interviewing after assaulted by patient

[fiveofpeep]

I have been waiting a while to feel safe enough to be able to seek support from all of you at Allnurses and it is still too soon for me to divulge everything, but I need your help.

Over the last eight months I have been going through the worst time of my life. I was assaulted by a patient and rendered temporarily disabled and was treated very poorly in the process. I have been staying current by studying for the CCRN and although I am not yet ready to go back to work, I will be well enough soon (God willing).

In the interim, I had to settle for the worker's comp lawsuit (I did not want to have to sue but was being treated very poorly). Consequently, I had to resign from my position when I accepted the settlement. The settlement is very modest and only will help me survive the next couple months until I can get back on my feet.

Where you come in

I am very anxious about how it will go for me when I start applying for jobs. I am afraid to disclose the real reason for my previous resignation because of the stigma of back injuries & worker's comp in nursing.

As I understand it, if a future employer checked with HR, they would only be able to say the dates I began work and resigned (and that they won't rehire me) and they would have no way of sharing my disability.

I need your advice on how I should explain why I resigned instead of continuing to work like I assume most people would do in this economy before being hired elsewhere. I want to tell the truth, but I know how nursing is now and I need to look after myself.

I am so upset over all this. Critical Care/Nursing has always been my passion. I worked so hard to get where I am and I just want my career and my health back. I am having difficulty recovering because I am so stressed about my financial future. The last few months have been a struggle with absolutely no income (not even WC benefits or disability) and I can't imagine more months of unemployment ahead.

I am really looking for your support and guidance. Any help or words of encouragement is appreciated (Job leads are great too ). I have been wanting to share my troubles with you all for so long but didn't feel safe doing so, until now and I am sorry for how vague I am being, but I am still very paranoid after everything that happened to me.

Thank you so much in advance.

[GHGoonette, BSN, RN]

Fiveofpeep, so sorry you've had to go through this :hug: How traumatic, not only to be assaulted to such an extent, but to receive no support from your employers!

I can't offer anything in the way of advice; where I live you would be protected by anti-discrimination laws and very strict labor laws; employers would not get away with that here!

I'll be very interested in reading responses from other members. Good luck with your studies, and I hope you find your dream job!

[fiveofpeep]

Thank you :)

[rn/writer, RN]

If I were a prospective employer and you told me you had taken time off to recover after being assaulted by a patient, I would admire your courage and want to at least give you an interview.

I'm assuming that the "not eligible for rehire" part stems from the worker's comp suit. If you explain that you didn't want to go that route but your former employer treated you so shabbily that this was your only option, that might make sense.

I would advise you to check out places you want to work and contact the unit managers directly. If they like your resume and cover letter, they'll probably still have to refer you to HR, but HR will then take you seriously. I know of so many cases, myself among them, where HR either dropped the ball or screened out people the managers would like to have seen. With one of my jobs (on call) I could have gotten hired a year earlier if HR hadn't messed up. Too many HR people think it's their job to weed out all but the most perfect candidates. Managers aren't even shown some folks they would have been fine with at least interviewing.

I hope you got counseling after the attack. It's as important to restore the inside as it is to repair the outside.

I wish you the best.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

The reason you ended up in that position was because of what was done TO you.... there's no shame or 'character defect' in you that should effect a future employer.

I wouldn't bring it up- but if asked, just be honest about the attack- and needing time to recover; I wouldn't mention the lawsuit.

I'm sorry that happened

:hug:

[rn/writer, RN]

She might have to explain why she is not eligible for rehire. Without knowing about the situation beforehand the HR folks might toss her application. If they have a reasonable explanation, they may decide not to hold it against her.

[fiveofpeep]

If I were a prospective employer and you told me you had taken time off to recover after being assaulted by a patient, I would admire your courage and want to at least give you an interview.

That is a thought I hadn't considered. You are turning my misfortune into a strength. I need to think more like you :)

I'm assuming that the "not eligible for rehire" part stems from the worker's comp suit.

yes

Thank you for the advice re: HR. I was planning on doing that. I am going to try to be just as conscientious as I was when I was a new grad and I hope it will be less difficult now that I at least have experience.

