I got fired while being on orientation at a hospital for just 1 week. Why did this happen?

Wannabeeinscrubs, ADN, LPN, RN · Mar 8, 2017

At my orientation, we were told to turn out phones off and leave them in our bags. One nurse took her phone out and put it on the table, upside-down, I never saw her even look at it again. At lunch she was asked to leave, and her job offer was rescinded.

ICU_UcMe, BSN, RN · Mar 8, 2017

On reading the OPs subsequent explanation, I see another red flag, that her personal problems are already interfering with her work performance in the first week of the job.
Seriously, a call from your lawyer? You probably struck the educator as someone with a lot of personal drama, and a poor prospect to be a reliable employee.

I am sorry this happened to you, OP, but I agree with this. They probably figured that if you have enough personal conflict to keep you from orienting properly then you're going to have too much to keep you from retainment. Further, since you've been a nurse for years now, they probably expected you to know better than to be gone that long without notification. Regardless, I wouldn't let this deter you from finding a hospital job if that's what you long for. Chalk this up to a learning experience and move on to a better fit.

compassionresearcher · Mar 8, 2017

At my orientation, we were told to turn out phones off and leave them in our bags. One nurse took her phone out and put it on the table, upside-down, I never saw her even look at it again. At lunch she was asked to leave, and her job offer was rescinded.

Wow! I've heard people being warned but never saw it carried out.

NurseJ04 · Mar 8, 2017

At my orientation, we were told to turn out phones off and leave them in our bags. One nurse took her phone out and put it on the table, upside-down, I never saw her even look at it again. At lunch she was asked to leave, and her job offer was rescinded.

Holy crap :wideyed: I'll take that little bit of information with me as I head into orientation. Thanks!

compassionresearcher · Mar 8, 2017

. I mean, c'mon it was only classroom work and I passed all the required exams such as the IV and medication administration. I had to take a personal call during the last 1/2 hour of our last day of class and when I returned the nurse educator was saying how I shouldn't give her a heart attack next time about not telling her where I was.

This part of your post makes me wonder how serious you were taking your class. If they are paying you to learn then I imagine they expect you to be enthusiastic about it. And you waited five years for this opportunity. Why didn't you tell the instructor ahead of time that you were expecting an emergency phone call and would it be okay if you could leave the room to take it?

I work in the education department at my hospital and we run the orientation. I can tell you that people do all sorts unprofessional behaviors there. Even though we say "no cell phone use", there are always people texting under the table, as if we don't know why they're looking down at there lap half the class. Other frowned upon behaviors are not following dress code (we're in south Florida they come to orientation in flip flops), coming late, falling asleep in the middle of a presentation (it happens). I tell new hires that this is an extension of their job interview. Managers ask us how their employee is acting during orientation--did they participate, do they come on time, are they leaving for breaks excessively? You can predict who won't make it passed probation by how they act in orientation. This is the honeymoon phase, if someone isn't passionate at this point, they're usually going down hill from here.

GMastersRN · Mar 8, 2017

So, after reading your story and the comments, I have to say a few folks took the words right out of my mouth...

This reminds me of when I've bought a product that I'm still skeptical about and it doesn't seem to do everything I was hoping it would, so I take it back to the store. While none of us are for sale, we are still paid to perform at a certain level to their standards, much in the same way I was mentioning a product (sorry, best explanation I could come up with). Since you are PRN/per diem, it probably didn't help the case either.

There are so many nurses out there applying for the same job. Maybe they've been burnt so many times that they were looking for certain characteristics. There's a quote from Maya Angelou and I've always used it in nursing: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, DO BETTER." There's also the clever lyrics to Eminem (never thought I'd quote him, but...) the song "Lose Yourself" has always been my mantra when I go in and do something that deserves my all. If you don't know/remember the song, take a look at the lyrics--they are poignant (can't believe I'm saying that either).

This was a learning lesson and maybe an insight into some part of your life. Take it, run with it, and grow. That's all you can do. I'm also not a "religious" person, but the guy Joel Osteen has a really great quote that has always been inspirational for me and I think ANYONE could take this as a proclamation: "You can store a seed on a shelf for a lifetime. It will never become what it was created to be until you put it in the ground. It's potential will never be fulfilled until you put it in the ground. As long as it's up on that shelf, it's potential lies dormant..." However... "once in the ground, the seed cannot see any light. --But it's not buried, --it's been planted. Even packed in tons of soil, THE SEED CANNOT BE STOPPED." What happened? The seed had to push the soil out of the way to grow. Know that next time, be on your best, tell your personal life to shut up for a moment, because you have better things brewing in front of you. The lawyer can wait, the phone call can wait--no matter how much anxiety you have. That's only temporary, but the opportunity for growth is so much more (in the way of your career).

