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.

[fiveofpeep]

I worked on the legal side of medicine for a few years, and I would NOT bring up the lawsuit to potential employers. That information is confidential and it should remain confidential. A close friend of mine recently received a settlement against her company because of sexual harassment. She was able to continue working within the same industry and neither she nor the company she received the settlement from has said anything about it. Also, I don't know if they can legally say that they won't hire you; I'm pretty sure they only give dates and the typical response to the eligible for rehire question is no response. Also because you were already involved with them with the settlement, they won't want you coming back for further suits. If they're smart, they will let you go nicely and not make any fuss over it.

This is very encouraging. I hope that this will be the case. And I can't imagine that every nurse who is not eligible for rehire never works as a nurse again. I know this economy is tough, but I can't imagine being worse off now than I was as a new grad and I still got a job then. Thank you!

One more suggestion, just in case you're afraid of not getting hired on in your current area is to look into moving to another area. I know this might not be possible with your situation, but it's just a consideration.

I am definitely going to be applying country-wide and I am also considering travel nursing. Does anyone know if travel nursing would be less interested in why I wasn't eligible for rehire?

[fiveofpeep]

i am so sorry you are going through this....a very good friend of mine went through this and if you weren't in ca i'd thinking you were at the same facility.

http://www.massnurses.org/health-and-safety/articles/workplace-violence/p/openitem/1629 she also gives seminars about surviving workplace violence.

http://www.reachmd.com/xmsegment.aspx?sid=3542

you did nothing to deserve this and the hospital is amoral for allowing you to go through this alone!!!!!! charlene knows exactly where you are comming from and she decided to blow the whislte loudly!!! so she fights back everyday teaching other nurses how to heal and find that strength.....my prayers xoxo

i read the link you provided and i cried because what she says is exactly how i feel. i associate my identity very closely with being a nurse and not being able to be one has damaged my self worth and rippled through the rest of my life. my story is almost exactly like hers. it feels good to know that i am not alone, but i wish no one else had to go through this and i know that it could have been much worse.

i am going to try to get in contact with them. thank you so much for sharing this.

[fiveofpeep]

I wonder if you might tell in a general way how you were assaulted so others can learn from it... The risks we face daily are scary...we often don't even think about them.

I do not feel comfortable sharing too many details, but I was attacked by my patient while attempting to prevent him from pulling out very important life-sustaining tubes. He was emergently psychotic with no previous history or obvious causative factors. We were very short staffed and I did not even think to call a code grey because it all happened very quickly. Lesson learned. Look out for yourself. Call a code grey.

Another person I met through this process was pushed by a patient and hurt their knee as a result.

I've also seen a nurse bit through the glove and skin by a patient when checking NGT placement.

I've also heard of people kicked, punched by patients while trying to prevent patients from getting out of bed.

One nurse had her finger broken because while checking for grip strength the patient squeezed and pulled her hands maliciously.

A sitter was punched in the face by a patient

These are just some that I can think of off the top of my head. Be careful out there.

One other comment... I had an open workman's comp claim for a back injury when offered a new job. --All the new employer wanted to know was if I had any work limitations. I did not. They hired me.

This is encouraging. How did you broach the topic? Did you have to miss work? How did you explain missed work?

Thank you so much for the support and kind words!

[RNfaster]

Per your question "How did you broach the topic? Did you have to miss work? How did you explain missed work?":

I brought it up after the offer. I stated that I had an open claim for an injury (a patient started to fall and I tried to prevent it, but was taken down with the pt) and that I was cleared for work. The manager said, that's all we need to know - you're good to go...

I think sometimes when we have faced a traumatic situation, we are on guard for additional difficulties. I think that your experience has made you wiser and a better nurse. --I am now very aware of positioning and safety relative to unstable pts. --I am aware that they can get hurt and I can, too! (The doctor seeing me after the injury told me to let the pt fall next time. I have to now say, I agree with her. If I am not in the correct position to safely take them down, I won't. Of course, sometimes you just reflexively try to protect someone...but I am working on awareness....)

Your experience has made me decide to be more careful. I will try to learn from your examples. One item --I'm also going to purchase some goggles. My current unit does not have eye shields available. I recently emptied a drain on someone HIV+ and HepC+... I thought to myself, "this could splash"...I knew we didn't have eye shields and I didn't have time to try to fruitlessly locate them, so I just carefully drained it. Uneventfully. But--there's always the time that something surprising happens...

[BCgradnurse, MSN, RN, NP]

Fiveofpeep,

I'm so sorry you had to go through this. It's unconscionable to me that your employer didn't do right by you, but sadly, I'm not surprised. My workplace is the same way.

I'd be honest if asked about your situation, but I don't think I'd offer too much info up front. It's not that you did anything wrong, but I think HR people get squirrely when they hear about a Workman's Comp issue. It's not fair, but that's how it is. I'd try to contact unit managers or DONs directly when looking for a new job. I think they'd have a lot of admiration for you for getting back on your feet and staying in nursing.

Best of luck to you. Take care of yourself physically and emotionally, and let us know how you're doing.

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

I feel the need to caution you about posting more details about your situation, since you never know who's reading here...

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

When you feel read to work again consider getting an agency job then you check out a variety of places, get known by staff and decide which you would like to work at as a permanent position.

Good Luck, May God heal you and help you find a better job that will be safe!

[fiveofpeep]

I feel the need to caution you about posting more details about your situation, since you never know who's reading here...

Thank you. I have been very vague and don't plan on sharing anything more.

[fiveofpeep]

When you feel read to work again consider getting an agency job then you check out a variety of places, get known by staff and decide which you would like to work at as a permanent position.

This is a good idea. I have been considering this for just that reason. Thank you.

[maelstrom143]

You have gotten some excellent advice that I could not improve upon, imho. I just want to wish you good luck and best wishes in your job hunt :hug:

[RNfaster]

Good luck. I think you were vague and that you are not alone in your experience. I appreciate your guidance and hope that you have been helped by feedback from me and others. --I agree with another writer that some HR folks can be skittish... But on the other hand, I have found some to be not. --I was surprised that they didn't care about my prior injury (that I was still being seen for)...they just wanted to know I could currently perform my duties...

It's hard when you have had a company (people in it) not do right by you... There's got to be something better out there... It may take a bit of time in this tough economy... It's hard for everyone out there. Your experience will be a strong asset to you. :)

[fiveofpeep]

Thank you so very much RNFaster. You have helped me so much. You all have :)

I will keep you updated as things progress.