Just Fired, Need Interview & Resume Advice

[MelissaPhoographerRN]

I posted this on the career advice page, but there doesn't seem to be much traffic over there. Sorry if this is long, want to give the whole story. I'm a fairly new RN I graduated in the summer of '07, so I have a year and a half of experience. After school I worked as an RN on a cardiac/tele floor sometimes being pulled to CCU/ICU. A lot of the time I was the charge nurse on the floor and in charge of the rest of the RNs, LPNs, CNAs and the rest of the staff. I was on the code/rapid response team and also trained new employees. I never had any issues at this job, never any verbal or written warnings.

My husband had a job transfer so I had to quit and got a new job as an ER nurse and have worked there for the past 6 months until I was fired last week. The ER I worked in was very busy and usually understaffed (where isn't?). The night of the "incident". Four hours into my shift I got pulled to take a group of 5 patients from a nurse who was getting off for the night. It was a very high acuity group and she was in a very bad mood and gave me a crappy report before leaving.

I had a homeless TB patient who would curse at me every time I went in his room and he wouldn't let me touch him, let alone start the needed IV or take vital signs. He refused to stay in his room and would not wear a mask when he left his isolation room even after multiple call to security to come get him back in his room. My next patient was a quadriplegic who could TALK and not let me out of the room and wanted IV pain/anxiety/nausea meds every 30 minutes. I had a patient who needed admitted to ICU and was on a drip for his blood pressure that required me to be in the room titrating it every 15 minutes, plus he was wanting to sign out AMA, so the Dr, my supervisor for the shift, and I were in his room multiple times trying to get him to stay as he was obviously at high risk for a brain bleed because his pressure was so high. I got a new patient from the waiting room right when i got there who had abdominal pain. We also had no tech, so I was doing the job of 2 people.

OK, here is the story of my 5th patient and the one with the incident that got me fired. She had already arrived by EMS before I took the group from the previous nurse. As I was getting report from her the charge nurse from day shift was in the room triaging her and getting her settled. When she finished she never came to give me report on the patient and put the entire chart over with the Dr, so I didn't even have anything to read about the patient. All I knew was she was having lady partsl bleeding. I left the floor to take one of my patients up stairs to their room and while I was gone she was seen by the Dr and her husband came out complaining that I had not come in after the Dr to start the IV and such. So, the charge nurse (a new one as it was change of shifts) went in and started the IV and whatever other orders for me while I was upstairs. When I got back downstairs she told me that she had got her IV started for me and she should be settled for awhile. I asked her what was going on w/ the patient as I had not gotten any report on her. She said "She's pregnant, lady partsl bleeding, they brought in a container with what she had passed at home, but I didn't look in it, it's sitting in the room." When I went in there was a container inside of a grocery bag sitting on top of the linnen cart that I left there for the Dr to look at.

So, a few minutes later the husband came out and wanted me to check the patient as she felt like she was bleeding a lot. I went in and she had several disposable pads under her, they were relatively clean and I told them she wasn't bleeding to heavily and the pad was still clean. The family asked me a few questions that I answered for them. I had no problems with the family, they were friendly and never complained to me about anything. After getting an U/S and a couple of bags of fluids she was being discharged. I went in, unhooked her IV. The bag still had about 200cc in it, so I draped it over the edge of the sink to drain. She had her bloody panties and shorts in the sink, but on the other side away from where the fluids were draining. I was planning to get her a bag to take them home in as soon as I finished up getting her discharge vital signs and taking out her IV. Well, her pulse was in the 130's, so I told them I would go discuss it with the Dr and be back. Well, to make it short she ended up staying and was waiting to be admitted because they were thinking she had an infection somewhere because her WBC were slightly high and all of the fluids hadn't brought her pulse down. I hooked her to the monitor where we watched her pulse at times hit 160's.

