I feel rotton

Trauma Columnist · Oct 12, 2006

Hi there...please don't take this personally. Take the advice to heart, find something a little less acute, get a year's experience and go back. You couldn't have done anything too terribly wrong because they asked you back.

Go get them!

LoriAlabamaRN · Oct 12, 2006

I truly feel your pain. A month ago, I was fired from a job that I thought at the time was my dream job. Check for my other posts and read the thread... I turned to this board fr support just as you are now, and they helped me more than I can describe. I don't know if you are religious, but it helped me to turn my problems over to God and ask Him to direct me to where He intends me to be. When I began canvassing for new opportunities, I was hired on at an inpatient child's psych facility, making more than two dollars an hour more than I was at the job I lost, and I am in orientation now. I love it. Even though a month ago I would probably have cut off a finger to be allowed back at my old job, now I would not return if they offered me ten dollars more an hour. The support from this board gave me the confidence in myself to find a BETTER job.

I know you are scared right now because of the uncertainty you face. Please try to remember that everything happens for a reason. Perhaps Pediatrics is not where you are meant to be. This is most probably a blessing in disguise, for something better awaits you. Please feel free to PM me anytime.

DeLana_RN, BSN, RN · Oct 12, 2006

I feel your pain... 8 years ago, the head nurse from h--l forced me to resign from my first job in oncology based on a bogus evaluation full of lies she had made up :angryfire .

It hit me like a ton of bricks, I never saw it coming, although based on some outrageous comments she had made during my so-called orientation (which I somehow tried to convince myself I couldn't possibly have heard?!) I shouldn't have been surprised - and the only thing I was guilty of was naivity :uhoh3:

Do nurses still eat their young? Oh yes (well, at least in '98). They made a meal out of me (and trust me, I wasn't incompetent - I had graduated second in my class of 80 and was no more disorganized than any new grad, with typical lack of time management - not that anyone helped me)...

* * *

It's unfair and it happens to more of us than you would ever know. Your floor should have known how to orient a new grad, or whether or not this kind of work was suited for a new grad at all (considering the kind of orientation they were willing and able to give.) But maybe they truly didn't realize that it was just a bit too intense for a new nurse - you may have been the first new grad they ever hired.

On a positive note, it's encouraging that you were invited to reapply in the future (in my case, the head nurse told me that she would make sure that I would never work in "her" 700-bed hospital again; delusions of grandeur, for sure! I was almost convinced she had her connections 'cause I had reapplied twice just to get an impersonal rejection letter from HR - until today, when they offered me a job in their dialysis floor. On my terms, for more money than they had wanted to pay! :lol2: )

DeLana :icon_hug:

P.S. You never know what good may come out of something that's incredibly painful and disappointing at the time. In my case, it led me to another hospital where I got experience in med/telemetry & PCU and finally dialysis, which turned out to be my true passion

Romeo4u-RN · Oct 12, 2006

:cry: Hello there:

Please don't feel bad about this unpleasant experince. After recently graduating(BSN), I started to work in a hospital, in med/surge, and after being there for almost 3 months, the head nurse(a nun), decided that I was not qualified to work there, and fired me. Imagine how I felt, it hit me like a bomb, I wasn't expecting it. I got along very well, with all the other employees and nursing staff on the floor, many of the patients also liked me, yet this nun had it out for me. She also fired 4 other nurses as well(mostly young grads), so you can imagine how stressful and demanding it felt working on that unit. I was very responsible, never late, never missed a day, and even though my BP went up because of all the stress, caused by the head nurse, I was always positve, and helping others as well. On my last day there, while I was sitting in her office, and listening to her as to why I would no longer work there, and after reading my evaluation(of which I did not agree with), and found some bias remarks on her part, I did not sign it, and she blew up like a firecracker right in front of me, and also in the presence of two other supervisors. I also found out later on, that most of all my fellow nurses had begged her to keep me working on the floor, yet according to her, I was not fit to work there, for what ever reasons she had, and decided to let me go. Most of those same nurses still call me up, to this day, and have all given me emotional support. And to be honest with you, I also felt incompentent, and mad as hell at the time, because I said to myself:"Why me"? After studying 4 yrs. and having to go through the sacrifices and hard work just to become a nurse, and then just when everything seemed normal, then all of a sudden,"bang"!, the **** hits the ceiling, and the next thing you know, you're unemployed again, and asking yourself why is life so cruel to me. Anyway, to make this story short, 2 months after I left this hospital, I found out that the head nurse(the nun), was fired for being incompetent, abusive, and having caused alot of problems among the nursing staff. As I found later on, a group of nurses, as well as patients, had all sent their complaints to the hospital adm., as well the union, and sure enough, she was finally removed from her post. Thank God justice was done, maybe too late for me, but for others it was well deserved. I understand the staff on the floor, had quite a celebration, after she left. I also was told, that in a few months, I would be able to return and apply for work if I wanted to, of which I declined the offer, because I still felt so humiliated, and emotionally upset about how I was treated. But my faith in God was so strong, that I knew, that I knew that I was not forgotten by him. And has it turns out, God was merciful with me, and helped me find another job in a Pediatric hospital. I'm now starting to work in PICU. Not only did he help me find a better job, more important of all, he took away my bitterness, my hatred, my sadness, and made me understand why I went through this, and to tell you the truth, I feel at peace with myself now, and thats why, I wanted to share my story with you. So you see, I can symphathize with you, because at the time I felt something similiar as to what you're going through. So hang in there, and let God help you, as well as getting support from your family and friends. I know you'll do good, and belive me when I tell you this, don't give in to defeat. I wish you the best of luck, and may God guide you to make the right decisions in your life.:yelclap:

