Looking at possible new job

AliNajaCat · Feb 6, 2017

It isn't uncommon for new hires to say at the time of offer, "I have a vacation the last week of next month that we booked six months ago. Would you like me to start asap after I give my notice, or start after I get back?"

They'll probably say, "After you get back," but if they don't because they're really short now, then you start before you go.

guest769224 · Feb 7, 2017

Don't tell them you have a vacation planned until AFTER you receive an employment offer. They can work your orientation around a vacation, it's not like they would have you done training and independent by then anyway. Congrats AvaRose! Good luck and excited to hear how it goes.

AvaRose · Feb 7, 2017

Thanks you guys! I wasn't planning on saying anything during the interview, but was just curious how bad it would look if I did get an offer and couldn't start immediately because of a vacation of all things. This is the first trip I've gotten to go on in over 6 years though so I really wanted to somehow work it out so I could still go. I'll let everyone know how it goes. I'm hopeful but don't want to get my hopes up too high yet :) I have no idea what they'll ask in the interview but I'd better review a little in case they ask unit specific type scenario questions, like I said, Neuro especially was tough for me theory wise in school and I'm actually not quite sure what type of patients an Observation unit would have.

OrganizedChaos, LVN · Feb 7, 2017

If you search here on AN for interview questions a lot will come up. I did that when I had a hospital interview & think it was the best interview I ever had, even though I didn't get the job.

allnurses Guide · Feb 7, 2017

Just my two cents... I had to delay starting my current job due to a

planned vacation, and it was fine. Like others have said, don't mention

the vacation until after you get the job offer. Good luck!

AvaRose · Feb 10, 2017

Well I just got back from my interview. I think it went well but I'm really not sure. I was asked to tell the 2 interviewers about myself as a nurse, what makes me a good nurse, and my biggest weakness and how I'm overcoming it. I introduced myself briefly, touching on the pink elephant in the room (that I've only been a working nurse for 5 months) but put a positive spin on wanting to use the organization skills I've learned at my current job on a wider scope of patients. As far as what makes me a good nurse I said that I was dedicated, I have a solid work ethic (I never call out and have only had 1/2 sick day and that only because I feared I was a risk to my patients), and I am task-oriented. For my weakness I said that leadership is something that doesn't come natural to me but that I have learned important lessons in delegation and leading by example (willing to help with tasks if needed to make sure they get done and the CNAs don't resent me for delegating things to them).

Then they asked me what my current boss would say about me. Here I name dropped our Medical Director who is also a doctor at the hospital I interviewed at, saying that I have a comfortable working relationship with the doctor. As far as my DON, I'm really not sure what she'd say about me (especially after yesterday which was the worst day ever) but I reiterated that I was a hard-worker and willing to learn and ask questions when needed (if she is called I'm not sure if she'd say bad things about me though...she's like that, mainly tells you the bad things she thinks you've done not the good). I also got asked about a time that I made a positive difference in a patient (told a story about resolving a terrible stage III pressure ulcer in a little over a month), and if I've ever had a patient or family thank me for quality service (told a story about educating a brittle diabetic and family about his blood sugar management and medication).

The questions I asked were the nurse to patient ratio which is 1:6 (huge difference from the 1:12 I'm running now), and when the tuition assistance would be able to be utilized (after 30 days). Then they asked where I saw myself in 5 years (I hate that question) but I said I could see myself with certifications and my BSN so that I could find a location in the hospital that best suited my talents and their needs (sappy answer but there's no really good answer to that).

Finally I was asked which shift I would prefer (which I'm open to either shift but would like to try nights at some point) and was told that the next step would be to hear from HR within a week or two. I was also told since I'm fairly new that they would hire me in the new grad training program and give me up to 12 weeks of training (good I could use some more).

Oh and I literally just got a call from the hospital while I was typing this that they want to offer me a position in the Med/Surg medicine unit (which is the floor I just toured). I did not expect to hear back within an hour of my interview. So I guess it's time to step up to Med/Surg (never thought I would have worked in a SNF or M/S but if I can get to where I want to be eventually I guess it's worth the stepping stones).

AliNajaCat · Feb 10, 2017

I was about to type "You nailed that!" before I got to the end. Awesome work! Congrats!

