Need some advice, please

[Salisburysteak, BSN, RN]

I am new to allnurse.com. I have been lurking for a bit, but I was unsure if I should ever start posting..

Anyways, Here is my dilemma. I have been an LPN for 3 years and every single job I have had I have been terminated. My first Nursing job was in a extended care facility and I liked the Residents and the job itself, but I could not stand the environment in which I worked. I live in the Southeastern US and I am not from the Southeast and I was called a Yankee b**** on more than one occasion and I soon learned pretty much that everyone who worked there was related some way or another. I was terminated for not properly doing a Tx. This facility had a Tx Nurse. I soon realized another nurse on another unit got involved in this and she ended up being responsible for my termination. I was terminated when our DON was out sick. I don't think I would have been terminated if she was there. I had just received my 90 day evaluation and I received higher marks than I thought I would. I was fresh out of Nursing school when I started, so that was job number one.

Job number two was in a outpatient substance abuse clinic and I liked that job, but the owners of the company were minorities and wanted an all minority staff, so I was terminated for a med error I did not do. the other nurse consistently made meds errors and she was not disciplined at all.

My third job was at a SNF and I was pleased that I was hired and loved that job I enjoyed going to work everyday and got along with my co workers very well. I had no problems staying over my shift if needed and I would come in on days off if needed. The TX nurse position became available and I applied for it and received the position. I liked working as a Tx nurse. I thought I was doing an okay job until we got a resident a new geri chair. Everything went downhill from there. This geri chair was supposed to have a pressure reduction cushion built into the chair. Well this resident ended up with a horrible unstagable PU. I had documented that this chair way cause some problems. This resident was in Hospice care for a terminal condition that was getting worse. This resident also acquired Aspiration pneumonia, so this resident's nutritional intake was very poor and thickened liquids had to be given via a syringe. I made sure i documented everything and I kept the DON aware or everything I was doing. I was suspened and then 4 days later I was terminated for poor job performance, I feel totally horrible about this and I have let myself down tremendously. I did not become a nurse to keep messing up. When I was terminated my DON was in tears. I had asked to be put back as a charge Nurse, but my DON said no.

I just want to know how can I overcome this. This really looks horrible on my applications. I just want to know how I can prove to potential employers I am not a horrible nurse and I really do care about my residents and everyone I take care of. I was a CNA for 17 years before I became a nurse. Nursing is all I know! Please help!

Thank you!!!

[Nascar nurse, ASN, RN]

I'm not sure I understand exactly why you were terminated from the last job. If you knew that the geri chair caused pressure and you documented that - what did you do to resolve it? I'm also surprised that anyone is still being fed via a syringe. I haven't seen that done in many years...due to risk of aspiration (which came first the aspiration or the syringe feeding)?

With all due respect, it will be hard for you to overcome this trend. In most areas there are more jobs than nurses. When you get an interview you will want to really promote how much you have learned with your experiences. Again, respectfully, I believe you really do care about the residents but as a hiring manager I need more than someone who cares...I need someone who can see the whole picture.