Left my job, please Help

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I worked on a tele med surg unit for almost 2 years. The last several months at my job the unit had been going through extensive changes. Many of these changes were not benefiting patients or nursing staff. It was only benefiting the bottom line of the hospital. Patient ratios were increasing, single rooms were becoming double, and we were being held more accountable than ever for patient satisfaction. How can this be possible when you are making the situations we are caring for these patients worse? To top it off we were being fed more work to do and they were pulling our unit secretaries.

The icing on the cake is that 75% of the nursing assistants were of no help/burnt out and spent 90% of the shift hiding and taking extensive breaks. I am a strong delegator and I felt the frustration from personnel every time I was delegating; the spirit of team work was gone. I was working my *** off and getting lip every time I asked for help. I did not care and continued to delegate, but the effect of constant lip accumulated in my soul. All the changes on the unit, essentially my burn out too, lead to me not sleeping.

Lack of sleep had a huge impact on my physical, mental, and spiritual well being. I had already called out several times recently, because of no sleep before work. Going to work a 12 hour shifts with absolutely no sleep is pure torture. Especially when you are continually walking into shifts and picking up tons of slack and have stubborn or little to no support. It came to the point where I was not going to call out again when my shift was starting in several hours. That day I had not slept for more then 5 minutes and knew there was no way I was going to get a lick of sleep. I tossed and turned and could not find a drop of comfort for many hours. I called up my unit and let them know I was not showing up. I then explained to my unit manager that I was having personal issues which were requiring me to need to immediately leave my position. She seemed to somewhat understand and still honored paying me the rest of my ETO. She could of refused doing this because I did not give 2 weeks.

I was extremely well liked on the unit. I have an odd personality, I think, which has made me loved by other nurses in a brotherly and interesting way. My phone and email blew up with people wondering if I was ok and offering to be there. I was very vauge with them on why I left, some what ashamed and saddened, but I really feel that now a few weeks later I have healed up quite a bit and that I made the right choice for myself at the time.

I did not seek any medical help for what I was going through. I have a personal disbelief in taking medications to help cope with stress. Although I would argue that I did leave my job for reasons that are medical; my health had been destroyed from the job.

I have applied to several jobs now. I hadve already been contacted by several other companies/recruiters looking to interview me. I m just waiting to hear back to arrange date/times. My concerns focus around the fact that I did not leave with 2 weeks notice. Other than my immediate departure from my previous employer I have an immaculate standing with them. Management has even went into patient rooms, after my shift, and I have been cited numerous times for being an EXCELLENT nurse. How am I going to explain /and/or handle my job history when interviewing with future employeers? Should I call up HR at my previous job and ask them what information is on my employee record for when other companies call? Please offer advice, and please be considerate before you RIP on me for not giving two weeks. I truly could not have made it another two weeks in the state I was in.

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Specializes in Med Surg.

Looks like you are at the mercy of your former employer when they are called for a reference. In that case, I don't see any alternative to telling the truth.

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Are you eligible to retroactively offer your manager 2 weeks notice, perhaps without consecutive shifts now that you've had a chance to recover from hitting the wall? At least to get it on record or has your termination already finalized?

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Specializes in Infusion Nursing, Home Health Infusion.

It's not the law that you must give two weeks notice its just a professional courtesy, You were unable to extend that courtesy because you put your health first. Who knows what would have happened if you had done so, you could have made a mistake that you would have regretted due to your stress level and lack of sleep. With that said, you do not owe it to any new employer to give out those private details of your life and coping mechanism.

was You should, however, have something ready to say if they ask you why you did not give two weeks notice. For example, "I was under quite a bit of stress that I now have under control and I owed to those I am entrusted to care for to be fully present". Something along those lines that is truthful but does make you look like your are untrustworthy.

Why were you not sleeping and do you have that under control now?

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).

In 1993, I was wrongly terminated as an ER/Med-Surg Nurse at a Hospital just to move in to another position as a Nursing Supervisor at a Home Health Agency.

In 2001, I was again wrongly terminated at a Community Mental Health Clinic as a Nurse/Case Manager only to move into a position as a Nursing Supervisor for Medical Services/Methadone Clinic at another Community Mental Health Clinic.

By wrongly terminated, I mean that I won the adjudication process with the department of employment services and was awarded benefits between positions.

So, DUDERNGUY, you never know!

Good luck, and the best to you!

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Specializes in PCCN.

I would never rip on you for what you had to do.

My only concern is won't it be the same anywhere else?

This is a dilemma I also have been fighting for a few years.

You at least respect your body more than I do.

But I wish you good luck.

Do the other companies know you didn't give two weeks? maybe they'll never know. Just say it wasn't a good fit?

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I would ask HR if you are on their "do not rehire" list. If so, it could preclude you from working for the parent company of the facility.

What you describe as the conditions of your former job is everywhere it seems.

So now you know that perhaps acute care is not your thing, and definitely night shift is not your thing.

Best wishes.

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I definitely can't rip on you for doing what you felt was right. When your're so stressed to the max, day after day, and your health is affected, it's time to move on! I would explain to the new potential employer, if asked, that you simply left without notice because you felt that the unit you were working on was unsafe and you felt your nursing license was in jeopardy, which is the truth.

I doubt the company you just left will give you a bad reference, especially since you seem to have a shiny record.

Best of luck. Keep us updated.

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Sounds to me like you did the right thing for YOU, for your health. Also sounds like poor upper management led to this turn for the worse with you --- you had to vote with your feet to.save your own sanity. I see no problem with that. Maybe now the greedies making the 600k salaries will have to make some adjustments with regards to how they run their business!

A lot of states say former employers can only state dates of employment, not other details. Either way, you had two good years, thats no joke, and I personally wouldnt mind being candid, although vague, with saying that I had a family crisis which caused me to resign immediately (if you're asked!!) you had to take some time off, but now you're looking for a fresh start!

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A lot of states say former employers can only state dates of employment, not other details.

Urban myth.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
A lot of states say former employers can only state dates of employment, not other details.
This is incorrect. A former employer can say anything derogatory about a former employee as long as it is factual and can be backed up. Examples include the following...

"Steve accrued 27 tardy occurrences in a six-month period from June 2015 to December 2015."

"Pam accrued 14 unexcused absences in a three-month period from May 2015 to August 2015."

"Nick's employment was involuntarily terminated because he struck another coworker."

"Sue chose to resign because she was caught diverting narcotic analgesic medications from our facility. The unit manager referred her license number to the state BON."

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