I need help.. please

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Dear all,

I came to US and live in new york since 2003, (I came from Australia), I was a BSN, RN in Melbourne, and at 2005, I got my RN license in new york.

I was a med surg nurse for over 2 years, and would like to go to some specific area.. so I went for job fair and found a new job at Nov 2007. worked as a nursery nurse in L&D (maternal and child). I was let go while I was on probation because I sent the infant to the wrong mother and was breast fed by wrong mother. On the next morning, I was terminated.

After that, I sent out all my applications but.. I don't even get any response. Some of the hospitals ask if the previous hospital will give me a positive reference, and I said that I can not make sure, then they don't even make a call.

I emailed the manager, if she can be my reference, as I really worked very hard.. that incident has already taken my job away. but she did not response to me either.

I am the breadmaker at home, my husband is the stayhome father. now we don't have health insurance ( my son is 13 months, my daughter is 4.5 years old).. I am in my dark age..

Any one can help me.. and what I can do now.. no income, no insurance. :crying2::crying2:

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

Is it possible to get someone from Human Resources in the previous hospital to write a note stating how long you were employed and why you were terminated? Maybe that would create a talking point so you can discuss what measures you could have taken to prevent the situation. I HATE that you are having this problem. Consider also working in non-acute settings.

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you can try and omit your position as a l&d nurse, only listing your job in med/surg.

could you get a reference from your med/surg job?

i do want to caution you however, that if you are caught not listing the l&d job, it is grounds for termination.

but some people take their chances...

wishing you the best.

leslie

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Dear all,

I came to US and live in new york since 2003, (I came from Australia), I was a BSN, RN in Melbourne, and at 2005, I got my RN license in new york.

I was a med surg nurse for over 2 years, and would like to go to some specific area.. so I went for job fair and found a new job at Nov 2007. worked as a nursery nurse in L&D (maternal and child). I was let go while I was on probation because I sent the infant to the wrong mother and was breast fed by wrong mother. On the next morning, I was terminated.

After that, I sent out all my applications but.. I don't even get any response. Some of the hospitals ask if the previous hospital will give me a positive reference, and I said that I can not make sure, then they don't even make a call.

I emailed the manager, if she can be my reference, as I really worked very hard.. that incident has already taken my job away. but she did not response to me either.

I am the breadmaker at home, my husband is the stayhome father. now we don't have health insurance ( my son is 13 months, my daughter is 4.5 years old).. I am in my dark age..

Any one can help me.. and what I can do now.. no income, no insurance. :crying2::crying2:

Why can't you use the med surg mgr for a reference?

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are there some employment agencies?

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I have been told by an HR person that one does not need to list positions that are held for less than 3 months - the usual probationary period. This is the period of time in which both the employer and employee have to evaluate each other and decide if they want to continue a working relationship. But this will mean that you must have a good answer when they ask you about a gap in employment and why you left your other job.

The manager that terminated you has likely been instructed not to have further contact with you by the hospital risk manager or attorney. Incidents like this can generate a lawsuit and they will protect themselves not you. You might consider contacting the HR department and finding out the particulars regarding your termination and whether or not they reported you to the Board. You might also get the names of good attorneys just in case you are sued or get called before the Board of Nursing.

I would review the situation occurring around your mistake. You really need to take a look at the root cause of the mistake. Then, when you go to a new prospective employer and they ask about this job you have a prepared and polished answer to their questions. It would look better if you acknowledge your mistake, discuss the situation surrounding the mistake, what you learned from it, and why it will not occur again. You might also help yourself by taking some continuing education classes regarding medical error prevention and let the prospective employer have a copy of the completion certificate if this situation comes up.

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Specializes in ICU, CCU,Wound Care,LTC, Hospice, MDS.

I agree with omitting the the job you were terminated from if it was less than three months and during the probationary period. I know several nurses (including myself) who have done this with no problems. Good luck to you!

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I have been told by an HR person that one does not need to list positions that are held for less than 3 months - the usual probationary period. This is the period of time in which both the employer and employee have to evaluate each other and decide if they want to continue a working relationship. But this will mean that you must have a good answer when they ask you about a gap in employment and why you left your other job.

The manager that terminated you has likely been instructed not to have further contact with you by the hospital risk manager or attorney. Incidents like this can generate a lawsuit and they will protect themselves not you. You might consider contacting the HR department and finding out the particulars regarding your termination and whether or not they reported you to the Board. You might also get the names of good attorneys just in case you are sued or get called before the Board of Nursing.

I would review the situation occurring around your mistake. You really need to take a look at the root cause of the mistake. Then, when you go to a new prospective employer and they ask about this job you have a prepared and polished answer to their questions. It would look better if you acknowledge your mistake, discuss the situation surrounding the mistake, what you learned from it, and why it will not occur again. You might also help yourself by taking some continuing education classes regarding medical error prevention and let the prospective employer have a copy of the completion certificate if this situation comes up.

very good advice especially about taking a continuing ed course to ensure that the proper steps are taken to not make the mistakes again.

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Dear all helpful nurses,

Thanks for replying me. I will go back to HR and see if I can get any letter.

I plan to do the visiting nurse as they needed bilingual nurse very much. I wish I can get an offer from that..

I have been stayed at home for 2 weeks, home load, car load, debt at home, my duagther school fee.. home bills.. I can't even breathe.

I am reviewing the ANCC (med-surg) this moment, I wonder, if I take this exam.. will it help me to get a job easier?

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Why can't you use the med surg mgr for a reference?

I do.. as I did very well those year with med surg, my manager likes me a lot. just because it is too far away from home. it tooks me 1 hour 15 min on commute (1 way).

If new employer asks me why I quit the med -surg job.. I would tell them because my live-in nanny got breast cancer (it is real, she was having chemo, and she took no-pay leave from us, therefore, my husband has to quit his job and stay home).. Can I use this reason?

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Specializes in ED, ICU, Heme/Onc.
I do.. as I did very well those year with med surg, my manager likes me a lot. just because it is too far away from home. it tooks me 1 hour 15 min on commute (1 way).

If new employer asks me why I quit the med -surg job.. I would tell them because my live-in nanny got breast cancer (it is real, she was having chemo, and she took no-pay leave from us, therefore, my husband has to quit his job and stay home).. Can I use this reason?

I wouldn't get into a long story like that when interviewing. Simply stating that it was too long of a commute is all that is necessary. I never mention my family when interviewing. I wouldn't want a manager to "unofficially" take the fact that I might miss work because of a sick child from time to time into account. I'd want to be judged on my skills alone. The less drama, the better.

Blee

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Dear all,

I went back to HR yesterday and they said that they don't have any termination letter for the staff. I got my last pay check and I left.

My husband keeps asking me to call the recruiter to see if she can help me to get another job in the same hospital in another field.. is that possible? (but I feel so bad.. to do it..)

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