Is my CNA job in danger?

[inprocess]

I'm a prenursing student. I began working as a CNA a few weeks ago at an assisted living community. I got sick this week and wasn't sure I would be well enough today to work safely around elderly clients. So yesterday I called in sick and gave them 24 hours notice. The human resources manager snapped that I was still within my 90-day probationary period and hung up on me. Can they fire me for being sick? If they do, what do I do about my resume? I need to have at least 50 hours of direct patient contact to apply for nursing school. I wouldn't be able to use this facility as evidence of that. And would dismissal stop me from getting another CNA job? What do I do?

[Scottishtape]

Yes, they can fire you for being sick. That's part of being within your probationary period. Also, in many states, you can be fired at any time for any reason.

That said, I don't think they will actually fire you. I think she was irritated and didn't handle the situation very well. If, however, they do fire you, I wouldn't put that on my resume since you've only worked there for a few weeks. It will not stop you from getting another position. You need 50 hours of hands on care - that's really not hard to do. If you're working full time, that's a week and a half. If you're working part time, that's like 2 weeks.

Try not to panic, but I would be more careful in the future about whether I needed to call in while still so new at a position.

Good luck!