If you craved a hospital job, go after it and let nothing stop you. Everything happens for many different reasons. Maybe that position wasn't a good one. Maybe if you had taken it, worse things would have come. Who knows? Maybe you just needed to learn the difference in culture/climate between a sub-acute/acute care setting. They are very different in nature. One is more rigid than the other--phone calls included. I hope you grow from this situation, remember it for next time, and don't be scared to be planted again. Great things are to come. You've got this--just put your phone on silent and remember when you get in there for next time: this is YOUR TIME. Good LUCK.

Jolie, BSN · Mar 8, 2017

So I am seeking some advice as to why this occurred and am still pondering on what could have I done wrong for this to have such a bad ending. After searching and searching years and years for a hospital job (I've always worked in subacute rehab settings) and have been craving a hospital job for nearly 5 years as it will be 5 years this coming May that I graduated from nursing school. Long story short, I was hired by a local hospital and all was going well with the first week of orientation. I mean, c'mon it was only classroom work and I passed all the required exams such as the IV and medication administration. I had to take a personal call during the last 1/2 hour of our last day of class and when I returned the nurse educator was saying how I shouldn't give her a heart attack next time about not telling her where I was. I explained what had occurred and I didn't realize that 5 days later I was going to be reprimanded for that. I received a call from the unit manager I was supposed to work at stating that I was technically supposed to come this weekend for my first day of clinical orientation (I was hired as a per diem nurse) she told me that I don't need to come. Refusing to provide further information, when I asked her if the position was terminated she said "yeah kinda, you'll get a letter in the mail explaining everything." I'm really baffled about this? I seriously didn't do anything and am unsure why did this lead up to here?
Please take note, only constructive comments will be accepted otherwise demeaning, ridiculing words will be flagged. I just need to get some advice as to why this happened and if it is something usual?

As a former nurse manager and now a business owner in a different field, I see a number of possible reasons for the unfortunate outcome of your brief employment. I'll try to keep my comments constructive so as not to "be flagged," whatever that means. I'll start by answering your question of whether this is "something unusual?" It depends. In a job-seeker's market where there are more positions to be filled than qualified candidates, your experience is probably rare. Since you come from a LTC setting where jobs typically outnumber qualified nurses, the standards and expectations of hospital personnel may have seemed uptight and excessive to you. But in a setting where full-time, benefits-eligible positions don't become available every day, personnel managers can be choosy. Very choosy.

Without belaboring the point, your remarks regarding the classroom portion of your orientation seem a bit flippant. Let's face it, this is no one's favorite part of the job, not the educator teaching, nor the candidates enduring long lectures and skills checks of basic material, but it is critical for standardization, patient safety, regulatory compliance and legal protection. It helps to put forth one's best effort for all of these reasons. Is there any chance that your lack of enthusiasm and/or disdain for these activities may have come across to others? I would be willing to bet so.

Near the end of that class period, you went missing unannounced for 30 minutes. While I seriously doubt that anyone was concerned for your safety, the instructor was responsible for knowing the whereabouts of her students in the event of a disaster, drill or emergency phone call from your family looking for you. Nothing makes people more anxious and defensive than being held responsible for something completely out of their control, like the disappearance of an adult student.

The issue of carrying and answering your personal phone during hospital orientation is a divisive one, on which we here will never all agree. It is something of a generational divide, with those of us over 40 remembering well how to survive and thrive without constant contact from the outside world, and many under that age unable to fathom that very circumstance. I will simply say that as a new employee it is best to learn upfront the expectations of your employer. I encourage new employees to come right out and ask, so there are no misunderstandings. Had you asked the instructor at the beginning of the day if it was acceptable to keep your phone on you and excuse yourself to answer it, I believe you might still be employed. Had you answered the call and immediately notified your lawyer that you couldn't talk, and would call back later, you might have endured a lecture, but still had a job. But disappearing for a 30 minute phone call, I'm quite certain, did you in.

The delay between your phone incident and receiving notification that your services were not required probably represented the discussion between human resources, the educator teaching your orientation class, and the manager of the floor to which you were going to be assigned. These 3 people all had a stake in your employment and reason to discuss your progress. They probably had a meeting scheduled sometime between your week-long class and the beginning of floor shifts for the nurses in your cohort. They identified the apparent strengths, weaknesses and special skills of the group to best place them. With an obvious negative, you didn't make the cut.

With no intention of placing you on a clinical unit, there was no reason for HR or the nurse manager to bring you in for a meeting or exit interview. Exit meetings rarely are productive when they involve employees with such a brief tenure. They saved you time, hassle and embarrassment.

Please move on with a better understanding of expectations in the workplace. Good luck to you.

ICU_UcMe, BSN, RN · Mar 8, 2017

Everyone pretty much told you that the main reason (we think) they got you was the phone call but for 30 minutes! Oh My GERD! "1/2 Hour" is a lunch break for most of us in the nursing world!

