Where do begin? I have been an LPN for 1 year in 2 months and unfortunately during this period I have had 5! nursing jobs. yes 5.
(1) I started off in a nursing home, just to find my niche I didn't like it but I needed a form of income and I needed some experience in the field. Two months in the DON called me and said, he thinks that its best that he let me go. He didn't give me a specific reason, but during my orientation the nurses that trained me had to evaluate how I was doing, so I assumed that did not do well during orientation. Like I said, I did not like the nursing home, I had 30-32 patients to care for and I just did not feel safe nor happy.
(2) My second job was in a pediatric home health, I was working for a family and one of the orders called for me to put cotton ball in the little boy's ears as he had surgery 2 days before. Well, I did put cotton ball in my patient ear but I had soaked and drained it with H.Peroxide. Well, the next day the family called the agency and said I put a wet cotton ball in the boys ears. The order stated for me to cleaned around the boy's ear with a cotton tip and H.peroxide and then placed a cotton ball in his ear. My mistake was I misunderstood what the outgoing nurse was telling me before she left about the patient new orders. My fault. It was a med error and the agency said I cannot work for them unless I complete a med error CEU. I never completed it, so never went back to work for them. Although, 6 months later they were still calling me to come work for them because they need nurses so bad. I didn't the patients they assign me usually live 45-50 minutes away and I just couldn't put myself through that again.
(3) My third job was a nursing home again. This lasted a month and a few weeks. I mentioned that I do not like the nursing home. I don't. But my mom work in this particular nursing home and she gave told the DON about me. Well, since my mom has been there for 5 years and a good worker they hired me. Well, I had so much patient work load that I did not do my treatments, although I charted that I did. This led to me having a meeting with the DON and 4 other people in administration. I was so nervous at that meeting that I told myself that I never want to be in such a position again. I felt humiliated, embarrassed, and just incompetent as a nurse. I was first suspended, but then let go. They informed me that they would report me to the BON. well it's been 8 months, have not gotten anything from the BON and I've checked my license online and it says I'm in good standing no complaints.
(4) My fourth job was at a pediatric clinic. i did not like it much as I felt I was losing many of my skills. I mostly gave immunizations to babies and worked on the doctor's schedule for the week. I worked there for 4 months but then i had to leave due to the fact that I started an RN program and the schedule would conflict with my work schedule. The manager loved me, got great reviews from them. I still felt bad though due to my recent firing. My self esteem just plummeted and Im still feeling like somethings wrong with me. Anyways, I did not get fired from this job, I left due to school.
(5) I am currently working for 2 agencies. one is a pediatric agency and the other is a pediatric and adult agency. Well, yesterday I got fired from the pediatric agency. The reason is I document that I left at my scheduled time when in reality I left 30 minutes early three time. Did I think they would find out? yeah. Did I think it was an issue. I did. I literally cannot figure out any reason as to why I charted that I left at 0700 when in reality I left at 0630. At the other agency I work for, one of the parents always let me leave early and she said I can still write down the time I left as the time I was scheduled. in my head, I started to think it was no longer a big deal so i did it with this agency. I know in nursing school they teach us not to do this, I hate that I'm not abiding by the things that I was taught in school and letting others influence my judgement. I knew it was a big deal and I did it anyway. I'm sure the other nurses that work with the pediatric/adult agency leave early but chart their scheduled time cause the guardian (mom) said its ok. Anyways, got called into the office today and I was let go. It is considered insurance fraud. in total I lied and said I worked 1 hour and 30 minutes. The DON were saying that the insurance company might not think its a big deal they might just say "oh, its only 1 hour and let it go. they do not think that I was trying to be malicious. but they have to report it to the BON. Two of the times I left, the patient had an appointment in the morning so he had to leave at 0530 but I charted that I left at 0600. the other time I left early is when I emailed the agency saying that I can now work 12 hours form 7pm-7am. well it wasn't suppose to start that particular week, but the following cause I have nursing clinical in the morning. Hence I left at 0630 but charted i left at 7. The DON was saying it all depends on how the BON choose to handle it.
