Me thinks me has been blacklisted....

Published

wow, who would have thought after 20 years in nursing I would be without a job. I was 18+ years in a nursing Union, and did the one thing I said I would never do...... got lured out of the union into management! worked my behind off on a job I loved. Worked 50 and 60 hrs a week..... (paid for the management 40 hrs) on call 24/7, not able to take a weekend off or vacation in years. Finally it got to be too much. New boss. Harassment. overworked. I bid back on one of the open floor jobs at the hospital.

and..... even though it was the exact job I left in the union.. the job while I held it I earned employee of the month twice.....employee of the year once...and nominated for nurse of distinction. ...never a bad evaluation. had not used a sick day in 3 years...... I was denied this job. And when I asked HR why.... they could not give me a reason! So since I bid on the job and was giving up my management position.... that left me without a job at all!!!!!! The hospital has 3 open Med Surge Positions.... I am qualified for all, and bid on 4 different jobs in the hospital! and nothing. nada. zilch. with no reason from HR.

so after working 20 years at this place, I am now filing for unemployment. How humiliating! I go from working 240 hrs a month, being on call all the time, to nothing. My first day off in 3 weeks was the day they escorted me to my car and told me they would not give me a union staff job. Really? That is what hard work and loyalty give you?

I completely agree with Slightly Mental. If there is someone cheaper to hire, the jobs will almost always go that way. Why pay 30 bucks if you can get away with 20? The benefits are pretty much the same.

There is a severe amount of ageism in nursing, but it is almost impossible to prove. How can you show proof that the hospital interviewed a variety of people for 10-20 postions and rarely, if ever, hired the most expensive one? And why would they?

Not that I agree, as I am in the ranks of the unemployable at this time.

I once asked a recruiter who she would like taking care of her mother - a nurse who knew the sound of the cough of acute CHF, just before the code, or the nurse who panicked just as the code became evident. Only the bottom line seems to matter.

Best wishes!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in MSP, Informatics.
Wonder if this hospital was perhaps, trying to get rid of Nurses with seniority?

Thats exactly what I think they are doing... I would have gone back to my job at the top of the ladder. They could hire a new grad for a lot less

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Wonder if this hospital was perhaps, trying to get rid of Nurses with seniority?

.....Seniority, Loyalty, Hard Work mean nothing..... :rolleyes:

Agree with the above assessment - Occam's razor at work.

While this sucks for us older employees, it's great for the firms that employ [or in an increasing number of cases, used to employ] us and for the owners and stockholders involved.

According to federal law, firms are not able to use age as the exclusive or even the primary determinant in dismissing employees, it may be taken into account in the overall criteria used in determining who gets laid off. As a result, companies typically go to great lengths to ensure that age is well disguised in the layoff calculations but that they still achieve the desired end result of trimming labor costs. This another of the major differences between our laissez-faire, free-wheeling capitalistic economic system and the more controlled democratic socialist capitalism of much of the rest of the world (before anyone takes offense here, this is just an observation, not an endorsement of either economic philosophy).

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Sounds like maybe you lost your seniority when you went management. Why not ask?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Goes to show how management positions are no bed of roses. Good luck, I think you should get something somewhere due to fact that you have acute care and management experience.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

It's pretty evident why you're not getting jobs: You stated you left the union. Once you do that, you get blacklisted and can't get a job anywhere with that union. And you left to go into management, which is probably another mark against you. Is it right? NO. But that's one of the drawbacks to being in a union, especially if you choose to leave it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
That is what hard work and loyalty give you?

Yes, and this type of treatment has been around for along time. As a GN, I was in training with

preceptor on orientation. The nurse was nominated for Nurse of the Year (State Nurses Association).

She was a role model and what a nurse! No surprise she was selected.

A few months later, she decided to leave the hospital for another job as she was returning to school.

In theory, this personal nursing advancement is our goal individually.

Well, the NM would not give her a reference and would not talk to her:eek:.

Staff moral went in a downward slope, here are nurses working hard, seeing a peer who was a leader treated so poorly and disrespectfully.

The nurse did leave and pursue her education.

The real kicker is, about a month later the NM gave her notice as she was moving overseas.

This enraged the nurses on the unit, and everyone was so thankful that the new NM was a better individual.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

In your situation, your nursing seniority and todays disrespect of experienced nurses may have played a big part along with $$$.

New nurses work cheaper.

It may be payback for you taking the nurse management position.

I am so sorry for your current situation, it speaks volumes to why nursing has so many

issues. I wish you best of luck in finding a job where your dedication and experience will be

appreciated.

(If you need support, just pm me. I am part of the over 20 year club.)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Have only been out of work four months. Other places will hire me and have recently, Just cannot go back to a previous employer I enjoyed working for so much. I likely should just phone HR and ask them what's up. Maybe I will get the truth:lol2:

Some hospital systems have a policy that they will not hire back anyone who left.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I found out I was being blacklisted when prospective employers came right out and told me. Apparently they did not think I was much of a threat to them since I couldn't get a job.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in MSP, Informatics.
Sounds like maybe you lost your seniority when you went management. Why not ask?

Nope, I lost union protection when I went management. One thing we got in our union contract was you keep your seniority unless you are in management longer than in the union. So I would have had to be management for 18+ years to have lost my seniority.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

About 5 years ago I worked with a nurse who won the Nurse Excellence Award for the entire hospital system. The very next year she was fired. She had almost reached a certain point where her retirement benefits would have given her a guaranteed income for the rest of her life - she was fired just before her anniversary date. She tried to fight it with HR to no avail. She had been written up on a bogus claim and HR sided with upper management. There is no loyalty in nursing.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
About 5 years ago I worked with a nurse who won the Nurse Excellence Award for the entire hospital system. The very next year she was fired. She had almost reached a certain point where her retirement benefits would have given her a guaranteed income for the rest of her life - she was fired just before her anniversary date. She tried to fight it with HR to no avail. She had been written up on a bogus claim and HR sided with upper management. There is no loyalty in nursing.

This type of thing happens to far more people than we care to admit, until it happens to us or someone we know. Age discrimination is alive and well, practiced every day.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion