New grad RN in a Nursing Asst. role....what should I do?

[SweetheartRN]

This is a long story that unfolded over a couple of months before I graduated from my ADN program. I graduated in Dec. 2010 and passed boards the same month. I've been working as a secretary/registrar in a hospital for 6 years. I became an LPN in 2008 and when I was told that an LPN could not work in our urgent care acute care dept. I went to work at a LTC facility to gain experience while continuting to work at the hospital and continue school to finish my RN because I ultimately knew I wanted to work in the hospital setting.

I was told that I would be guaranteed a job as an RN but shortly before finishing school, my boss got fired, our dept changed to a Kids Care facility(still considered an Urgent Care but for kids) and managemnt changed. My role was changed from Registrar to Nursing Asst. (We knew ahead of time that our dept. would be changing from a regular outpatient Urgent Care facility to a Kids Care but thought we'd be under the same management and keep the same staff and amount of staff.)

New Managment had to re interview us for our positions to see if they wanted to retain us for this new dept. or displace us into other areas of the hospital. I was retained in a PRN position, as this was currently what I had been doing because of school. They knew that I would be obtaining my RN license within two months of deciding to retain me in the Kids Care dept and that I was currently an LPN and had been for two years and had also sought out LPN experience on my own. *My only other option would have been to choose to go to the Business Services umbrella which would lead me further from the clinical aspect of the hospital* so i decided to stay in Kids Care with this new management.

The story gets better.....So during this process we retained some old employees and gained new employees for the new Kids Care dept. One of which was an LPN for whose position they did not publicize for at all. Apparently the position was made for her. I come to find out that her mother works for the hospital as well. She is currently taking online classes to obtain her BSN but is only in the prequisite stage of classes I had taken before I even got my LPN. I could see if she had tons of experience but she hasn't even been an LPN as long as me, got her license a year later than I did.

Its frustrating not to be able to be promoted in a place you have given 6 years to but whats more frustrating is having someone less academically qualified than you to have to report to. She is able to utilize her LPN license and here I am an RN stuck doing vitals only. BTW I would love to continue for my BSN but financially am unable at this point and time because of my current situation.

Ofcourse i have been applying EVERYWHERE now because I no longer have any respect for the hosptial I work for and would not think twice about leaving if offered an RN position elsewhere.

There is more to this story but its almost too depressing to write it down in black and white. I feel that there have been a lot of dishonest underhanded maneuvering during this whole process but I don't know if there is anything I can do about it. HR hasn't been any help.

My plan for now is to continuing working until hopefully something will open up. My being PRN means that my schedule varies on the needs of the staff and for this up and coming schedule I am working only one day on it. I have the opportunity to work on the Pediatric floor to pick up more hrs and I will do that to see if there are any possibilites that the staff on that floor could get to know me and possibly help influence the decision to hire me even if its just PRN in an RN position. This seems like a good idea but it just so happens that the same manager that is over the Kids Dept. I'm working at is over the Pediatric floor of my hospital as well so its not like she doesn't already know of my situation. So in all honesty I don't see how that could help but I need the hrs so I'll do it anyway. Its not like the two depts.(Kids Care and the Peds floor) couldn't use more nursing help. The staff is constantly complaining about the patient census and acuity is rising since we reopened as Kids Care in Oct. of last year. I here comments from the nurses about why they can't hire me to help when they need me to as an RN etc....instead of sitting at the computer ordering labwork etc...all the while the LPN constantly has to ask another RN to get something out of the Accudose for her. :uhoh21:

Does anyone have any ideas of what I could possibly do? Is there anything I can do? Sorry so long!!!

[netglow, ASN, RN]

That really SUX SweetheartRN.

Truthfully I don't see anything changing for you at that place. I had a friend that was really put through the ringer as she waited to get a job as an RN at the place she teched at. She was passed over 5 times. The DON and all, kept saying ambiguous things to her that gave her just enough incentive to keep on waiting. Heck of course its great for them, she was busting "A" as a tech to show her worth, they got so much more for their money from her. As the months went along she felt like you do, and finally got a job elsewhere. I think you should just concentrate on trying to get something elsewhere too. There are just too many people that have actual family in these facilities, and that is what gets them the job. God help the patients.