Romeo4u-RN

Found out just today I got let go of my current position in pediatrics...just 4 weeks into starting on the floor (total of 8 weeks with preceptor). I am just so numb I can't even think. I was at my all time high when I first got hired, and now I'm on my all time low. After one lousy three day week (well two lousy day, one much better day) on the floor where I felt so overwelmed I froze up, then this happened. But I guess it's not the end of the world. I was told maybe the acuity of the floor is not fit for me to start out with and that I should seek somewhere less acute. However I was told in the future after gaining more experience, I could apply back. It's just really hard on my feelings right now. Has anything like this happened to any of you?

rnsrgr8t · Oct 12, 2006

I feel your pain... 8 years ago, the head nurse from h--l forced me to resign from my first job in oncology based on a bogus evaluation full of lies she had made up :angryfire .
It hit me like a ton of bricks, I never saw it coming, although based on some outrageous comments she had made during my so-called orientation (which I somehow tried to convince myself I couldn't possibly have heard?!) I shouldn't have been surprised - and the only thing I was guilty of was naivity
Do nurses still eat their young? Oh yes (well, at least in '98). They made a meal out of me (and trust me, I wasn't incompetent - I had graduated second in my class of 80 and was no more disorganized than any new grad, with typical lack of time management - not that anyone helped me)...
* * *
It's unfair and it happens to more of us than you would ever know. Your floor should have known how to orient a new grad, or whether or not this kind of work was suited for a new grad at all (considering the kind of orientation they were willing and able to give.) But maybe they truly didn't realize that it was just a bit too intense for a new nurse - you may have been the first new grad they ever hired.
On a positive note, it's encouraging that you were invited to reapply in the future (in my case, the head nurse told me that she would make sure that I would never work in "her" 700-bed hospital again; delusions of grandeur, for sure! I was almost convinced she had her connections 'cause I had reapplied twice just to get an impersonal rejection letter from HR - until today, when they offered me a job in their dialysis floor. On my terms, for more money than they had wanted to pay! )
DeLana :icon_hug:
P.S. You never know what good may come out of something that's incredibly painful and disappointing at the time. In my case, it led me to another hospital where I got experience in med/telemetry & PCU and finally dialysis, which turned out to be my true passion

:yeahthat:

Wow, that SO sounds like my story! I was on a peds Hem/Onc floor too! I was forced out after a year but in the same circumstances. I was told I chose the wrong career and that they would see to it that I would never be a nurse! (I never made a serious error that should warrant that). Well, I moved on, got a better job, gained my confidence enough to go back to grad school and I am now a PNP! Everything happens for a reason and I KNOW it will all work out! I found out my Director was fired or left in unusual circumstances about a year after I left. Good Luck and keep us posted!

hica19 · Oct 12, 2006

o_O Wow!

RNKay31 · Oct 13, 2006

Oh my I am so sorry to hear that, I wish all of you great success in finding your dream jobs.

DolphinRN84, MSN, RN, APRN, NP · Oct 13, 2006

Don't give up hope hica19. You will definitely find another job that you will hopefully find a more supportive group of people to work with. Best of luck! :icon_hug:

humglum, BSN, RN · Oct 13, 2006

I cannot believe the number of threads lately about nurses being fired. In orientation, no less. I just can't understand this -- nobody expects new grads to know everything, just to be able to function safely and competently and know when to seek help. Unless someone makes an egregious error or has proven him or herself unsafe in multiple situations, I just don't understand why any facility would turn away an orientee they have taken the time and expense to orient.

Or at least help them find a more suitable placement within the facility.

I don't get it.

hica19 · Oct 13, 2006

Actually the unit I got dismissed from is actually a great unit. Everyone is really nice and helpful. However they were looking out for my best interest and thought maybe the unit was too acute for me to start out with. However they did point me out in the right direction by giving me the number of the nurse recruiter to help me with more options. She also gave me her card so I could keep in contact with her. I respect that a lot. I mean the dismissal did hurt but thinking about it, I realized that maybe the unit really IS too acute for me. However after I gain more experience somewhere else and feel I want to go back, I was told I could apply again.

humglum, BSN, RN · Oct 13, 2006

Were you working on a PICU? And weren't you aware of the level of acuity when you accepted the position? I'm not trying to be a pest, here, I'm just genuinely curious why you would accept a position, and why the facility would hire you, for something that you admit you can't handle.

What were your shortcomings? Time management? Prioritization? All these things come with time. It upsets me to see new grads throwing in the towel and accepting lower acuity assignments when all they need is, usually, a little extra precepting and nurturing.