Just Got Fired, Need Interview Advice

The grievance with HR is a great 1st step! In the meantime, just be honest with future employers and don't be too hard on yourself. I know 1st hand how difficult being terminated can be. It happens to the best of the best. You have no reason to be ashamed, you seem to be a good nurse that got caught up in a bad misunderstanding/situation. It will all work out! Good Luck!

file for unemployment

I'm not eligible for unemployment since I got fired.

apply anyway, they have to justify the firing, and it sounds like they may have a hard time of that

Glad I found this post I am in the middle of a similar situation and was wondering what to do..Not fired yet, just sitting around suspended while they "investigate" it's been days, I can't sleep, If I do I wake up I was afraid I am the only one this has ever happened to. Never a write up or incident report that I know of, I have not even been told what I did or supposedly did yet the people on my floor are talking about it so I have heard. I have called HR and they are investigating it I am told...I am hanging in there. How do you go back after something like this?

You would think. As far as I know no family involved, patient either, just someone saying I said something I did not say. Crazy world we work in...Fortunately there are other nursing jobs available and i hope I will wind up in a better place. I wish the same for Melissa, sounds like she needs her insurance as I do, thats the bad part of all of this, her pregnant and I have a history of cancer, preexisting conditions if our insurance lapses so COBRA is the only answer for me $$$$$$$$ until new job and insurance kicks in.

Honestly, there is no such thing as "innocent til proven guilty" in nursing--and especially so where it involves at-will-employment. Unless you are under contract, an employer can fire you for reason or no reason at all. All you really have to do is have the right people dislike you or be irked by you for some reason, and then you are gone. I've seen unfair things in nursing for such a long time.

In nursing, one always has to have a way to keep oneself marketable. Always maintain and update your CV or resume. It's a very tough field. There's no easy way to say to the new nurses and new grads. Sadly, such things in nursing never cease to amaze me. They always leave me scratching my head.

But if anyone thinks it's about being fair--think again. Be fair anyway; but just know that you may well not be treated fairly. Stay on top of your career at all times. And if you find that you are in a non-supportive environment, seek transfer or start looking for a new position ASAP.

Omg, what a horrible story. You are HUMAN. That is absolutely awful...if they want you to be 100% perfect and have enough time w/every patient, they should hire enough staff. You can't be with every patient at once, and you aren't psychic.

You will get unemployment though, so file for it. Your story clearly describes a mistake/misunderstanding. They do not deny unemployment for that, and I doubt the hospital would even protest your filing. If they do, once you tell the caseworker that story, you will be approved. They deny people for not showing up to work, stealing, intentional acts.

You sound so sad. This is no reflection on you!!! This is reflection on poor management and HR. If you were fired the charge nurse also should have been. Where is the unit manager, house supervisor to call in more nurses on a night with high acuity. It is better you are gone from there, it appears to be a lawsuit in the making. Concentrate on your beautiful family in these really hard times we are all experiencing. You can look yourself in the mirror every morning with a smile and remember all the good you have done for your patients. Remember the little squeeze of the hand of an elderly person or child that you helped. Yeah this will not pay the bills but sometimes that is not what is important at that moment.

You know, this shows that utterly sad ridiculousness that is rampant throughout the field of nursing. Magnet tries to address high turnover. Magnet should also address lackof commitment from the institutions that lead to precipitous and basically truly unfounded terminations. Trying to deal with the games that go on all the time in these places. If more nursing students new and could feel the visceral inflammation from such nonsense that happens to nurses daily, honestly, they would run as fast as they could from the field. The thing is, people get sold on a particular career path, make the investment, and they tell themselves somehow they will rise above it. Well, some may. Sadly, what I fear is that a good number learn to play the nasty, ratonalized games along with the rest of the croud in order to keep a nursing job. To me, it's like in some ways, it's about asking you to surrender you souls when you walk in the door. No, not right away. You have to get through the honeymoom phase. Office politics is fine in an office. In places with so much bombarding you and life or death and quality of life and multiple patient and family needs and those seeking to ensure perfection on every little thing from the nurse--well, the office politics is what kills it for many nurses. It tips the scale. The nursing role is demanding enough. I say find a way to severely reduce the covert and overt "office politics" in nursing, and you will finally have a field that is worhty of being called profession--and that is beyond honorable and worthy the investment of time, money, stress, and all the rest. I say it again...the foul politics--not good politics--politics of positive influence--no the foul politics kills the field. It is because of this that at times I have a difficult time encouraging students to go into nursing. I mean I have encouraged students--but often I find there is a big knot in my gut and throat about it. Is it fair not to warn them? I don't know. I dont' want to seem discouraging to their goals and dreams. But any reality shock a nurse goes through can be dealt with WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE CUT THROAT--and often covert EVIL politics in nursing. Often you may not fully know it is on your trail after you until it jumps up to bite you in the throat. Other times, you feel it is coming, but you don't want to feel paranoid or unfair and not give the benefit of the doubt. Guess what. Follow you gut instincts about people and the politics and culture of a place. Get the hint and tender your resignation, before they get you first. Unless of course you really need the unemployment. But remember, in many states, you must be working in that particular state something like six months to be eligible. So then, is it worth letting them hand you the termination? No. Also, they can fight about it back and forth. That's a drain on you. Be very observant, and then get wise, and consider that you gut is telling you something for a reason. It may be your own insecurity. Fine. Sort that out. But if it really isn't, the place may not be a good place in terms of fairness, respect, beng upfront with nurse employees, etc. If that is so, give you resignation.

I know this is a difficult situation for you, Melissa, but just know that you're not alone. I was unjustly fired back in September from my job as a PCA that I had for almost 11 years just as I started my final semester of nursing school. I filed for unemployment and was penalized 5 weeks but was allowed to collect after that time period elapsed, I live in New Jersey so I don't know if the rules are different here. It's difficult to get over that "fired" hump when applying for jobs but the only thing you can do is be honest about the firing and try not to be bitter and negative when you're in the interview and it comes up. I know that sounds like a tough thing to do but potential employers know that sometimes good people get fired for a number of reasons. What they want to know is if you have learned from this experience and can move beyond it. Good luck with the job search and keep your attitude positive. I'm sure you're a good nurse and will find a new position soon.