[SweetheartRN]

That really SUX SweetheartRN.

Truthfully I don't see anything changing for you at that place. I had a friend that was really put through the ringer as she waited to get a job as an RN at the place she teched at. She was passed over 5 times. The DON and all, kept saying ambiguous things to her that gave her just enough incentive to keep on waiting. Heck of course its great for them, she was busting "A" as a tech to show her worth, they got so much more for their money from her. As the months went along she felt like you do, and finally got a job elsewhere. I think you should just concentrate on trying to get something elsewhere too. There are just too many people that have actual family in these facilities, and that is what gets them the job. God help the patients.

Thanks for the truthfulness of your reply onaclearday, that sounds horrible for your friend but thank goodness she did find a job!!! Good for her. I'm starting to realize that is what is happening to me because when they need me I come in when someone calls out sick and bust my butt trying to prove to them they need me and that I am a hard-worker and smart. I show up for all the meetings and am always on work on time and working my hardest to do a good job in the NA role. Plus like I said earlier I'm not getting any hours in the Kids Care dept. so they really are heavily suggesting I work on the Peds floor( on that floor they have a lot of NA hrs. available). Basically they are using me for that because I'm only scheduled for one day in Kids Care this schedule and they know I need more than 6 hours a schedule. I don't think they have any plans of ever trying to promote me.

[sheila0313]

wow, that's just crazy. see this is what my husband and i are always talking about. i mean the fact that the world teach you to go to school, get good grades, get a job. so we go out and we do that, and we have no control, no freedom, no power. we have to take the position that they tell us to, work the hours, shifts that tell us, no control. it doesn't matter if you are a nurse, doctor, lawyer, you have to come to work on the days you're scheduled , it doesn't matter if you are the best hard working person in the company your income is still limited. you can only earn a certain amount before you reach your max pay rate, right? i mean you may not mine this, in fact many people may not mine working for other people. somebody has to do it, or somebody is going to do it. but it sounds to me, like you're unhappy with your situation. my point is there's nothing wrong with going to school to educate yourself, hey i went to nursing school also, but think ownership and investments. when you own your own business you don't have to worry about this, or worry about if can you get this position or can you get this day off to attend your son's baseball game. when you are in ownership you are in control, you are earning money in your sleep, you can take vacations when you want. my husband and i have started this business in financial services and these are things we are learning in this business, as we educate ourselves, we educate others. the world has program us and we have to change our mind set, and build towards ownership. we are building towards ownership and financial freedom. i am a nurse now just got my license, but i will not work for other people the rest of my life, we are working on changing that. now, i can't tell you if you should quit your job right now or not, but if you are a spiritual person or if you believe in god, then i would pray about it. if you pray and fast god will guide you, i have many testimonies for that. that is why i can't make a decision like that without going through christ. i can do everything through him who gives me strength (philippians 4:13) god wants us to prosper, so if you are a believer take it to the thrown. also if you don't won't to work for other people for the rest of your life, think about changing your mind set and start investing and owning. if you want to talk more email me, i will pray for you also. blessings to you!

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

sheila0313, the true mindset people have is that owning a business is risky rather then working for someone else is risky (i read about this concept in the "millionaire next door" by thomas j. stanley and william d. danko). i agree with this concept, which is why my next part-time job will be my own business. i am tired of jealously, cattiness, personal prejudices, and the politics of working for others determining my base income, pay raises, vacation time, and career opportunities. my goal is to become financially secure someday, as well.... good luck and god bless to you and your husband too!

