got fired/terminated

[YesYesRN]

I was working as a new grad RN and had a wonderful experience at a magnet hospital. However after being assigned to a new preceptor everything changed. She was very moody and changes her mind very often. I watched her picking up fights with other nurses. She has a very positive relationship with the management. Another new RN from my cohort who trained under her quit the job. I was, fired/terminated with less than 6 months of experience without any warning. She disliked me and complained to my boss in a daily basis. I was a new vulnerable nurse who's concerns and issues were not taken seriously nor heard. The firing process was unprofessional and unfair.

Now, I'm extremely worried about my future. Because many job application would ask if I have ever been fired before. What should I do? Can anyone share their experience?

[vanessaem, BSN, RN]

I know I have been probably flamed for this in the past-so here it goes:

I was let go from orientation from a world-renound Magnet hospital in my area; I did not put it on my resume, I went to the next job and worked my way back into another Magnet hospital and no one said a peep about it.

[snip]

Amen and problem solved. No one has to know you worked at this hospital if you don't put it on your resume. You've only been working there for less than six months. I don't think any hospital would consider that real experience anyway.

[trickstick]

I had the same thing happen to me, women in nursing can be very spitefull. I was fired from my second job, The chick didnt like dudes and didnt care to hide it. recetly divorced and just spiteful about everthing... Dont worry about it, get a contingent position for the short term if you need to and you can always make something up to go along with your situation. Word it as profesional development something if asked about it, they eat it up.

[CelticGoddess, BSN, RN]

I had the same thing happen to me, women in nursing can be very spitefull. I was fired from my second job, The chick didnt like dudes and didnt care to hide it. recetly divorced and just spiteful about everthing... Dont worry about it, get a contingent position for the short term if you need to and you can always make something up to go along with your situation. Word it as profesional development something if asked about it, they eat it up.

And the bully we just got off our floor was a dude. I guess he just didn't like WOMEN. (I'm not a chick) Humans can be very spiteful and if you don't believe that this is true in male dominated professions, just ask a chemist, an engineer, a cop or a train engineer. My family members in those fields talk about how their co-workers are spiteful and mean.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I had the same thing happen to me, women in nursing can be very spitefull. I was fired from my second job, The chick didnt like dudes and didnt care to hide it. recetly divorced and just spiteful about everthing... Dont worry about it, get a contingent position for the short term if you need to and you can always make something up to go along with your situation. Word it as profesional development something if asked about it, they eat it up.

Your misogyny is showing.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

I had the same thing happen to me, women in nursing can be very spitefull. I was fired from my second job, The chick didnt like dudes and didnt care to hide it. recetly divorced and just spiteful about everthing... Dont worry about it, get a contingent position for the short term if you need to and you can always make something up to go along with your situation. Word it as profesional development something if asked about it, they eat it up.

You know, you're right. You should go into Big Law, or investment banking, Oil and Gas, commercial real estate, or work on Wall Street, where all the male bosses are really nice to the guys who work for them.

[NOADLS]

You know, you're right. You should go into Big Law, or investment banking, Oil and Gas, commercial real estate, or work on Wall Street, where all the male bosses are really nice to the guys who work for them.

You can't just be any normal guy to get preferential treatment. You have to be an agent of the Patriarchy to get preferential treatment.

[Delia37, MSN]

By your use of the word "chick" to refer to an adult woman ; I sort of get an idea of your communication style...and what went wrong in that pairing.

I had the same thing happen to me, women in nursing can be very spitefull. I was fired from my second job, The chick didnt like dudes and didnt care to hide it. recetly divorced and just spiteful about everthing... Dont worry about it, get a contingent position for the short term if you need to and you can always make something up to go along with your situation. Word it as profesional development something if asked about it, they eat it up.

[Delia37, MSN]

To the original poster, it is what it is.

Only you know what was the real reason to be let go...for your own good and the safety of your patients; learn from it and move on.

[purplegal]

I was working as a new grad RN and had a wonderful experience at a magnet hospital. However after being assigned to a new preceptor everything changed. She was very moody and changes her mind very often. I watched her picking up fights with other nurses. She has a very positive relationship with the management. Another new RN from my cohort who trained under her quit the job. I was, fired/terminated with less than 6 months of experience without any warning. She disliked me and complained to my boss in a daily basis. I was a new vulnerable nurse who's concerns and issues were not taken seriously nor heard. The firing process was unprofessional and unfair.

