let go 6 wks into 10 wks orientation...is it fair?

[maman2zoe]

Hello everyone!

I would really love u guys opinions on what has just happened to me to find out if there's anything I can do about it or if it's normal. I'll start from the beginning, I graduated from a BSN program in 2009 and after 3 mths of searchingI finally got a position in a LTC facility on the vent unit. It definitely wasn't my first choice, but I was soo grateful to have a job that I took it. I worked there until I got a call from my dream hospital in November for an interview. I almost fell out of my chair when they actually offered me the job in the IMC!! I didn't care that it was Sat and Sun only, I was sooo excited to work in a "real Hospital". I changed my status to prn at the LTC I started on the unit in early Dec, they gave me 10wks for orientation and assigned 2 preceptors to me since I worked only weekends. On my first day, my preceptor was pulled to another unit so i got paired with another nurse, this happened for the next 3 shifts..in all I've worked 2 shifts with one preceptor and 1 shift with another, every other time I worked i was paired with a random nurse. Even one of my main preceptors wasn't happy about this, she felt my orientaion lacked consistence and said she would talk to the unit mngr about so they could change my schedule. I was very frustrated everytim i had a new a new person coz I felt like I was starting over all the time and not really learning as I should and I had actually planned to go speak to one of the educators myself next about it......So imagine my surprise when the unit manager( who's new as of Jan, 1st and whom I met once in passing) and the unit director( whom I never met) called me at 1645 today to tell me that they met with both my preceptors and the educator for the IMC( who I only met in general orientation) and they don't feel that i'm progressing as I should, that their IMC is not the right fit for me and basically I was given the choice to either resign or be terminated! Needless to say I was dumbfounded! this came completely out of left field for me and I didn't know what to say! I had the crappiest orientation so far, i wasn't too vocal about it because i didn't to sound needy or whiny and they're letting ME go??? imo, they don't have any basis to assess my performance, none of them worked with me long enough to do that, i don't feel i was given a fair chance at learning my way around the unit, talk less of learning the job. I sooo upset about this I don't know what to do!! I also don't feel this should have been discussed over the phone, I felt so ambushed!! They didn't even give me the option of changing units or anything! I've already cried my eyes out over this and I almost wished i had done smthg wrong, screwed up somehow on the unit so at least i would have smthg to blame it on...a reason u know..

well thanks for letting me vent, srry if it's too long, I just had to get it out..

[grateful2010, LPN, LVN]

I'm sorry this happened to you...*hugs*

[RNlvn]

I would not worry about it you have your LTC job just ask for more hours or back to full time. From the sound of it, they might have had a change in budget and needed to cut something. Training a new person is expensive so you know the deal or maybe a more experience nurse stepped up to do more hours idk. This is just my option I could be wrong.

[onetiredmomma]

Ask for a face to face meeting when you have had a chance to calm yourself. Ask for specifics that they think you are not making progress and then give your side of the issue. How do you think you did? Unfortunately, they don't have to give you reasons but it seems to me that it is a professional courtesy that you deserve. Good luck to you.\!

[RxOnly]

So sorry to hear this! Do you still have your employee handbook for this hospital? Something just doesn't seem right (especially calling you over the phone rather than speaking to you in person) ...I think you should investigate their policy on employee termination because you should have at least been able to finish orientation before they could deem you unfit for the job...

The good thing is, you were smart about leaving yourself PRN at the LTC facility... you were very smart not to burn your bridges over there and not leave yourself jobless. Kudos to that :)

Good luck and keep us updated!!

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

Sweetie, you WERE ambushed!! Goodness me, do these people expect you to walk into a new facility and know everything in 6 weeks? Some managers have highly unrealistic expectations of new graduates, ESPECIALLY some older nurse managers.

I have only been an actual RN for a whole 2 years and yes, finding work was difficult in the depressed economy we had. I do not think it is fair they didn't give you the 10 weeks to work through any problems. And it is very unprofessional on their part to communicate termination info via phone. I would have told them to their face it was quite rude actually.

I know this is hard, but can you call them back and set up a face to face meeting with all the concerns you have listed above? You don't have to be rude, just write down all your concerns and have them listed on a piece of paper, and give them a copy before the meeting starts. If you were in a union, get a union rep to come. If not, get a HR representative to be present, that is your right as an employee to have someone present, and have the meeting recorded.

