Need advice-should I apply AGAIN or let it go?

[luvapug]

I used to work with a nurse who became a nurse manager. I took several years off to raise my kids and when I was ready to return to nursing I ran into her and she told me to apply if I wanted a job and she'd look into hiring me. I applied and went through a phone interview (not with her-the hospital) and then because of family circumstances pulled out of the application process and told her now wasn't a good time to jump back in. I took a part-time job elsewhere with better hours and was ready to try again after a couple years for this position when one came open so I called her and this time I went through a major interview with her and shadowed a nurse all day on the floor but decided I couldn't do the straight nights (which I didn't know about until the interview) so I told her it wouldn't work this time either so the other two candidates they were looking at would have their focus and not me. Now there is another opening for prn which I could do and would like to but since she's already pulled my application twice and I haven't went through with it I'm sort of afraid of even bothering her again. I was never officially offered the job either time because I pulled out of the running both times. I didn't want to be offered the job and then not be able to deliver. However, with prn I could do the nights since I'd only be working once in a while and then at least get my foot in the door for a better position if one came up. (Hubby works nights too and we have kids so I can't do them all the time). Do you think I should apply again for this position or just let this go?

[Faeriewand, ASN, RN]

Go ahead and apply! It doesn't hurt to try.

[BrookeeLou_RN]

OP never said this nurse manager was a 'friend".. she was a co-worker! Sorry but in this economic times you have to do things you might have the luxury of avoiding if things were different. The woman can just trash her application if she is offended.

[AwayWeGo]

I would go ahead and apply so long as you know you can follow through with the position. The worst that can happen is you aren't selected for the position.

[ctran]

I definitely won't apply if I were you simply because it sound like your schedule is way too restrictive. My sister is a prn x-ray tech and she gets call in all the time. One or two times you said you can't work is okay but if you know that you may not be able to work this day and that day then why bother to apply? If PRN need people that are able to show up for work.

[SweetheartRN]

The worst thing she can do is not call you....then you will know and not wonder about whether or not she would have given you another shot. In this day in time in nursing like another person said, we don't have the luxury of using the "manners" that one might deem appropriate in this situation. Its too hard to find a job out there, let alone one that will suit your schedule. Apply again and call her to explain what the situation was. I'm not sure why you didn't explain to her the problems you specifically had the other two times you applied and pulled out before. If she were made aware of that then she would understand why you would be committed to this position.

Either way the worst thing she can do is not respond. Don't be afraid to do what you gotta do. It kills me that we walk around on eggshells. Trust me--walking around on eggshells gets you nowhere FAST. Take it from someone who knows and has learned the hard way.

[luvapug]

Thanks for all the responses! Wow! I was kind of thinking myself it might be over-kill to call her AGAIN but thought maybe I was being silly. The first time we had a major illness in the family so all my child care support fell through due to needing to take care of a family member we weren't sure was going to make it. That took over a year and thankfully all is well. When I had applied again I (stupidly) assumed it was still a self-schedule like before (I should've double-checked) and was various shifts due to the job post saying it was when actually is was day shift orientation and night shift schedule and no longer self-schedule which I didn't find out about until the interview. So I did let her know both times why it wouldn't work out. She was not really a close friend-more like a good co-worker that really liked working with me and thought I did a good job. I never would've contacted her in the first place if I hadn't ran into her and she asked if I was interested in coming back.

Since it was just four months ago I went through the second round of applying I thought if I did apply for the prn and she was interested in hiring me at least the interview and shadowing part would already be out of the way. I thought maybe I should just e-mail her and explain why I could do prn and say how sorry I am for backing out twice and if she has a prn position she would be interested in my applying for to let me know and then from the way she replies, or if, I'll know where I stand. There were three people last time doing the same thing I was (interviewing and shadowing) so I really don't even know if I would've gotten the job. She told me personnel was the one that made the final decision. Not sure if that was true or just her way of not wanting to create hard feelings if someone else was chosen which I completely understood.

Also, (sorry this is so long) I was a little turned off by the treatment I received by the other nurse when I shadowed. She did not seem happy to have me there and they all kind of ignored me-I literally had to run after her when she was checking on a patient because she wouldn't tell me she was going to or even talk to me hardly. This shift complained a lot about how the other shift ran and how mean they were and I kept thinking well you all aren't exactly friendly yourselves. However, I thought maybe they just didn't want to get invested in someone who may not be back but it just didn't represent them well. They actually did so much complaining I was worried so I contacted another aquaintance who worked their too to see if it was that bad and she had nothing but good things to say but a few months later she quit and moved out of the area so not sure why. I was just hoping for a way to get my foot in the door somewhere but maybe there's a reason openings keep popping up so often. Thanks for all your advice!