Now, I'm extremely worried about my future. Because many job application would ask if I have ever been fired before. What should I do? Can anyone share their experience?

I am sorry to hear this happened to you. Seven months ago, something similar happened to me. After three months of not pleasing most of my preceptors and simply not being what my previous job wanted or needed me to be, I ended up leaving. Though, in my case, I knew ahead of time that the outcome that happened was likely to occur. Are you sure this happened with no warning at all, though? Surely you knew that your preceptor was not pleased with aspects of your performance and was discussing it with management? I was almost always aware of when my preceptors were talking with management. Still, whether you knew it at the time or not, I know the feeling, and it's absolutely horrible. I was devastated the day management and I decided that staying at that job was no longer a good option for me. Knowing that I had put in all my effort and still could not please my preceptors, coworkers, or management was the worst feeling ever and definitely NOT a positive start to my nursing career.

I can also relate to the feeling that you, as a new nurse, were not listened to as well as your preceptors or others on your unit. I, too, felt that my preceptors' opinions were favored greatly over mine. No matter what explanation I would give, someone who was more influential than I was able to turn it around and make it negative against me. Honestly, though, when you think about it, it really shouldn't be surprising. We were the newbies. Our preceptors were already established on the unit and had good relationships with the managers. Of course their opinions were, although not necessarily more valuable, given preference over our own.

I am curious as to what aspects of your firing you found unprofessional. I also found my evaluation to be professional, in that I was constantly compared to another new nurse on the unit, even in formal evaluation.

I know that you're worried about your future, as I was too. But, in your case, the only thing you really can do is find employment elsewhere, if your current employer won't hire you somewhere else. Otherwise, you won't work as a nurse at all, and will lose all the skills and education you worked so hard to obtain. In my case, I took a three month break from nursing, because I was very angry and disappointed. I don't really recommend waiting that long, but do take a break to process your feelings and decide that you need to go into a new job with an open mind. Approach it with the attitude that things may be quite different this time around. My second nursing job has gone much more positively than my first. I am meeting expectations, and am actually appreciated by my coworkers. When people talk to me or about me, it's because they are thankful I am there, not because they are trying to find a way to get rid of me.

As for your application, you have to make that decision. In my case, I simply chose not to list my previous job. This was because I did not make it through orientation and was only there 3 months. No one at my new job has batted an eye, and, as far as they know, my current nursing job is my "first" one.

Best of luck to you, as I know this wasn't the experience you were hoping for.

[purplegal]

I precept new nurses regularly; I have had personality mismatches a few times and I am honest with my manager. "This nurse and I are on different levels, and I think they'd benefit from a new preceptor" I personally have never tried to let personality clashes cost anyone a job, but not everyone is as considerate.

word to the wise for future jobs if you have a personality conflict say so from the beginning! Don't be indirect "she's mean, she's impatient" give examples! "When I asked her why we did a procedure a certain way she was very short with me and I felt like she was giving me an attitude" and send it on company email. I have my paper trail ALWAYS, if you don't get satisfaction from your direct manager the first couple of times you bring up an issues CC subsequent emails to the nurse in the education department. When you're new you try to go with the flow and not make waves but if you are being treated unfairly by a preceptor you most certainly should understand it can affect your future with the company so if sucking up to the preceptor doesn't change their attitude you need to have your ducks in a row to protect your job.

This is one thing I wish I had done. At the beginning, there was a preceptor that I simply didn't click with. Our expectations of each other were so different that it was difficult to get through a day together. While she was very vocal with the management, I did not say much. However, this preceptor was not my only preceptor as she could not be there on all of the days I was. There was another preceptor, who came into the picture, quite a bit later and we got along very well. Unfortunately, it really was too late in my orientation to fix things. I wish I had asked for the second preceptor sooner, as maybe my outcome could have been different. What was interesting is that even though my first preceptor and I didn't work well as a preceptor-orientee team, we were just fine as coworkers, when I was with another preceptor. So, we could have actually worked well together on the same floor, if I had asked for a preceptor that more matched my learning style sooner.

[Jusween]

Re Triksters response: Perhaps your problems have something to do with your written communication style, which is mysogonistic and condescending. If you were my subordinate, I would sanction you, regardless of whether or not you have a member. Your nursing skills do not abrogate your responsibility to speak appropriately and conduct yourself professionally.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Moved to the First Year After Nursing Licensure forum.