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

op: i was in a similar situation as you once. i worked hard because i am a hard worker. i made a lot of money for my department (this was prior to nursing). i tried to gain a promotion outside of my department and i was not given the promotion. i was passed up so many times i lost count. in one incident a person was given a job over me who only had a ged (i was working on my mba at the time) and was a "former" drug addict. i found out later her mom was friend with whomever and that is how she got the job.

i finally realized that my department head was the one preventing me from moving on and progressing in my career because i made too much money for his department (his words). rather then promote me to train others to make the same money i made (i know... that is too logical), he just kept me in a low paying entry level position to rot. so, i left!!! he was shocked because he had managed to torpedo job interviews i had lined up initially, but by the grace of god, i landed a job and was able to leave the company.

sadly, this is what you will have to do too unless you can sit a manger down who has some sense. be sure to have another job offer first, then let them know that you love working for this company, but you have a rn position at company a. plus, you no longer wish to work in a position that is not as a rn and so if your company can give you a rn position now, you would reject the offer at company a. on the other hand, if you are honestly fed up with your current company, do not bother. leave as soon as you are able. gl!

[SweetheartRN]

Hi to all, thankyou for all your responses.

Sheila0313, I plan on emailing you soon!!! It sounds like you've got it together and I do believe I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!!! Firm believer in that!!! I have a strong faith in God and He is who has brought me through thus far. I don't know if I have the mindset of a businesswoman however, I don't know if I'm as savvy as you but you have definitely given me something to think about.

MBARNBSN-- I have actually set down and talked to the nursing director over Kids Care in Dec. 2010 and let her know my feelings and frustrations. She stated that she would help me find a position within the company because there were presently no positions available in our department and said that if she could just get me in an RN position somewhere in the company and get me trained I could float to Kids Care when they have needs in the department. I left the meeting feeling hopeful.

Fast forward to two months later. Apparently she didn't realize how fast the patient census and needs of the department would grow because I found out last week that she put in for two PRN RN positions for the dept. As soon as I found the information out(before the positions were posted to the public) I emailed her stating my desire to be considered for a postion and restating some of the things we talked about in our meeting in Dec. A week goes by and I get no reply from her.

I email her again and called the nurse recruiter today and she tells me the positions did get approved, however RN experience of 3-5 years peds is required. I am ineligible to apply, and if I do apply it will get kicked back by the nurse recruiter and will never be seen by my nurse director.

Why is the criteria for these positons so much higher than what some of the other nurses hired for the department have? Does this sound like I should just give up?

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Wow hon, you really have been put through the wringer. But, even though I don't know your exact situation, I want to reassure you that it almost certainly isn't about your qualifications or worth - you are just caught up in an organizational situation.

I'm glad you spoke with your Nurse Director. It is always better to present your case directly rather than try to guess what is going on. She can only hire into positions that have already been approved. Vacancies used to be listed automatically, but now in most hospitals, positions have to be re-approved each time a vacancy opens up... the manager has to provide evidence that the position is still needed before it can be filled.

It's also not uncommon for organizations to 'raise the bar' if they are getting a lot of applications.. These days, they may be getting hundreds of applications they have to sift through and they are trying to narrow the field a bit. So that may be why they increased the experience required for the new Pedi nurse positions.

Just one caveat - I don't know what state you are in, but just because you are working in a lesser position it does not mean that you are immune from the responsibilities of an RN. For instance, if (based on your professional knowledge and ability) you see that something is being done wrong by a non-licensed person, you are professionally obligated to intervene. You may want to check that out with your BON. That's why most organizations absolutely will not hire RNs for any other type of positions. It sets up a very difficult situation to for everyone.

Have you spoken with your HR rep? There's usually someone who is responsible for 'employee relations'.. may have different titles, such as 'employee advocate'. That person may have some really good ideas for you. After all, the organization has already invested in you, and you have proven yourself to be a loyal employee - of course they want to keep you.

Best of luck to you.

[SweetheartRN]

Hi HouTX, I am in the process of talking to someone in pulbic relations---my family feels like this whole situation really reflects badly on the hospital system so maybe I will get some help from this guy. I also plan on contacting the employee helpline.

We had a mock drill of a pediatric patient in anaphylaxis yesterday. I called the code and everyone came to respond. The LPN was there. Nursing Staff Development did the drill and when they found out she was an LPN they basically told her she should not be working as an LPN in the acute care/urgent care setting that our walk in peds office is considered. She cannot access rescue drugs in the event of an emergency and she also isn't supposed to be doing an assessments either. I am going to present this information to the employee helpline along with my other grievances.