I do not know what's wrong with me. I've never been fired before until I started nursing. I'm a few months from graduating an RN program and I still cannot get my act together. I want to treat this as a lesson learned. I'm feeling stupid cause I've been fired so many times. I'm still working for the pediatric/adult agency but I am going to chart the correct time that I leave, at the end of the day the I have to protect my license no one else. Does anyone know how long it will take for the BON to contact me? will they make a big deal over 1 hour and 30 minutes? My first year of nursing was rough. I take full responsibility. I am so embarrassed that I created another account to write this although my other account is not even lay real name. I need to remember all the handwork I put in into obtaining my license and not let it go so easily. What's wrong with me? I just do not think that I am learning from my mistakes as a normal human being would.
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
You stated you have only ever been reported to the BON once. Thing is, most of us go our entire career without ever being reported, let alone in the first year.
Do I think you are the worst nurse possible? Of course not. But you are up there. Do I think people can change? Yes...with hard work. And you have told us in multiple different stories and posts that hard work is not your forte.
I have sent myself to counseling if for no other reason just to sort out my feelings for myself. And maybe you will be able to do the same - and while you're at it find out why you undermine all of your hard work and efforts.
Specializes in LTC Management, Community Nursing, HHC.
Where do begin? I have been an LPN for 1 year in 2 months and unfortunately during this period I have had 5! nursing jobs. yes 5.
In reading your post all I could find were excuses - the previous nurse gave you the wrong instructions for the patient's meds, you don't like nursing homes, you don't like having too many patients, your job would be too far away, you knew you didn't like nursing homes but you applied anyway because your mom works there, you just had to leave your private duty job early because of appointments and because of your patient telling you that you could. Was ANY of this your fault? Why didn't you take the CEUs for your med error? Even if you couldn't work for that company again you should have completed the CEU so that you could learn how to avoid med errors in the future.
My main comment for you though is that FALSIFYING RECORDS is a major No-No, and you should not be doing that. You lied about treatments that you didn't do, and you talk about feeling humiliated because of that meeting with the DON and the rest of the management team. Did you even learn your lesson? The question you should be asking yourself if why you have such poor work ethic, and how to fix that. As for your leaving early, it doesn't matter that your patient said you could. YOU have a license, not your patient, and you can lose your license very easily. Even if you're done with your work, you should sit there in your patient's home and do your charting, or plan the rest of your patient visits, or read some journal articles to help you become a better nurse (all of us can improve), or just sit there and talk to your patient, or help her with something that she needs done in the home (that's within your scope of practice). Or at the very least you should call your agency and tell them what's going on before you leave.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Guys! Don't you think that people have the ability to change? Goodness! one would think that I am the WORST nurse in the history of nursing by some of these comments. Anyways, I would like to thank those who offered constructive criticism. I know "Nursing" is what I want to do and I can only get better from here on out.
I think you've had several opportunities to change and have resisted doing so. While you may not be the worst nurse in the history of nursing, you are certainly dishonorable, dishonest and lack integrity. Those are disqualifications from BEING a nurse.
Guys! Don't you think that people have the ability to change? Goodness! one would think that I am the WORST nurse in the history of nursing by some of these comments. Anyways, I would like to thank those who offered constructive criticism. I know "Nursing" is what I want to do and I can only get better from here on out.
This isn't about being a bad nurse, IMO. It's about being a human with questionable ethics and reasoning. Work on that first - taking responsibility for your actions, objectively studying your choices and the results of them, looking honestly at your motivations and goals. Once you get the "being a good human" thing down, it'll be easier to have a shot at being a good nurse.
You should go back to the place you worked well in and see if you can be a relief or work one day a week. You need structure, I don't think you're a bad person at all. You crack easily under pressure. That place seemed low stress for you. I don't think the last one was such a big deal. Don't worry about your skills, we tend to get too caught up with that in nursing.
I am in nursing school and would not think of doing what you did. Charting things you did not do puts an endangerment to your patient's life. If you were my grandmas nurse at her nursing home we would have major problems. I would report you to everyone.
I seriously think she manages to beat herself up without much help. And for all we know she may have already been reported - the BN is not super fast it could take 9 months even to hear from them - they can be a little behind.
She came here to admit her faults in an attempt to straighten her nursing life out and get on the right path it seems.
I feel she will seek the proper help and either decide to correct things in her nursing future and not repeat mistakes or she may find another avenue.
I don't think she came here to be told what clearly she already is aware of.
I have been an LPN for 1 year in 2 months and unfortunately during this period I have had 5! nursing jobs. yes 5. 
jelloqueen
12 Posts
Anyways, I would like to thank those who offered constructive criticism.
It has all been constructive. It is your choice as to whether or not to see it that way.