So, at 3AM it was time for me to go home and I gave report to the LPN who was taking over her care. As I was finishing report the husband came out and asked me if I would clean her up again. I told him sure and I would be right in to do it before I went home as soon as I finished up giving report. Well, I ended up getting a phone call about my ICU patient and getting totally detracted with him and forgot to go back in there before I left. So, the husband wrote a letter saying I had no compassion or their loss (she did miscarry), which I feel is totally not true as I spent time in the room talking to them and answering questions about what to expect and such. AND said that the fetus was in the sink and that I placed trash on top of it and left it laying in the sink. If there was a fetus anywhere in that sink her clothes were piled on top of it. The family never said ANYTHING to me about them thinking the fetus was in the sink, neither did the prior charge nurses who had triaged her and provided her care. Nor did they bother to remove it from the sink if they new it was there.

So, I got fired for not properly disposing of a fetus that I knew nothing about. She was not very far along, so it's not like she gave birth to a full term baby that I didn't see. She was only a few weeks along. It just makes me so upset that they think I would leave a fetus in the sink if I knew that it was there. I never thought I would be fired over a patient who I had good rapport with complaining about me. I just figured it would be one of those patients from he** who you can't do anything right with. I consider myself a good nurse, I care deeply for my patients, sometimes crying along side them when they're scared and get bad news. I worked my butt off for that place, usually getting no break longer than to go pee a couple of times even though I'm pregnant. I've gone 15 hours with out eating while pregnant trying to take good care of my patients.

I have had one written warning for not having my charting quite up to par. That night I had a overdose/drunk patient who had already fallen once before EMS even left the bedside along with her drunk boyfriend. Another night that there was no tech or secretary. I called the charge nurse to please come help me, she told me there was nobody to help and hung up on me. But then proceeded to write me up when she had to come take over my patients and not everything was done. She would also be one of the charge nurses who took care of my miscarriage patient. So, I know she didn't speak up to cover my butt.

I'm just curious how I explain all of this in an interview and on resumes. All of the hospitals I am applying to have me fill out an application on line and all want an explanation of why you left each job. I am going to send a grievance to HR to try to get the termination off of my record and possibly a chance to go back to work there until I can fin something else. I have no desire to go back there as I now see how stressed I was and that I haven't even been sleeping because I'm constantly waking myself up talking in my sleep because I'm dreaming I'm still at work! Any advice is appreciated. My biggest concern is how to quickly describe this with out lying on the application so I stand a chance at getting an interview.

[rntofnp2014]

I just want to tell you I have been there before myself, obviously different circumstances. The best advice I can give you is to hush, quit telling this story, and apply for other jobs pronto to keep the income rolling in. From my experience, you will have to list each employer as a reference, and they will only be able to check employment dates and not anything else, really. Have some former co-workers write letters of recommendation for you, email them from home if you have to, and submit copies of those along with contact information with each resume or at every interview. I guarantee you can say whatever you want to as far as the reason why you left.... They (new employers) cannot legally get that info since prior employers cannot legally offer that information. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, cry when you want to, and refocus. Then, get back out there, gal, and go back to being an A1 nurse. You can do this.

And, hey, you don't have to list terminated and I wouldnt waste your time haggling with HR. They back up whoever made the decision to can you. They will never back you up. It's no one's business but yours. I know (I can see) you feel overwhelmed, frustrated, and scared, but this really is NOT a career stopper. You did nothing illegal. You weren't even technically wrong. IMHO places who treat their staff this way are looking for reasons.... Try to find a decent place to work in next time where people aren't so petty. Think big city/anonymitiy....

[morte, LPN, LVN]

I just want to tell you I have been there before myself, obviously different circumstances. The best advice I can give you is to hush, quit telling this story, and apply for other jobs pronto to keep the income rolling in. From my experience, you will have to list each employer as a reference, and they will only be able to check employment dates and not anything else, really. Have some former co-workers write letters of recommendation for you, email them from home if you have to, and submit copies of those along with contact information with each resume or at every interview. I guarantee you can say whatever you want to as far as the reason why you left.... They (new employers) cannot legally get that info since prior employers cannot legally offer that information. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, cry when you want to, and refocus. Then, get back out there, gal, and go back to being an A1 nurse. You can do this.

unfortunately, in some states, they have passed immunity laws....the ex employer can indeed share with the prospective new employer anything that is TRUTHFUL, of course that would be THEIR truth....have you filled for unemployment yet?

[MelissaPhoographerRN]

No, in Georgia I don't qualify since I was terminated.