AvaRose · Feb 11, 2017

Thanks! I'm super nervous but also excited. HR has started my paperwork so now it's just a wait to have a solid job offer in hand so I can see what my pay rate will be (hopefully not much less than what I am making now) as well as when they want me to start to see if my vacation will be possible. I'm not so good at negotiating so I'm hoping with the amount of time it will take to get the offer to me and the length of notice I should give (praying that my DON doesn't just tell me not to come back) that things will work out to start about April 1st. But if it's before that then I'll figure things out. The benefits will be very nice as well. Medical Ins is half of what I pay now and the hospital offers dental and vision coverage too. Plus a 401k with 50% matching of the first 6% I contribute...I have to see if I can afford to start contributing right away or not. That and if I use the tuition assistance it is a 2 year commitment somewhere in the hospital (I asked if it was hospital wide or just the unit I am being hired to).

AvaRose · Feb 12, 2017

Well I was excited but now I'm fairly certain that I won't be taking the new job after all. Turns out I made a few mistakes on Thursday at my current job and that I may not have a job after Tuesday and if the hospital were to call my current DON she likely would tell them that I make mistakes and not to hire me. I doubt it will help at all whatsoever, but I was thinking about offering my resignation letter already and just live off my savings and see if the new job will come through or not so my DON doesn't decide to call the BON on me or something. It was a med error. The pt is on Solu-Medrol q12h but the morning dose didn't come up on the MAR because someone messed with the order and only had it scheduled for the evening dose. I fixed it as soon as I could but it wasn't soon enough and the pt's mother complained to my DON about poor care from me (she also insisted I did not change the dressings on his wounds even though I did but there's no way to prove it because night shift also changed them so that was the one that the DON saw). So now I'm apparently a liar as far as the night shift nurse and even DON are concerned. Then today the same night shift nurse texted me because the cart was messy and supposedly had 20 pills in the garbage can. I know I dropped some vitamins while pulling 8 am meds and tossed them, probably in the trash by mistake instead of the sharps container, but nowhere near 20. But again I'm a terrible nurse and a liar so nothing I say will ever make anyone listen to me at all. I also apparently was told to remove a peripheral IV line and didn't except that I wasn't told to remove it or I would have had it written down on my brain sheet. Anyway, as exciting as it was to nail the job interview yesterday and have 2 more calls today for interviews at 2 other hospitals, I don't feel it would be in my best interest to accept the offer and I'd best start searching for a new line of work. I don't think nursing is for me after all since I know I've made mistakes and not done my best these last 5 months.

AliNajaCat · Feb 12, 2017

1) DONs hear stuff like that all the time from family members. They know what's up better than you think.

2) If the MAR was inaccurate, that's not your fault. How soon did you "fix" it? A few hours late with a BID Solu-Medral dose won't make any difference. Or were you responsible for checking the MAR against the prescriber page and not give it for a few DAYS?

3) Was there a written physician/prescriber request to d/c the IV? Did the prescriber give you a verbal? If no, where did it come from?

Don't overreact here, unless you really did make those errors willfully.

AvaRose · Feb 12, 2017

My DON already has it out for me so this is the one I was worried about the most, though I think the family may not have hated me quite so much by the end of the night after I bent over backwards to do everything for them.

I gave the Solu-Medrol at 1800 when I was finally able to rewrite the order to 0600 and 1800 but that means the guest only had one dose that day instead of 2.

The night shift nurse verbally told me to remove it (at least according to her) I had no written order though it would make sense to remove it as the guest had a midline placed. I swear one of my bosses took it out when he tried to replace it though and there was nothing in the computer.

I'm not doing things maliciously but I feel as though I've already burned all my bridges at this job. I just don't know when/if the new job would come through for me but I really want to just turn in my notice and be done as soon as possible so I can try to get over this job and be able to relearn everything with a new job. Maybe I can be a nurse and do well but right now I really am afraid I am just a big fraud and a terrible nurse. Should I offer to resign immediately or should I try to ask the DON to let me work through at least March 8 (with my PTO hours saved it would give me one last full check for pay period ending the March 15th)? I read somewhere if you are in a spot where it is resign or be terminated then ask for the concession of severance pay to resign immediately, should I even ask or just leave?