I wish my lunch break ever truly lasted my thirty minutes. I'm lucky if I get 15 mins uninterrupted. Lol

Boomer MS, RN · Mar 8, 2017

As a former nurse manager and now a business owner in a different field, I see a number of possible reasons for the unfortunate outcome of your brief employment. I'll try to keep my comments constructive so as not to "be flagged," whatever that means. I'll start by answering your question of whether this is "something unusual?" It depends. In a job-seeker's market where there are more positions to be filled than qualified candidates, your experience is probably rare. Since you come from a LTC setting where jobs typically outnumber qualified nurses, the standards and expectations of hospital personnel may have seemed uptight and excessive to you. But in a setting where full-time, benefits-eligible positions don't become available every day, personnel managers can be choosy. Very choosy.
Without belaboring the point, your remarks regarding the classroom portion of your orientation seem a bit flippant. Let's face it, this is no one's favorite part of the job, not the educator teaching, nor the candidates enduring long lectures and skills checks of basic material, but it is critical for standardization, patient safety, regulatory compliance and legal protection. It helps to put forth one's best effort for all of these reasons. Is there any chance that your lack of enthusiasm and/or disdain for these activities may have come across to others? I would be willing to bet so.
Near the end of that class period, you went missing unannounced for 30 minutes. While I seriously doubt that anyone was concerned for your safety, the instructor was responsible for knowing the whereabouts of her students in the event of a disaster, drill or emergency phone call from your family looking for you. Nothing makes people more anxious and defensive than being held responsible for something completely out of their control, like the disappearance of an adult student.
The issue of carrying and answering your personal phone during hospital orientation is a divisive one, on which we here will never all agree. It is something of a generational divide, with those of us over 40 remembering well how to survive and thrive without constant contact from the outside world, and many under that age unable to fathom that very circumstance. I will simply say that as a new employee it is best to learn upfront the expectations of your employer. I encourage new employees to come right out and ask, so there are no misunderstandings. Had you asked the instructor at the beginning of the day if it was acceptable to keep your phone on you and excuse yourself to answer it, I believe you might still be employed. Had you answered the call and immediately notified your lawyer that you couldn't talk, and would call back later, you might have endured a lecture, but still had a job. But disappearing for a 30 minute phone call, I'm quite certain, did you in.
The delay between your phone incident and receiving notification that your services were not required probably represented the discussion between human resources, the educator teaching your orientation class, and the manager of the floor to which you were going to be assigned. These 3 people all had a stake in your employment and reason to discuss your progress. They probably had a meeting scheduled sometime between your week-long class and the beginning of floor shifts for the nurses in your cohort. They identified the apparent strengths, weaknesses and special skills of the group to best place them. With an obvious negative, you didn't make the cut.
With no intention of placing you on a clinical unit, there was no reason for HR or the nurse manager to bring you in for a meeting or exit interview. Exit meetings rarely are productive when they involve employees with such a brief tenure. They saved you time, hassle and embarrassment.
Please move on with a better understanding of expectations in the workplace. Good luck to you.

You, as a former manager, have offered valuable perspective and input. We all are still speculating as the reason for her dismissal. I've had only one exit interview from all the places I've worked. I loved that job, my co-workers and appreciated management. I was leaving b/c I was moving back to CA. It was what was done at that academic institution. I was more than happy to do the interview, but it was a waste of time. What is not a waste of time is for employees to be told why they were let go so that they can learn from the reason or mistake. I disagree that an exit interview would not be productive. She was hired with the intention of being placed on a unit. When that changed, it would have been respectful to tell her why in person. Just because there is no nursing shortage is no reason for HR and management not to remain professional, informative and kind. Think how you would like to be treated.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Mar 8, 2017

I guess you're right. I will take this as a lesson learned but will not be seeking anything else at this time.

I am looking at the responses and I sit and shake my head at the responses and I am reminded once again at the present culture of nursing. Frankly I feel we all need to take a look at ourselves and develop a sense of humor....we need to learn to laugh at ourselves.

I don't think your phone call was a terminating event. If this facility fired you for this and the person in orientation flipped out....which I feel is extreme....and they fired you for it.....count your blessings. IMHO this would be an extremely difficult environment to work in...keep this experience in your mind but don't let it deter you from what you want.

Boomer MS, RN · Mar 8, 2017

If this facility fired you for this and the person in orientation flipped out....which I feel is extreme....and they fired you for it.....count your blessings. IMHO this would be an extremely difficult environment to work in...keep this experience in your mind but don't let it deter you from what you want.

I agree completely.

ItsThatJenGirl, CNA · Mar 8, 2017

I think it's weird how many people think that taking 30 minutes for a personal phone call on the clock (especially during orientation) is totally okay. What if she had just left 30 minutes early? Or taken a second lunch? Especially without telling anyone.