Just got fired-AGAIN!

Based on what you say in your post perhaps you are right. At least it would seem to be so when you are not on your meds. If you are not going to make the sacrifice to pay for your meds in order to be able to cope with the working world, maybe you should do it for yourself, so that day to day living becomes manageable. We have to draw our lines somewhere. Best wishes.

I'm sorry about your job and your financial difficulties. I know what it's like to have a hard time affording meds---I am currently on unemployment benefits of $360 per week---but being stable is my #1 priority, and if I want to do that, I have to take my meds. They are not optional. So I make sacrifices to be able to buy them, such as cutting back on cable TV channels, keeping electricity use to a minimum, and staying out of Bath & Body Works (which is harder for me than you might think). I don't eat out or go to movies, and I run all of my errands in one trip to save on gasoline. It's tough and it's boring, but my sanity is worth it.

Some of the other things you can do to get help paying for your meds: ask your doctor for generic versions of your meds whenever possible, and if you're on any of the newer meds that don't yet have generics, you can often get samples from your doctor. I also recommend that you apply to the manufacturer(s) of your drugs for their patient assistance programs. It's a bit of paperwork, but it might mean you can get your meds for free or at a vastly reduced price. You can also seek help from your local churches and charities, and maybe even from your county mental health clinic depending on your income.

Where there's a will, there's always a way to get the medications you need. You just have to make it non-negotiable in your own mind, because it sounds like your life is not going well, and it's apt to continue unraveling as long as you're not adequately medicated. Again, you have my sympathies; I too have lost jobs because of my condition (bipolar 1) which makes it difficult for me to stay focused or to handle multiple priorities. I don't necessarily believe you're not cut out for nursing; you've proven you have staying power, and ANYONE can make mistakes. Who knows what you can accomplish if you take your meds consistently? It's worth finding out, IMHO.

You must have figured out by now what works for you. Never mind the stigma or the judgement. They're not you. A job loss is demoralizing, but also a message from the Universe that you're not in the right situation. Nurses are notorious for taking care of themselves last. We all need to rethink that strategy. Do what works for you.

Good luck to you.

Hey, Viva,

How did you come back from being fired? All the jobs I've applied for have asked me for info on my last place of employment. I'm so afraid they're gonna call my boss whose last words to me were "I have to put the safety of the patients first." (Now that's a downer if I ever heard one!)

I've done a lot of soul searching lately and have been applying to jobs in other specialities, like psych. I worked at a drug and alcohol place a couple times through an agency and LOVED it. Problem is, is that I have no psych experience other than the 3 or 4 shifts I did at the D n A place, and that was 2 yrs ago, so I doubt if anyone remembers me. There was also a lot of agency people cycling through there at the time, so that doesn't help, but I got feedback that they liked me and thought I did a good job.

How do I fill out apps in the wake of a termination? I feel like my career could possibly be over

The same way you do if you haven't been terminated.....you emphasize your strengths and try to minimize your weaknesses. There are only so many things your former employer is allowed to say about you, basically just the dates of your employment and whether or not they would rehire you.

Of course, that's a bit of an oversimplification, but it's a good place to start. You want to avoid using language in your resume or application that indicates your separation from your job was not voluntary; you should probably state something ambiguous like "job was not a good fit" or "job was restructured" when asked why you left your job. You can always explain more about it at your interview.

To be honest, I haven't recovered from this last termination. I'm still looking, and I'm looking outside of nursing because the jobs I should've gotten with one hand tied behind my back are going to other candidates who are younger and have a better work history. I've held three different jobs in the past 15 months, and been terminated from two of them. And it's not like I can tell people that I lost those jobs because I have a mental illness and a Swiss-cheese memory from both the condition and the meds I take to treat it.

I wish you the best of luck in finding a new position. You know what, I think psych would be great for you, not just because it's more "forgiving" of previous job issues, but because of the empathy you would have for the patients. Try it---the worst they can do is say No, right? :)