, this is the price we pay in this sort of circumstance, for this was not a safe practise.

 

Yeah mistake, I did not use an epipen in this case. I have the vaccine wrong. Completely different scenarios these happened in. 

[CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN]

I feel like we need more info. A random person walked up to you and asked out of the blue whether you know how to use an EpiPen?  
Anyway— aside from that— maybe this job just wasn’t a good fit. If you actually did get fired for not giving an IM injection all the way in, then that isn’t a job you want to keep. Obviously they should have just retrained you if it was just one error. Sounds like maybe they just didn’t think you’d work out, maybe for other reasons you don’t even know about. I know it’s hard but try to put it behind you, move on, and find a better job. 

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

How long had you been there?

[Lynker, LPN]

I had been there for two months. Thank you guys for your posts. I will move on and find something better. 

[Davey Do]

11 minutes ago, JabuJabule said:

Thank you guys for your posts. I will move on and find something better. 

I thought about your thread last night JabuJabule, and neglected to note in my first post that I admire your resiliency in pulling yourself up by the bootstraps.

We have all made mistakes and misjudgements and have had to deal with the ramifications, or not. But in the end, the important thing is that we chalk it up to experience and get on with our lives.

I doff my proverbial hat to you, JabuJabule.

[Lynker, LPN]

Thank you so much, Davey. That truly does mean a lot to me. I think you'd also be proud to hear I already have an interview scheduled for Friday morning. ?

[SmilingBluEyes]

6 hours ago, JabuJabule said:

Thank you so much, Davey. That truly does mean a lot to me. I think you'd also be proud to hear I already have an interview scheduled for Friday morning. ?

I wish you the best!

[amoLucia]

Ditto!