New job. Got injured. Fired for unexcused absences during new hire probation period... what did I do wrong?

[BeatsPerMinute]

Hey everyone.. I was recently let go from my new job in IR. I have about 5 years of experience (ICU and cardiac procedure care - pre/post/intra). Earlier this fall took a new job at another hospital. First week on the job, I experienced a pain I had never felt before - my upper shoulder and neck muscles began contracting out of the blue and continuously. It hurt bad…felt  like a "charley horse" in my shoulder and neck that just wouldn’t stop. I was escorted to from my unit to the ED to get checked out. After the ED PA and MDs saw me, a CT of my neck was ordered right away, and it showed that I had a C5-C6 protrusion.  I was given pain meds and a referral to ortho surgery. By the time I got out of the ED, my shift was over. I returned to work for my next scheduled shift.

I made an appointment as soon as I could with Ortho, on an off day. Ortho doc advised that I not do any sort of strenuous exercise (which was crushing... I am avid backpacker/hiker.. I bike, practice yoga, play tennis, weight lift, run, etc...) and now suddenly could not do anything but light stretching and walks, and was given an order to see PT 3x a week. Being new to the unit, I was transparent about the injury (not the details of the cause... just that it existed….as the cause of the injury was an assault that had happened a couple months back... by an angry family member who was not in their right state of mind… I shared that with the ED and the Ortho doc, but that feels a bit too sensitive to share with my new workplace people). 

Moving forward, I stayed flexible with scheduling. I remained cautious and mindful about my neck while I worked. But I still worked. Per preceptor, I was a hard worker. Even though I was not permitted to exercise, my doc said it was fine that I still worked. So, I continued working per usual: including pushing beds, transferring, carrying / shifting weighty tech machinery around, repositioning patients, wearing lead during procedures, etc… After each shift and on my off days, I focused on self care. I rescheduled and put off PT to accommodate my new job ever changing schedule... so that I be consistent and work with my preceptor, follow her schedule.. and also that I could complete orientation in a timely matter despite the missed days.  

Fast forward ~6 weeks I hurt my lower back at home… Annoying… something about not exercising for that long has made me clumsier I guess… but, NBD. There was a little bruising and a nagging sensation, otherwise felt that it was not that bad. Then the next day I worked ( on a particularly fast moving, short staffed, bustling & busy day ) I ended up hitting the exact same spot on my lower back (on patient bed rail). It hurt at first, but subsided. I shook it off and I kept working. Later that afternoon, I could feel the spot on my lower back swell .. and grow... and it became more painful. I asked a co-worker about it. She took a look and suggested that I get it checked out asap because it looked like a hematoma. I approached my manager, explained what happened, and went to the ED. CT of my lower back confirmed a hematoma. I was given a doctors note and was instructed to take it easy the next few days so that the area can heal and not get worse. I kept my manager updated via text and calling, and immediately provided a copy of the MD note. 

I returned to work a few days later as instructed. I was eager to get back to work and was feeling much better. Near the end of the shift that day, my manager pulled me into the office, and called HR. With me, my manager present, and HR on the phone, HR stated that as a new hire I am on probationary period, and during that that time, it is expected that employees be at their best. The number of unexcused absences has made them feel that I am not a good fit to work there anymore. Reasons were irrelevant... She said that at the end of the day, the number of unexcused absences was concerning, so much so that they felt they could no longer keep me as an employee. I was terminated. Just like that. 

I am still stunned... It's not like I caught a cold or didn't feel like coming to work... It's not like I just went to the ED on a wim and nothing was found... Is this really grounds for termination? Is there any way to fight this? I followed advice of co-workers, I followed MD instructions, I kept my manager updated, and thought that I was doing the best one possibly could in keeping that balance of being a diligent worker and caring for self. Should I have done something different? Is there anything that I can do now? I am really at a loss...

(note: I live and work in VA) 

[Sour Lemon]

On 12/8/2020 at 9:30 PM, BeatsPerMinute said:

At the end of the day... just try something and see what happens? 

That sounds about right ?

[londonflo]

21 hours ago, BeatsPerMinute said:

The number of unexcused absences has made them feel that I am not a good fit to work there anymore. Reasons were irrelevant... She said that at the end of the day, the number of unexcused absences was concerning,

Did your employee handbook list the actual number of absences that would lead to severing the employer-employee relationship? I asked this because, after many years of reliable attendance, I developed a recurring health problem that was not being diagnosed/treated correctly. I would miss a day, rally and come to work the next. Every couple of weeks l the problem recurred. I was seeing physicians etc with out a good resolution. Even after I was admitted to the hospital (and did some job related paperwork while there) I was back at work the morning after discharge. The hospital policy stated an employee could only have 7 absences per year. Each instance was measured/concluded by a return to work. So episodic illnesses actually worked against one. I was called into the Dean's office and shown the number of individually separate sick days I had taken.  I had returned to work quickly because of supervisor pressure (the Dean would even come and see me in the hospital or come to my house, pretty impatient with my health problems) and thinking I was being a 'good employee'. I was kept on but was so happy to leave that job ASAP. 

