Lost my head and quit without notice

Nurses Job Hunt

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Hospice, Palliative Care.

I did an incredibly foolish and unprofessional thing: I quit without notice. I just couldn't make myself go back to the awful place where I was working (long story behind this, did submit my resignation a few months ago and they refused to accept it; they agreed that they would not turf me to be a CNA more than one shift a week, the other nurses told me that I should be dumb enough to believe them, and boy, were they right!). So now I am looking for a new position, with this horrible blot on my record. The hospital where I worked prior to this closed, so my record looks quite unstable. I'd be grateful for any advice on how to explain this - I know that I can be nothing but truthful while not being derogatory about the place, and it is helpful that they have such a lousy reputation in our region - and I'd be even more grateful for encouragement; I'm horrified that I may never work as a nurse again.

TIA, catlvr

Specializes in MICU, SICU, CICU.

I disagree. It is not a huge blot on your record. You resigned. Period. Future employers are not as interested in why you left a previous job as you might think. They never even ask in an interview, so put to pursue other opportunities on your application.

They want to know about your skills and what you can do for them. If you are available to work nights someone will be glad to hire you.

Specializes in Cardiac, Home Health, Primary Care.

How can they refuse to accept a resignation?? I would have given it to them, did my 2-4 weeks (whatever I said) and then not come back.

Sorry to hear about this! Try not to sweat it. Like you said, be truthful but not derogatory about the situation. Honesty goes a long way in an interview. Just get out there and get your applications in, this may seem like a huge blot to you, but you had your reasons for losing it, explain to them honestly and dispassionately at your interviews and you'll land a job sooner or later.

Specializes in Hospice.

Possible complications: "do not rehire" status if your facility is part of a company dominating the local market, and/or being blackballed if your facility is a member of something like Group One in Texas. If either of those circumstances apply to your facility, you might need to relocate. Something to investigate, I think.

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

What's done is done. You can't change it. Time to make a new start. You appear to have a decent amount of experience, so I would encourage you to capitalize on that. It would be an entirely different story if you were a new grad.

I would suggest adding a couple of words to your resume to reflect the fact that one of your job changes was due to a hospital closure. Just add "facility closed" to the end of that entry. This will support the fact that you're not a job hopper for no reason. If you're pressed about the reason you left this job, you could respond "personal reasons" or "unexpected change in personal circumstances".... and you'd be factual. You reached the end of your rope and staying any longer would have had dire results - right?

Of course, if an interviewer asks probing questions, you probably already know how to handle them - just the facts, without badmouthing any individual. If that organization is as bad as you infer, it wouldn't be a secret... and you'd probably not be the first person that had left in haste.

In an employment at will state, you have the right to resign, just as the employer has the right to terminate your employment. While not courteous or professional, you were within your rights, as long as you live in an employment at will state. Provide a plausible reason if grilled on the reason. Some people make bad decisions when they are deathly ill or under extreme pressure.

Specializes in Geriatrics, Hospice, Palliative Care.

Thanks for all of the advice and support; I really appreciate it. To the best of my knowledge, we don't have a Group One here, but it is a fairly small city where everyone seems to know everyone else. Fortunately, I have a bit of savings and am not totally adverse to some time off to be sure that I land in a better place for my next job. I don't ask for much - just a facility where I don't get so stressed that I vomit before i start my shift!

Specializes in Geriatrics, Dialysis.

Well if you submitted your resignation then it was submitted. I don't think they can refuse to accept it. How did they plan on enforcing you to keep working? Not that you would ever want to work there again, but if you kept a copy of your dated resignation letter can they even put you on "not eligible for rehire" list?

Specializes in Medical-Surgical, Telemetry/ICU Stepdown.

Future employers can't even ask your ex-HR dept. if you got fired or resigned...almost all HR offices now pursue the same policy of just disclosing that you worked for them and the employment dates and nothing else. They refuse to disclose details.

Why?

Because workers have filed successful lawsuits against former employers--for trying to tarnish their resume by giving hostile references. The attorneys for the workers argued (very successfully) that not only this employee is traumatized by losing job/getting terminated, etc. but also now the former boss is trying to harass them in future endeavors and prevent them from making a living.

Nobody has the right to do that, argue the attorneys, being out of work is "punishment enough"--you had an encounter with a bad company, wasted your time and energy and sanity, your resigned or was asked to resign or got fired--it makes no difference.

In my opinion the only thing that matters is the nursing license. If god forbid they sanction your license and enter something in there this becomes public record and much can be done about it.

My colleague got fired from 2 management positions in a row...she's still working and she's happy. She's an outstanding nursing professional and a leader, she just hates the system, the companies that fired her had been pressuring her to cook the books and falsify wound care records and she said no way.

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