[MelissaPhoographerRN]

But what do I type into that box that says "Please explain reason for leaving job."? I can't just leave it blank!

some have told me to say "I left to pursue other career goals." "My work ethics did not match my employers." Or "Their policies did not reflect my work ethic." To me this is all a way of telling a big fat white lie. It would be different if it was something along those lines, but it's not.

[rntofnp2014]

Just say simply that you wanted a different experience, that this wasn't what you thought it would be? It really doesn't matter. Leave it blank and explain in interview that you needed to move on.... take time off.... rethink the direction of your career.... etc... I doubt that anyone would question such answers... and besides, as far as I know (other than the post from morte) it is illegal for prior employers to say negative things about you, including about termination, even if they are true. ask an atty in your area, to be sure... pick fights you can win, you won't win against your former employer. move on and be successful knowing the lessons you learned cost you dearly.

[cruisin_woodward]

Wow, wow wow! That SUCKS!! I am sorry that happened to you! It really sounds like that could have happened to anyone under the circumstances..I would definately file a greivence. They usually work, b/c they don't want to get sued. This is why I "write things uP" when days are like that. No one has your back. Unfortunately, I have no advice for you... I think a manager needs to answer these questions. I am sure that they will tell you to be honest, but in order to even get an interview, you need to know what to write on the application....Hmmmm...Good luck, please keep me posted!

[morte, LPN, LVN]

simply write in"will explain at time of interview"....and have a VERY good and practiced rendition.......i am picking up a little guilt here....if the facts are as you present them, and i have no reason to doubt that they are, get over the guilty feellings, they will be like a radar beam for any interviewer.....

[amarilla, RN]

She was not very far along, so it's not like she gave birth to a full term baby that I didn't see. She was only a few weeks along.

I'm not a nurse, but I've been in this woman's shoes as a patient, (a bit further along when it happened to me, unfortunately.) It's statements like these - coming from a pregnant nurse, worse yet - which can minimize and disregard someone's loss. What you may have felt wasn't really a baby was very real to the parents who lost the child.

I agree with the poster who suggested to let this story rest and not try to retell it to defend yourself to a prospective employer. After all, you never know who you're talking to; if you told this story to me, for example, I wouldn't feel kindly toward the comment above justifying yourself, particularly when you've mentioned the family wrote a letter describing a lack of compassion toward their loss.

I'd write a short list of former coworkers, managers, and peers who I can count on for a recommendation and go from there.

Best,

Southern

[morte, LPN, LVN]

I'm not a nurse, but I've been in this woman's shoes as a patient, (a bit further along when it happened to me, unfortunately.) It's statements like these - coming from a pregnant nurse, worse yet - which can minimize and disregard someone's loss. What you may have felt wasn't really a baby was very real to the parents who lost the child.

I agree with the poster who suggested to let this story rest and not try to retell it to defend yourself to a prospective employer. After all, you never know who you're talking to; if you told this story to me, for example, I wouldn't feel kindly toward the comment above justifying yourself, particularly when you've mentioned the family wrote a letter describing a lack of compassion toward their loss.

I'd write a short list of former coworkers, managers, and peers who I can count on for a recommendation and go from there.

Best,

Southern

southern, i think you missed her point, i dont believe she was denying the loss at all, simply stating that IF the remains were there, they were very small......and if you read carefully, that which they brought with them was not in the sink....but on top of the linen cart.....

[MelissaPhoographerRN]

I didn't say I didn't think it was a baby. I consider any size fetus a baby and human life. I was just pointing out that it was very tiny, so I didn't know it was under the pile of clothes. It would be very hard to miss an 8lb baby, a little easier to miss one the size of a kiwi.

[johnst10]

"i just want to tell you i have been there before myself, obviously different circumstances. the best advice i can give you is to hush, quit telling this story, and apply for other jobs pronto to keep the income rolling in."

i have also been there. i would agree with the people who have observed that you are a compassionate and attentive nurse who was in an untenable situation.

in my case i observed that as the company grew the position was different from what i started with and had enjoyed, so decided to terminate the position. in reality this was what happened! i was put on a performance improvement because i would not do what i felt was wrong for the business. it was a very sad day.

as far as the resume! you have some great outcome data to put with your positions. what a win