Leave it on my resume?

[caffeinatednurse, BSN, RN]

Hi there.

Almost immediately after graduating from nursing school, I took a medical-surgical RN job at a local hospital. I was also a part of their new grad RN program, though I didn't finish it.

Without going into great detail, I was bullied at that job by a previous preceptor. I followed the chain-of-command, first going to the nurse supervisor and then the nurse manager. The nurse supervisor ignored my concerns and waved them off as the woes of being a new grad. The nurse manager insinuated that I was mentally ill and that I must have done something myself to cause the bullying.

I'll be completely honest, I did not have the coping skills as a new grad RN to be able to deal with that kind of stress. I already know that as a new grad, I was going to make mistakes. But with my mind (and quite frankly, emotions) distracted by the bullying, I was terrified that I was going to accidentally hurt or kill somebody in the process. I felt like I was rolling the dice each night that I worked.

I ended up quitting without notice. By my recollection, I only worked three months. It was just 2 days after my 90 day eval.

Do I have to include this on my resume? I don't plan to use any references from that job (for obvious reasons). If I do have to include it, how do I talk about this in a way that doesn't completely trash my previous employer? I know the whole hospital isn't that way, and that not all nurses operate that way. But I also feel like I had legitimate reasons for leaving that job.

Also, if I don't include it, my resume will basically be blank other than my school practicums and what not. I took a break from nursing after that job, basically because I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to work as an RN anymore after that. Now that I've had plenty of time to reflect on it, I've decided to return to a different area of nursing.

Thanks guys & gals.

- caffeinatednurse

[l.a.m.b, ADN, RN]

U can include it to use for experience purposes and if asked why u quit u can say the hospital was not a good fit for you.

[~Shrek~]

I would include it, as I have heard stories about how people did not include a 3-month job and then were fired/ rebuked for lying on their resume. Be honest about why you quit, but say it in a nice, non-political, non-mean way. Keep it brief and don't draw too much attention to it on your resume.

[chare]

U can include it to use for experience purposes and if asked why u quit u can say the hospital was not a good fit for you.

This is not some magic incantation that will immediately direct the conversation elsewhere.

If you opt to use this, you should be prepared to further discuss this, as most interviewers are going to question you in much greater detail.

You should also be prepared to discuss why you quit without providing notice.

[caffeinatednurse, BSN, RN]

I thought I would provide an update, since I'm sure there's probably other new grad RNs out there who have had an error in judgment and quit without notice.

Honesty really is the best policy, in my case. I interviewed a couple of months ago with a NM at a LTC facility. I was upfront and honest about why I left. I told her that due to the conditions and environment of my previous place of employment, I didn't feel safe working there and ultimately ended up quitting without giving notice. She asked me a few questions about safety and what that meant to me and then moved on to talking about the LTC clinicals I had as a student. At the end of the interview, she offered me the job I was interviewing for, on the spot. I didn't end up taking the job for other reasons, but it was good to see that being honest about a prior mess-up didn't hurt my chances.

More recently, I was called by the HR department at another facility that I'm trying to get a position with. The recruiter asked me about my previous employer and I was honest with her. When she asked me if I left on good terms, I told her no and explained why. She proceeded to set up an interview with me anyway. While I could still not get the job, I have to say it feels better to go into a job interview honestly.

In both cases, I left the job off of my resume but made sure to include it under 'previous work experience' on the employment application. Schedule