My current job is putting my license at risk, and I feel my only option is to quit while I still have my reputation. How do I address this in interview?

[wernicke]

It's a very long story, but I currently work at a pediatric facility plagued with many problems. I have spent the last 18 months trying to sort them out, and I had a wonderful manager. Was making progress-our last audit was our best ever.

I have a colleague who is ultra competitive and has been out to get me-others back me on this. It started because when I was new, I outperformed her on something. I didn't even realize it at the time, and did not understand why she was targeting me. She once filed a false report on me to the state, which was promptly dismissed. She has a long history of doing this, and I do not think they take her too seriously anymore thank God! She has done dozens of other things, all unethical and some borderline illegal. Not just to me, but to many others too. I cannot be more specific on a public forum, and even if I could, it'd be hard to believe. 

 My manager just left. She is in line to be my new manager. Between that and the intrinsic problems of the facility, I have to get out of here. My license is at risk and that is not hypothetical.

I am devastated as I really love my patients. I also have to quit without notice as this place has a very long history of retaliating against people during their 2 week period. Right now I have a very good reputation and I want to keep it that way. 

I have never before quit a job without a new one lined up. I have multiple people willing to be references, some of whom offered outright. 

I am contemplating a lateral move as well as elder care, as I used to volunteer at an SNF from age 13-18, and I actually miss it. I want to keep my foot in the door in other specialties too though, so actually considering doing two part time gigs-one in peds and one in SNF. 

All that aside, in interview, obviously less is more. I am not going to say all of the above. But, what do I say? The honest truth is that I quit without having another job lined up because my license is at risk intrinsically due to issues with the facility, and this is amplified by an incredibly vindictive individual. 

[wernicke, BSN, RN]

Update for everyone: It all worked out! I had a new job within two weeks, and word of the situation had actually gotten around in some circles. I also had a ton of people volunteer to be my reference, including people who could vouch for the situation. 

I also made the right choice. Everything hit the fan a few weeks later. That former colleague who was going after me didn't just sit down and do nothing once I was gone. Unsurprisingly, someone like her always has to have a target so she began going after others. I cannot go into a ton of details on a public forum but I would have lasted about 3 more weeks from when this was first posted had I stayed. She is somehow even more devious than I realized, and she is quite devious! 

My new job is wonderful, and in the specialty I wanted to transition to (geriatric rehab). 

For any other nurse seeing this: If your license is at risk, quit. Get out. It is helpful to have references. Quitting without notice isn't unprofessional if it's self-defense, for lack of a better term. 

As for worries about "only place you can go is SNF", worry not! I got two hospital offers that I turned down, three hospital interviews that I declined as I'd already accepted my current job, and offers from several SNFs. This one is top ranked, has sane ratios, and a great working environment with management that has our backs. 

Thank you so much to everyone! I just wanted to post this as closure as I know I surf old threads here all the time.