New grad RN terminated from orientation after 3 weeks on tele unit

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Where do I go from here? My main problem was time management, although I had worked on the unit as a tech and never had any issues. My preceptor left after 1 week on FMLA. I got a new preceptor who told me that she doesn't like precepting. They may offer me a position within the system. I will find out later today.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

If I understand correctly, you were terminated after only 2 weeks with that preceptor? That seems quite abrupt and unfair. Have you been able to have a conversation with the NM or anyone to discuss this?

Plus, if you were previously a tech on the unit..... Something doesn't seem right about this.

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There has been a pattern of hiring new grads as "place-holders" until they can find an experienced nurse to fill the position. Sometimes they hire a group of NGs and are able to fill say two experienced slots and then, a few NGs get to stay and the rest are deleted. Other times a group of NGs are hired - many more than needed and they cull the herd before the first month's gone.

This is why you should not sign a full lease/mortgage prior to several months on the job go by and you feel that as far as you know they are keeping you! If you move to take a job, stay at an extended stay or a short lease (month to month) arrangement.

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So sorry to hear that! Floor nursing is extremely busy and can be very difficult to catch on as a new grad. I used to preceptor new grads on a surg/tele floor and it is very overwhelming for new orientees to catch on, especially if they do not have a good preceptor. It is very strange that they fired you only after 2 weeks. I would consider asking the manager what it is that you were not doing so that you could learn from those mistakes. Try it out on another floor and if it is too tough maybe look into a different type of job. Try a job that is not so demanding.

Most aides/techs tend to catch on quickly but can struggle because they are used to a much different role. It is tough to get away from just "doing" to delegating. I guess in the end, I'd try a different floor. It all sounds too weird! On my floor we had multiple nurses that used to work on the floor or were float techs that then received their RN and worked out great! Don't give up! Maybe God is trying to send you to a different place that is more suitable for you. : )

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
There has been a pattern of hiring new grads as "place-holders" until they can find an experienced nurse to fill the position. Sometimes they hire a group of NGs and are able to fill say two experienced slots and then, a few NGs get to stay and the rest are deleted. Other times a group of NGs are hired - many more than needed and they cull the herd before the first month's gone.

This is why you should not sign a full lease/mortgage prior to several months on the job go by and you feel that as far as you know they are keeping you! If you move to take a job, stay at an extended stay or a short lease (month to month) arrangement.

OMG, that is terrible.

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Yeah. What's funny (strange) is that I suspected this was going on a few years ago since the obvious lack of the "nursing shortage" and the economy tanked, when I started hearing similar things as what happened to the OP from people I have networked with in several parts of the country - so not just my area.

The strange part comes from my having met a retired Director of HR from a large hospital system while I was on vacation and of late another while waiting in a long line at the store! How totally wierd! They said it made them sick how nursing is being treated as of late, and also how new grads are considered sub-human in the hiring process. Prior to that I was whispered to by a recruiter at a job fair right after I graduated a few years ago while walking with her in the rain to our cars (total coincidence) that It'd be best to not put my marbles in her network, that things were stacked against NGs and that, she hated to be at "these things" eg career fairs as it was all new grads - most of whom would get screwed.

Folks, it is all about who you know in order to be protected from this type of situation - got it from the horses mouths.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

I HATE this. Orientation should not be Boot Camp.

Orientees should be provided with a very clear 'road map' for orientation. It needs to include everything that needs to be accomplished and the timelines for accomplishing everything. They also need to have the a copy of the criteria that will be used to measure success - ex: "by the end of week 3, the orientee must manage the routine care for 6 patients for an entire shift; consult the preceptor only for unfamiliar or uncommon issues that have not yet been reviewed; complete all documentation on time; . . . etc"

Orientees need regular feedback on their status/progress. At midpoint, if expectations are not being met, the Preceptor or Educator needs to begin "foaming the runway"... clearly explaining to the orientee that they are not on track, and unless they can manage to kick it up a notch or two, things are going to end badly. Then helping the orientee develop a plan to salvage the process. But, under no circumstances should an orientee be "surprised" by being let go without any previous discussions to indicate problems.

Even in the current market - with a huge surplus of new grads, there is absolutely no excuse for disrespect.

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Specializes in Neuro, Med-surg..

Floor nursing is tough for new grads to get a handle on (believe me, I know!). But what areas of nursing are less demanding? It seems as though most areas of nursing are pretty intense.

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There has been a pattern of hiring new grads as "place-holders" until they can find an experienced nurse to fill the position. Sometimes they hire a group of NGs and are able to fill say two experienced slots and then, a few NGs get to stay and the rest are deleted. Other times a group of NGs are hired - many more than needed and they cull the herd before the first month's gone.

This is why you should not sign a full lease/mortgage prior to several months on the job go by and you feel that as far as you know they are keeping you! If you move to take a job, stay at an extended stay or a short lease (month to month) arrangement.

Sorry to hear of your horrible new job experience, OP. Mine was similar though not quite as abrupt. Netglow, please explain more about this "place-holder" phenomenon. Why is a place-holder necessary or beneficial? Why isn't it made clear that some won't make the cut, so be prepared? I had a suspicion, picked up from little clues before I was let go as a new grad orientee, that there was already a replacement waiting in the wings and ready to start. There was also a distinct lack of welcome when I started and lack of feeling accepted into the fold. I was pretty much ignored on a personal level except by my preceptor. (This does not happen to me in other areas of my life. I'm accustomed to friendly relations with colleagues and others in general.) It seemed like a big mystery of nursing at the time, which I attributed to staff being so busy, but suspected was sort of a "don't get too close, she might not be here long" type of thing. Maybe nurses can tell in a short time whether someone will "make it" or not. (?) Weird. (I was also not on the next month's schedule, though no one could/would say why.) I don't think I'm especially paranoid, but my perceptive/intuitive skills are intact. Thank you Allnurses for helping clue the clueless!

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Flatlander, I didn't experience any of this ...I think I explained how I know OF these practices in my two posts if you give 'em a little re-read.

When there are so many nurses to be had so easily, advantage taking often becomes the rule of the day.

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First there was classroom orientation, then I was on the floor for 4 weeks with a clinical coach and 3 other new grads without any issues. That was the time to build skills and get used to the charting system. I had 1 patient most of the time and 2 patients for 1 or 2 shifts. Toward the end of the 4 weeks, the coach asked if it was ok if she would be my preceptor for the next 6 weeks. Although I did not think it was an ideal match, I decided to go ahead with it and try and make it work. I didn't feel like I was able to refuse, especially since she asked to my face and my boss had already made the match, without any feedback from me. I was with that preceptor for a week, she said her rash of criticism at the end of the week, without discussing anything with me throughout the week, and then she left on FMLA. I was with another preceptor for one day (just as a placeholder), then I got another preceptor for 4 shifts, and I was terminated toward the end of the 4th shift.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

It sucks from a new grad perspective.

From a business and a team perspective, it's great. Sports teams have done it since, well, for a long time. It's a buyers market allowing employers to try a handful and keep the best of the crop.

If the employers are not properly supporting their NGs then it will ultimately be their loss.

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