I got terminated, should I put them down on my job history?

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I hope someone can help me! I worked LTC for a year and 4 months. I had a verbal write up 5 months ago for not writing in the 24hour report. Two weeks ago I got written up for being 2 hours late because of time change. It takes 40min to get to work by the way. Well this past Sunday I was told by a resident that she was getting D/C that day. There was no report of it at shift change by the off-going nurse so I didn't think much of it because residents tend to say that and not be D/C. It turns out at 1100am she and her husband are ready to go. I then find out that she has D/C orders and nothing else is completed for D/C. So I do admit I was upset and made a big deal of it. I called the acting DON at home and asked about this and she said its my job to do the rest. I got upset and hung up. There was a new director present and the ombudsman. I explained to the ombudsman what happened. He told me he agreed that someone should have told me. At this time I still had to do my Diabetics. I hadn't taken a lunch either. I ended up taking lunch at 200pm and I couldnt even eat.

So the next day comes and a new resident vomits and the family member calls me. I go into the room and see that she vomitied H2o. she is on her side, breathing, in no distress and she is at the arch of the reclining bed. I then leave the room to get the CNA to help me pull up resident. To make a long story short I get called in the DSD office with the ADON and they tell me they are suspending me and sending me home. They told me that the residents family complained about me giving meds and walking out "leaving her to choke on her pills". I told them that the famliy members were not in the room when I gave her her meds and that I made sure she took the meds without problem. She vomited the h2o that I gave her, 2+ cups.

So, today they have me come in and tell me i'm terminated and read me the above and that the family, resident and cna said I gave meds and left. That is so untrue because they didnt even ask the cna that was taking care of her " what she saw or heard". They also had 2 other incidents that happened that same day. One resident was going to a MD visit and wanted 6mg of morphine along with her 20mg oxycodone. she told me " I dont want to be " too doped up". I then told her I agreed that if she was " too doped up that MD might not prescribe anymore meds. Might I add she is a drug seeker and this is her second stay here. The other incident is a resident asked for dulcolax and said " other nurses give it to me". I checked the mar and she has no order for it. I faxed MD for order and wrote " resident states she gets it from the other nurses". I got introuble for that too. Finally, they tell me they are terminating me for all this. When they asked me if I wanted to sign the termination I told them no and I didnt. I also didnt write anything down in my comments. I know they didnt do a thourough investigation because the residents cna said they didnt ask her anything or have her write anything. She is also a friend. She also said noone was called into the ADON's office. What do I do? Can I omit them from my job history? I have a perdiem job throughout this job. My residents love me and I treat them as they are related to me and never give meds and walkaway without making sure they dont choke.

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In the future, when you are applying for jobs, if you omit this position from an application or your resumé and the potential employer finds out, many organizations would consider that dishonesty/deceit that would eliminate you from consideration for a job, or get you fired if you had already been hired. I'm not saying that would definitely happen, but it would certainly always be a possibility.

In healthcare, honest is always the best policy. Best to be honest on applications and your resumé, and be prepared to answer questions about the dismissal without sounding defensive or evasive. You're not the only person in nursing who ever got fired from a job, and people are able to continue with their careers ...

Best wishes!

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Specializes in Many.

Thank you I feel better

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You're welcome! :)

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FYI, I have worked in staff development and when I called prior employers for reference checks most employers have the policy that they only verify position held and dates of employment. In fact, most won't say anything over the phone and ask for a written request and still only give the dates and position held.

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Thank you for your comment! I so hooked on this site, I have learned so much! Thanks everyone!!

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Specializes in Day Surgery, Agency, Cath Lab, LTC/Psych.

Well, I could write a long and rambling response to your post about how much I hate LTC politics but I will save you the boring monotony. I'm surprised you lasted a year and 4 months. It seems to me that most LTC turnover is after about one year.

I think that you should include it on your resume and explain what happened when you are called for an interview. What you presented here was logical and believable--I'm sure future employers would think so as well. Just be completely honest about all of the circumstances. It sounds to me like you were doing the best you could in a very difficult working environment.

Just as an aside....when I was working in LTC a few years ago the employee of the month was fired about 1/2 into the month. I felt bad when I pulled into the parking lot and realized that the "Employee of the Month" space would be empty for another two weeks because she had been fired. The administrators at this facility were obviously so fickle that one day she was a star and the next day she was out on the street.