I will consider talking to someone about all that I have been through. I don't harbor any anger/resentment/anxiety towards the patient, and I think at this point when it comes to my employer, I just want to move on, but I should talk about it and see if there is anything I can work on. I focus so much on fixing my physical injuries, that I forget about the emotional ones.

Thanks for the support :)

[rn/writer, RN]

Re: the counseling. If you have not been in a patient care situation since the attack (haven't gone back to the scene of the crime, so to speak), you might want to look into seeing if you have any flashbacks or other problems when put back into that environment.

A good therapist can help you identify and work through any s/s of PTSD or other snags. It would be wise to check this out before you start working again.

I really admire your strength and persistence.

[fiveofpeep]

The reason you ended up in that position was because of what was done TO you.... there's no shame or 'character defect' in you that should effect a future employer.

I wouldn't bring it up- but if asked, just be honest about the attack- and needing time to recover; I wouldn't mention the lawsuit.

Thank you for your support :)

Yeah I am curious to see what the consensus will be regarding explaining the lawsuit upfront or not. I will probably learn through trial and error, too--which responses were negative and what I should avoid in the future.

I'm just worried that they will see lawsuit and immediately drop me.

My other concern is if I open up about the disability, they might want to know exactly how much time I took off and I would rather not share that information because I feel it would negatively impact me. They might be concerned about my competency, for example, or worry that if I had to miss work in the past, I might have to miss work in the future.

It's just so frustrating that I even have to worry about these things, because you're right; I did not do anything to cause this and trust me, I only did the law suit because I had no other choice and it protected my career at the time, although it doesnt seem to be doing me any favors now.

I feel blacklisted and it is so frustrating because it's not like I was negligent. I was trying to prevent my patient from hurting himself and instead I am the one who is hurt and it's my career that could potentially be ruined so early on

Thanks again

[fiveofpeep]

Re: the counseling. If you have not been in a patient care situation since the attack (haven't gone back to the scene of the crime, so to speak), you might want to look into seeing if you have any flashbacks or other problems when put back into that environment.

A good therapist can help you identify and work through any s/s of PTSD or other snags. It would be wise to check this out before you start working again.

I really admire your strength and persistence.

Thank you. I am glad you brought this up. I am promising myself right now that I will take advantage of this remaining time off work to see someone.

[rn/writer, RN]

That's a really good plan. It could be that you'll be just fine, but you'll be more confident if you know that ahead of time. And if there is any work to do, you can take advantage of your remaining time off and not be surprised at a new job.

I'm so glad you posted and let us know what you're going through. Please, update us with the job search and let us know if you need cheerleading.

Gentle hugs.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

Thank you for your support :)

Yeah I am curious to see what the consensus will be regarding explaining the lawsuit upfront or not. I will probably learn through trial and error, too--which responses were negative and what I should avoid in the future.

I'm just worried that they will see lawsuit and immediately drop me.

My other concern is if I open up about the disability, they might want to know exactly how much time I took off and I would rather not share that information because I feel it would negatively impact me. They might be concerned about my competency, for example, or worry that if I had to miss work in the past, I might have to miss work in the future.

It's just so frustrating that I even have to worry about these things, because you're right; I did not do anything to cause this and trust me, I only did the law suit because I had no other choice and it protected my career at the time, although it doesnt seem to be doing me any favors now.

I feel blacklisted and it is so frustrating because it's not like I was negligent. I was trying to prevent my patient from hurting himself and instead I am the one who is hurt and it's my career that could potentially be ruined so early on

Thanks again

Yeah- that's the only reason I'd not bring up the lawsuit initially.

About disability... even though you're doing ok now (relative), get any disability insurance you can :) You may never need it- or you could break an ankle walking the dog and be off for six months with pins, screws, and rehab.... I always insured myself to the max, and it was good I did. I've been disabled for 7+ years- and without the portion the insurance pays, I'd be in a bad way :) I recommend it to anyone- nobody plans on being off work

Good luck with all of this- please report back when you get a job :) Cheering for you from the sidelines