Last nail in the coffin of my JOKE of a nursing career...??

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Two weeks ago, I got fired from an LTC job.

My SECOND firing from an LTC job.

When I got fired from the first LTC job, I managed to pick myself up, dust myself off, and went and did some agency work... did that for about ten months, until finally I found another LTC job. Not a great job, but it paid good, paid the bills, put food on the table, yadda yadda... and I halfway enjoyed it; enjoyed my residents, enjoyed my coworkers...

HOWEVER, we were all worked to death, doing lots of overtime to cover the numerous holes in the schedule... I needed the money...

And one night I made a terrible mistake and ended up getting fired by the SAME DON who fired me from the first job. LTC is a small world where I live and in a roundabout way, she ended up being the interim DON at my new facility.

Now I truly, truly feel like my career is over... I'm the breadwinner in my house and money is running out... I can probably do agency again... but I feel like I have ruined what once might have been a good thing. I've had about 8-9 nursing jobs in ten years.

I planned to stay with this recent company as long as I could... but I've left jobs way better than the TWO that I've gotten fired from, mostly from being "bored and unsatisfied".

I guess I need some sort of pep talk. Some sort of "I've been there". SOMETHING, someone to tell me that it's going to be okay.

Specializes in Pediatric.
Two weeks ago, I got fired from an LTC job.

My SECOND firing from an LTC job.

When I got fired from the first LTC job, I managed to pick myself up, dust myself off, and went and did some agency work... did that for about ten months, until finally I found another LTC job. Not a great job, but it paid good, paid the bills, put food on the table, yadda yadda... and I halfway enjoyed it; enjoyed my residents, enjoyed my coworkers...

HOWEVER, we were all worked to death, doing lots of overtime to cover the numerous holes in the schedule... I needed the money...

And one night I made a terrible mistake and ended up getting fired by the SAME DON who fired me from the first job. LTC is a small world where I live and in a roundabout way, she ended up being the interim DON at my new facility.

Now I truly, truly feel like my career is over... I'm the breadwinner in my house and money is running out... I can probably do agency again... but I feel like I have ruined what once might have been a good thing. I've had about 8-9 nursing jobs in ten years.

I planned to stay with this recent company as long as I could... but I've left jobs way better than the TWO that I've gotten fired from, mostly from being "bored and unsatisfied".

I guess I need some sort of pep talk. Some sort of "I've been there". SOMETHING, someone to tell me that it's going to be okay.

Your career isn't over.

I got fired from THREE nursing jobs.

I am now working in a stable avenue of nursing I love and making a difference.

You CAN and WILL do this.

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Specializes in Pediatric.

PS. LTC is a clustercluck of all manner of madness- not sure how ANY nurse manages to do it safely

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Was your 'mistake' reported to your BON for follow up? Be sure to check on this because there's no telling what the DON may have done afterward. In Tx, we are mandated to report (via peer review process) if a clinical error resulted in 'significant' personnel actions like suspension or termination. If this is the case, you will have to get your ducks in a row to deal with it effectively.

If you are listed as 'ineligible for rehire' by that facility, honesty is by far the best approach when you're seeking a new job. If you take ownership - admitting that you made the error - and can articulate what you learned from it as well as how you are going to avoid it in the future..... that is a very acceptable response. None of us is perfect & the longer we practice, the greater the likelihood that we're going to make mistakes.

I agree - LTC does not seem to be right for you. Best of luck in moving into a new environment.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
Thanks you all for the replies...

I've got a headache the size of Phoenix right now. It's just been a rough day.

I had a very discouraging interview this morning and it's really got me down. No

one is going to hire me I feel like because of my history of getting fired TWICE. And

how in the world do I sugar-coat my reasoning for getting fired. I DID screw up.

Oh well. Tomorrow is another day.

You may need to accept the fact that as much as you may like/want to work in LTC, it just is not the right setting for you. When you interview for another job (in a different specialty!), you should be honest about your terminations. No blaming the LTCs about being run poorly; no mentioning the DON you had problems with. Explain what you've learned from this, and how you still have the drive to work in nursing.

Think about what kind of nursing would appeal to you. You've worked agency, and you've worked with the elderly. Would hospice suit you? Sit down with a piece of paper. Make two columns; one for strengths, the other for weaknesses. Once you've identified these, start thinking about what area may suit you best. Don't jump for the first job offer you get. Make sure if you accept a job it's because you think it's something that will match your skill set and personality. Don't take it out of desperation; do that, and you are sure to fail.

Stay away from LTC jobs for now. Maybe sometime in the future it's something you could do, but not now. You need to find something that will allow you to build up your confidence.

A lot of good nurses have been fired. Sometimes the job was not a good match; sometimes you just run afoul of a manager.

As the old song says, "Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again." Cliched, yes, but it's true.

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