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..

[Kooky Korky, 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.

Nix about telling other people anything. It can only lead to evil results for you. Every word you say will, I assure you, get back to the bosses. Keep this under your hat. If you believe in prayer, do it. Ask God for a miracle, for wisdom, for comfort, for insight. But don't blab to anyone or badmouth anyone. Can you imagine if you were interviewing somene who complained about her terrible ex-boss? Would you hire that person?

At this point, you are no longer an employee, so I doubt you have any rights, really, although they will probably agree to a meeting, just to cover their bases - HR will meet with you, that is. Your boss might not want to.

Anyone from HR will NOT be on your side. HR is there to protect the employer. You might be entitled to record the session and/or take someone with you, but what good will that really do? They have a right, I suspect, to fire people who are on probation/in orientation for any reason or no reason, without much fanfare at all. Heck, those who are past probation barely have any rights and can be fired at will in most states.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

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.

don't you at some point, though, make it a point to actually communicate with your orientee, give her some feedback, ask for her concerns, etc.? do you drop fat man or little boy on her out of the blue? nah, i don't think you'd do that, ruby. i'm sure you are a very good preceptor and a decent person and would not surprise sink someone, rather, you'd give her a chance to know how she's messing up and help her fix it. right?

[nurse2033, MSN, RN]

The same thing happened to me once. Orientation was poorly constructed, arbitrarily performed, and ineptly handled. This was the only job I've ever been fired from. Sometime you just have to chalk it up to bad luck. It is hard to believe the amount of time and money these agencies waste letting qualified and competent people go. There could be factors in play that you are unaware of though. For example, maybe the manager just got a mandate to cut costs or something. If you know you did you best pick yourself up and move on. It sucks but this happens. If you are really motivated you could craft a detailed letter to the manager's boss with a lot of specifics about what happened. Make the tone "I want to help you for the future" rather than sour grapes. They might not be aware how unprofessional the orientation, or lack thereof, is. Best of luck.

[NYCRN16]

I think letting someone go before orientation is even over when that new nurse didn't do anything dangerous to hurt or potentially hurt a patient is a huge red flag that this place is toxic. No we don't know exactly what happened with this particular nurse, but letting her go without an explaination and examples of what she did "wrong" is unacceptable.

To the OP, I would request a meeting with the people that made the decision to let you go. I would say to them that you would like to know what exactly you did wrong so that in the future you can be sure not to make the same mistakes again. You have a right to know why they are letting you go, and any ethical nurse manager would want to give you areas to improve on before you go out looking for another job.

When I was an LPN back in the day, I made a medication error that cost me my job, even though the patient was OK. I was fairly new, and I didn't know any better but now I know that passing meds for 30+ patients while being forced to rush to finish on time meanwhile getting distracted by families, doctors and patients is a recipie for disaster. The charge nurse and nurse manager suggested that I rethink RN school. Yeah right! I knew that one mistake wasn't going to make me give up, and I want you to stand strong and don't let these people take you down.

There will be another job, a better job, out there for you. Best of luck and keep us updated!!

[Trinitas2010RN]

Wow! That's terrible. I really don't know what to say that others here haven't covered. At least you have the LTC job. I'm sure some time in the future you'll get a chance to actually receive a proper orientation in a hospital.

[cleo777]

