Hello, from another thread that was deleted I will recap... started May15 and I
got fired on June11 2014 because of my "way of handling frustration in the work place" and I guess my "inability to connect with patients emotionally" per my former manager
(But I did meet every other competency very well and can do everything else an RN career entails)
My first incident, I got mad at the vital signs machine because it wasnt giving me a blood pressure...then I took it out on questioning a medication I didnt understand why the patient was getting. A substitute preceptor and the clinical education lady were present when I took out my frustration on the medication on the screen. I wasnt cursing or anything crazy, just saying " Why am I giving this med??? Im not going to give this, no where in the reference manual does the patient meet criteria of why hes getting Risperdone" I guess it was that big of a deal my manager heard about it. They thought I was 'going out of my scope of practice saying I wanted to hold the med'. I dont know..
Next I had 2 drug user patients that gave me a hard time. One made up some story saying "She doesnt have passion, she just takes it like a job"....My manager and I spoke over this incident, we agreed that Im very task oriented and that the patient took it as I didnt care or have passion. But the other side is this patient is stuck on the floor for 48 day, has a manipulative history thats been documented,the rest of the nurses cant stand him and no one really liked working with this patient etc., I never really had a problem with the guy, I actually thought he wasnt so bad. So that incident through me off completely... whatever, nothing I could really do about that one.
The last patient on my last day there, to make it short..was VERY difficult. She was cocaine drug user, from the hood, recently released from prison etc etc the whole 9 yards. This patient was KNOWN on the floor, history of physically fighting staff:blackeye: (I wasnt warned by my preceptor, it was whispered to me by the PCA's). I had to do her admission right at shift change, she was an angel and cooperative with my preceptor. The minute I was left alone with her to do the admission she did a 360 on me, telling me "Man Shut up, I dont know, I dont care, why are you asking me this stuff, Man put whatever you want, get out" etc all while shifting violently and thrashing sheet and smacking pillows. Had to go to my preceptor 2x and get her to finish the admission form with me. Of course the patient was perfect and we both knew this was all an act.
Im not going to lie I did everything I could and in the end the patient got under my skin, I even felt in my gut she was being racial towards me but w.e, I voiced and vented to my preceptor and I guess it was too much Im not sure. I also asked for her expertise and how can I handle this better next time, tips, phrases etc.
I get a voicemail the next day on my day off from my manager saying dont come n, we need to sit down with the other manager and discuss some things that happened over the weekend. I did some homework on how to handle difficult patients, had some articles printed and brought them with me. Found out that same day of the meeting on Friday I was fired.
They did it very well and professionally, was honestly the best 'You're fired' sit down Ive ever experienced. They gave me good feedback and constructive and positive details and well. Suggested that other branches of nursing might work better for me, it really resonated and had me thinking. It just came down to what I mentioned above; my "way of handling frustration in the work place" and I guess my "inability to connect with patients emotionally". Im going to write them a thank you letter for giving me the opportunity and the time I spent at their facility, I really did learn ALOT. (it was a tele, step down, surgical, med surg, psycho, etc kind of floor, we got everything)
I basically need some expertise, I wanted to know what other avenues of nursing I can take that require much less emotional connection and less family centered care. I would like to do something thats fast paced but not so much customer service oriented. Im great at DOING, the manager emphasized I was VERY intelligent and it kinda blew them away at first............................I guess...lol.
So any ideas will help, I tried looking up odd jobs and very different positions nurses cant take. I was thinking correctional nursing maybe? My dream would be the ER but I need experience and thats my other obstacle, Im a new grad... so I NEED experience regardless what avenue I take all I have is about a month or less experience, handled up to 3 patient at a time.
Any ideas or where I can find an RN career counselor??? Thanks..
Tell me more about it, worse case scenarios, cons and pros, what equipment you use, what specific skills you need etc.
I need your expertise
I'd say you sound perfect for corrections nursing. You will deal with nothing but patients being manipulative and doing the craziest things to get what they want. A very tame example would be faking chest pain in order to sit in the air conditioning of the clinic for a little while. An extreme example? swallowing razor blades or broken glass for a bus trip to the hospital. You sound like a no BS kinda person.
Give it a try. I mean, just go for an interview and see how you feel once you enter the prison. It's a strange feeling just realizing that you are locked in there too, and, as one poster already demonstrated, even that is too much for some.
Try and get into a prison that houses the younger crowd. These will mostly be gansters and that. Those guys are always stabbing each other, so they'll be plenty of fast-pace stuff to deal with. Good luck.
That sounds like alot but I think I can handle it, if I were to follow and precept for a little bit I think Id be great at it. As for ACLS I have it, but I have yet to utilize those skills.. :/
When you pass meds are you telling them side effects and such? I feel if they know what they are they would use those as an excuse to fake s/s and get make sick calls 24/7... am I wrong?..just curious
When you pass meds are you telling them side effects and such? I feel if they know what they are they would use those as an excuse to fake s/s and get make sick calls 24/7... am I wrong?..just curious
If I'm giving a med that's new for them, I will tell some of the common possible side effects. I will also tell them about side effects if they are actually having symptoms. "Your nausea may be from the IV antibiotic you're taking." In general, I always tell patients the names of all the meds their getting, why they're getting it, the route (have to be careful with those eye drops), and the dose if it's new or not the norm, or if it's a specially finicky/anxious patient. For example, "Hi Ms. Jones. I have your pills here (route), I have amlodipine, metoprolol, and 60mg lisinopril (dose) for your blood pressure. The metoprolol also works for your heart rate (reason). I also have your timolol (med) that goes in your left eye (route) for your glaucoma (reason). and I have your IV (route) ceftriaxone (med) for your urinary tract infection (reason)
all I have is about a month or less experience, handled up to 3 patient at a time.
Anonymous666
138 Posts
I'd say you sound perfect for corrections nursing. You will deal with nothing but patients being manipulative and doing the craziest things to get what they want. A very tame example would be faking chest pain in order to sit in the air conditioning of the clinic for a little while. An extreme example? swallowing razor blades or broken glass for a bus trip to the hospital. You sound like a no BS kinda person.
Give it a try. I mean, just go for an interview and see how you feel once you enter the prison. It's a strange feeling just realizing that you are locked in there too, and, as one poster already demonstrated, even that is too much for some.
Try and get into a prison that houses the younger crowd. These will mostly be gansters and that. Those guys are always stabbing each other, so they'll be plenty of fast-pace stuff to deal with. Good luck.