Hope you find a better job next time.....:)

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I also was terminated as a Medical Assistant over some crap that I did not do, but now I am a RN and I was scared about what my former employer was going to say and like the other post all he stated was that he could tell them the dates that I worked and my position. When my present employer tried to ask him other questions he stated this is the only information that I can give you, but when I was interviewed and was ask why I left the position I explained and I still got the job. I do not know if it was because I was a medical assistant at the time and now I am a RN. GOOD LUCK!

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Specializes in Many.

Hey doice, Thank you for your comments and everyone else. I just thought I'd say that I lasted so long was because I told my wife that I was going to stay there until I got into the R.N. program. I didn't want to work at a hospital until I got my R.N. What also kept me there were my residents I loved taking care of them and they loved me! I just feel that my residents are getting jipped from good nursing care. I did speak to a DON from another LTC facility and she asked where I worked. I breifly told her what had happend, because she asked and I was honest, so she said to come in and get and application. I only plan on working 1-2 shifts a week, this way I can get the last place off my " last job status". I did, however got into the R.N. program advance placement and start a transition class. LVN-R.N. and start the nursing program in august. The DON from the new place did tell me she hired some nurses, but told me to apply because " anything can happen". Now for the funny stuff and I will try to be brief. She, the new DON, remembered me from the last time I got a job there and didn't take it because at the pre-employment physical the M.D. Dx me with acute appendicitis! Funny ha. And while in the hospital I was notified by another LVN I worked with that her firend was a supervisor for homehealth in which I took and workded for a year. Anyways thanks alot for yours and everyones comments!

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Good luck with school and I hope that you get the new job:nurse::redbeathe:nurse:

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You aren't going to have a choice but to list the job b/c explaining why you have a gap that long is going to send up a red flag.

Many employers are also using employment history search engines such as www.theworknumber.com which will pull up your employment history (for participating employers), dates, and position. So it's getting easier and easier to get 'busted'.

Please don't take this the wrong way...but you really, really need to take your job more seriously. That is sort of what I got from your post.

The time change...it's all over the news each time it comes around...I am so paranoid about getting up late that I not only set the alarm on my clock but my cell phone too...b/c one may not work but both aren't going to be on the blink. Why? Because I can't afford to miss.

With the report issue...once you were written up (b/c that is a huge action within itself), it should have been your #1 priority. Do you get in trouble for writing a report if the patient isn't discharged? Of course you don't....that is why it should have been done...and that is how your DON is looking at it.

Also, never, ever be rude to the person that has the power to fire you. That is always career suicide.

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Specializes in Many.

hey hopefull2009,

Thanks for your comments I really appreciate it. I'm not trying to argue, but, I take my job seriously. Even though I wrote alot down I didn't write it all out or else it would have been too long for our readers. As mentioned I worked over a year and I did make more money than the rest of the nurses and there are some that have been there over 12yrs. Its a small 52 bed LTC so you can imagine what goes on in a place that small. I'm not trying to brag, just clarifying, when I got hired I started at 25 dollars/hr. The DON that hired me no longer works there. The left a month or two after hiring me. I do admit it was my fault for being late and I should have been much more careful giving that they were trying to get rid of me. I feel very confident with my assessments and looking back at the incident, there is nothing that I would have changed. Even if I were to do something the family would have still complained. The sad thing is "everyone" knew how that new residents family was. I love and miss my residents and feel very bad that I no longer take care of them.

I have never been written up by any employer. I got along with my co-workers and my past jobs I left on good terms, they even were sad to see me go.

As for reporting, I feel I chart fairly well. It took them over a year to get something on me. Also, when they sent me home they didnt give me a chance to chart, after counting med they said I had to leave. I wasnt given the opportunity to chart what happened and my assessment, let alone an incident report. And trust me when I worked cna's were always reporting skin tears, etc. and I had to write many of incident reports. I hated writing incident reports, but, I had to cover my...I know I have a case against them but I want to move on and put that in the past. There paper trails are horrible and they didnt present me with facts from their so-called " investigation".

Finally, I was cool-headed, wasnt loud or rude. I asked the ADON " so what happens when a future employer calls you"? What will you tell them? She said " I just give dates of employment". Will she? I dont know.

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