I am very sorry to hear this and as I read all the posts, I can't believe how this profession is so unprofessional. I am also a new grad and took a job in LTC I love being a nurse, but I truly believe there is something wrong with the facility I work in. I just want to run from it. Let's see this was my orientation/training, I was told I would have five days, I had about 8 hrs. I worked 1/2 a day with one nurse during her med pass, not even the patient's I would be taking care of, and then the next day, four hours with a nurse on the patient's I would have. It consisted of her telling me how each of them took their meds. And since then I have been on my own. It has been the worst experience ever, but I just keep thinking I am going to get through it, and since nursing jobs are hard to come buy I really hate to leave at this point, and then I have to consider how it will look on my resume. Nobody has gone through the paperwork with me, I am learning as I go, and I have 25 patients, so I can barely get the med pass done never mind, assessments, stacks of doctors orders, any treatments needed, dressing changes, you name it we do it. I have been there two months now, I am on day shift I always go in 1/2 early, which I dont get paid for punching in early, and I can barely get my work done in the 8 hour shift, and if you stay passed 8 hrs, that is frowned upon. I was allowed to stay as long as I needed for the first two weeks, and then it came down from the big boss, no more overtime for anybody. I dont get any breaks, and my work is sloppy because I am in a hurry and I know the afternoon nurses are ready to kill me because I end up leaving a big mess, not getting doctor's orders done, not documentating clearly, it goes on and on. I have told my RCM I feel like I am drowning and she continues to tell me that "you should see what are work load was like when I started" comments like this are not needed when you are drowning. And on top of that my first week on my own I had two patient's pass away, it was expected. There was a huge error on my day off and I ended up taking a med error, because the doctor's came in on my day off, nobody noted it and nobody knew the doctor was in, it was a decrease in a pain med, and I ended up giving it for five days after the doctor wrote in chart. I had no reason to look at that chart when I came back to work, patient doesn't have much going on and you don't get to look at every chart every day...It was only noticed by me because the pharmacy had called me about a yearly renewal needed, and when I looked at the doctor orders there was this new order, nothing done with it. I had to take the med error for five days, talk about feeling like an ass, and I am so glad no harm to the patient, could you imagine if something was going on with that patient and I continued to give it. I couldn't believe it!!!!! Oh yeah to top it off, every employee there is on probation, we actually have nurses that don't show up for their shifts and then call a few hours later!!! I have anxiety about going to work, never had it before. I feel everybody is thinking "that I am the idiot" as a new nurse. I know I am not a idiot and if you ever speak to any one of my other employees prior to my career change they would gladly have me back in a minute, but I wanted this career change. I feel like **** rolls down hill and because I am the new nurse it all rolls towards me, I am trying believe me but I feel like I am also on the chopping block, because I can't do what they are expecting of me without a chance. Sorry this is so long but you are not the only one out there being railroaded and I can't believe it!!!!

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

I have told some dicky employers in the past what I thought of them AND have told new employers exactly what happened (when they asked), and I haven't had problems getting work.

Unless you want to go back to that facility or really need a reference just stay professional and polite.

But heck, I don't care what anyone says, there comes a time when you just have to tell people to their face what you are REALLY thinking - and it is really, truly liberating, I can tell you!

However the job situation in the US may not let you do that, so as someone else said just write a professional letter, say what you need to say in a meeting, then move on to a better life! They will truly have forgotten all about you when you walk out the door in 5 minutes, so don't even worry about them I say.

[DeLana_RN, BSN, RN]

:hug:

Been there, done that. I know exactly how you feel. You were screwed, nothing else to add.

I'm so sorry, I know what this does to your self-confidence. Don't let it, but it's very, very hard not to take it personal. I just hope these evil people will get what they deserve in the end (including the ones who did me wrong )

Don't give up on hospital nursing (it that's your goal), I wish you the very best!

DeLana

[steelydanfan]

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....

You obviously were hired onto a floor with an inexperienced manager who could not even set up a workable schedule for a new preceptees orientation; and then blamed you when her inadequate plan failed.

Get out, get out now, and don't look back. A face to face meeting (with HR present) could be helpful if only to state your case and ask for referrals to other floors you might be interested in. But this manager sounds like a ditz, and you probably won't get a thing from her, except denials and excuses.

[diane227, LPN, RN]

It is a very unfortunate situation but the facility has the right to let you go within the first 90 days without even giving you a reason. The good thing is that you have not been actually terminated and I would not even include this experience on a resume.

[NurseAdida]

It is a very unfortunate situation but the facility has the right to let you go within the first 90 days without even giving you a reason. The good thing is that you have not been actually terminated and I would not even include this experience on a resume.

They don't have a right to fire anyone without a reason...they HAVE to give you are reason even a made one as long as they can prove it in a court of law:) OP was given a reason...may not be entirely true or fair but it was a reason.

OP sorry this happened to you just...move on. It was probably not the best work environment anyways:)

[ChloBear]

Don't take it personally. It sounds like they did it to save money. It sucks, nonetheless, but at least you were smart and kept your old job. If there really was a problem, they would have been saying things to you all along. Or it could be that your preceptors knew they didn't do an adequate job orienting you and it was better for them to blame it on you than admit they were at fault. Either way, don't let it hurt your confidence going forward. Since they didn't give you fair warning, I'd at least run it by HR and see what they have to say. At the very least, you want to know if you are still eligible for rehire at that hospital.