Once they start saying: "You didn't do this or that..." I myself would politely cut them off and address that particular concern. And yes, I WOULD be confronting that preceptor and asking her why she didn't recommend you needed more help re orientation.

Look at it this way, if they still are determined to get rid of you, you have nothing to lose by setting up a meeting. As to referees see if a senior nurse/s you worked with will give you references.

Sounds suspiciously to me like they decided to save money by getting rid of you. Management must think nurses are fools sometimes.

I'm sorry this happened to you, but in nursing there are usually other politics going on behind decisions like this. You might just have to dust off the resumne (CV), and start applying for other jobs. And I would be telling other employers the truth re your shoddy orientation and say how you were terminated by phone - that isn't on at all.

You poor thing, wish I could give you a big hug!

Let us know what you decide and how you get on please, so we can give you any encouragement and support.

[caliotter3]

At some places people are let go due to personality clashes or in favor of someone's cousin. Chance of you finding out this type of reasoning is low. But it is possible that nothing you said or did, did not say or did not do, had anything to do with it. You just have to deal with it and move on. Hopefully your next job environment won't make you the victim of workplace politics or hidden agendas.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

i don't think we have enough information to comment on whether or not this was fair. i don't know what you were doing -- or not doing -- to make your preceptors and managers think you were not a good fit. it could be that you were ambushed and it was totally unfair. or it could be you were really not a good fit.

it's tough to have consistent preceptors, especially when you're working a constrained schedule like that. i'm very surprised that you weren't asked to work full time at least through orientation. be that as it may, preceptors do talk to one another. if my orientee and i don't cross paths for weeks, it's still my responsibility to know how she's doing. i talk to the preceptors that work with her. we evaluate her progress, assess her strengths and weaknesses and plan for her future orientation needs. that may have been going on in the background and you just didn't realize it.

life isn't fair. i'm sorry you lost your job. try and figure out what you did to contribute to this unfortunate result and learn from it. hopefully you'll excel in your next position.

[Burlshoe114]

This is something which is happening more and more. In today's market, employees are disposable. I went through a very similar experience recently myself. Stinky part - even if you do fight it or argue and you do get your job back, you will just be walking into a hostile work environment.

Try your best to just get through this. It isn't fair, and you should not be in this position, but it is done. You met a crappy manager who treated you bad.

Karma is out there....

[klone, MSN, RN]

I'm sorry. Something very similar happened to my husband when he was starting out as a new grad RN. Add to that, some lying about conversations that had taken place. They pulled him into their office and also offered him the option of resign or be fired, and he chose resign. Then the hospital tried to make him pay back the relocation and sign-on bonuses he had received (when he mentioned lawsuit, they backed down).

He ****** off the wrong people, and those people decided that he shouldn't work there.

To add insult to injury, a rumor was started that the reason he left was because he never actually went to nursing school, and they found out that he didn't have a nursing license.

Just wanted to let you know that others have been there. I'm sorry, it seems so unfair. Something better is hopefully waiting for you.

[linearthinker, DNP, RN]

I'm sorry this didn't work out for you. I can tell you it isn't unusual to let someone go during orientation if we could just tell it wasn't going to work out for any reason. It doesn't sound like they handled it very well though. I'm sure it was a blow, but put it behind you. Something else will pop up.

[tablefor9, RN]

1. Termination over the phone is tacky, no doubt. Within their rights, but tacky. I'm sorry that happened to you, whatever else may have been the case.

2. It really isn't uncommon to give a fairly new grad only 10 wks orientation, or to let someone go within that time frame, if things aren't gelling. It's actually much harder, legally speaking, to "get rid of someone" after the orientation period is over. After all, if the employee completes orientation, there are all those nice signatures in black and white for the world to see that attest to the fact that the orientee was competent.

3. If you have documented instances of your experience being different from others on the unit (ie, you have been treated in a way that is biased, etc) you may have redress with the hospital's HR dept. However, as a whole, there are many, many things in life & in healthcare that are unfair. We have to take the things that come & use them to examine ourselves...did we really do all we could? What might I have done differently to effect a different outcome? If there was truly nothing you could have done, and there is no redress for you, then just take comfort in knowing that you did your best and will be a stronger advocate for yourself in orientation on the next shot.