I can certainly understand you were a new employee with no back of sick days. Financially you were behind the 8-ball. Hopefully 2021 will be a much better year for you!

[Guest856929]

43 minutes ago, BeatsPerMinute said:

At the end of the day... just try something and see what happens? 

 ?‍♀️

Indeed. Try both; inclusion and omission. Thereafter, perhaps you can tell us which one yielded better results. If I were a betting wo/man, I would put my money on the latter from the anecdotal evidence I have gathered thus far, granted anecdotes can be unreliable and invalid. I am not encouraging you to go against your values, but I am trying to analyze your situation practically, ethical dilemmas notwithstanding. Getting fired is one of those stains you can explain, but the canvas is visibly dirty to the viewer (HR), irrespective of the explanation. "The game is already rigged and you cannot lose unless you play" -The wire. When it comes to matters of survival, adaptability is a primary strategy and perhaps the adage "it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission" is reasonably applicable. Just my 2 pennies. 

[CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN]

Yes, it sucks and I don’t blame you for feeling disoriented. But it is just one of those things. You had a run of bad luck. None of it was your fault. The run of bad luck ended with you losing your job. So now you process it, watch movies, cry to your friends, then dust yourself off and move on. You probably won’t have trouble finding work, as places are hard-up right now. It won’t help you in the long run to spend time obsessing about the unfairness of it all. 
One piece of advice is that you may want to consider leaving bedside nursing. I say this as someone who works outpatient myself. Even though you’ve always been a super healthy and fit person, you may need to start thinking of yourself as someone with a “bad back” and take a job that doesn’t require rolling bariatric patients around. 

[T-Bird78]

I got fired from my first ever nursing job and was simply told “it’s not going to work out”. A pt called to demand to speak to their cardio, who was at the hospital in surgery, and when I offered pt an appt with another provider same-day, she yelled and hung up on me. She called back, again, and demanded her cardio. I told her, again, he was physically in surgery at that moment and couldn’t be reached, she yelled and hung up on me. She called again and asked to speak to someone else, I asked a coworker if they could talk to her because pt wasn’t listening to me and pt asked for someone else, and my coworker said “that’s not my job today” and all the other RNs turned their backs, so I told pt again another provider could see her same day or she could go to the ED of that hospital and her cardio could see her there. Pt yelled and hung up on me. I asked the lead physician of the group, the founder of the practice, and he said I was right and following company protocol.  Pt called again, I repeated our options, and she said she was calling corporate. Apparently she complained about me because I was called into HR two days later (the coworker who told me it wasn’t her job to do phone triage told me to bring my stuff with me so she knew) and I was terminated on the spot. Sometimes employers just suck. 

[JKL33]

16 hours ago, BeatsPerMinute said:

I've never seen a job description require that I must list every single nursing position ever held (aside from government jobs). Is that really an issue? In my experience, tailoring a resume, one that best shows off how an individual would be a great fit for the position listed, is the best way to capture a potential employers attention and get an interview... and that also, a resume with many words and little white space is glazed over...

One explanation I have heard is that the resume and application are two different beasts. The resume is a marketing tool. Some people say it is your choice to leave certain positions off your resume. There it is a preference and even a practical matter given that space is also limited.

However, most will advise that it isn't wise to lie on the application itself and, like others, I've never filled one out that didn't ask pointed questions about employment history, sometimes detailed info about previous jobs which the applicant is asked to list. Also usually associated with applications is some sort of attestation that the information is true and complete to the best of the applicant's knowledge, and some sort of statement about how any possible job offers and the employment relationship itself are contingent upon this.

So with the above info in mind, it really comes down to whether a job seeker believes it is useful to conceal something in order to improve one person's first impression knowing that another document has been submitted which is going to divulge the information anyway. Or, I'm sure some people lie on the application, too. I just wouldn't want to live like that where I've subjected myself to a situation whether there is an obvious excuse to terminate me on any given day.

[Wuzzie]

1 hour ago, JKL33 said:

I just wouldn't want to live like that where I've subjected myself to a situation whether there is an obvious excuse to terminate me on any given day.

This is an important point. If you are deceitful on an application on which you attested that the information is truthful and someone finds out somewhere down the road you risk being fired once it becomes known. Yes, I've seen it happen...twice. I would not want to live with that Sword of Damocles over my head every single day. 

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

1 hour ago, T-Bird78 said:

I got fired from my first ever nursing job and was simply told “it’s not going to work out”. A pt called to demand to speak to their cardio, who was at the hospital in surgery, and when I offered pt an appt with another provider same-day, she yelled and hung up on me. She called back, again, and demanded her cardio. I told her, again, he was physically in surgery at that moment and couldn’t be reached, she yelled and hung up on me. She called again and asked to speak to someone else, I asked a coworker if they could talk to her because pt wasn’t listening to me and pt asked for someone else, and my coworker said “that’s not my job today” and all the other RNs turned their backs, so I told pt again another provider could see her same day or she could go to the ED of that hospital and her cardio could see her there. Pt yelled and hung up on me. I asked the lead physician of the group, the founder of the practice, and he said I was right and following company protocol.  Pt called again, I repeated our options, and she said she was calling corporate. Apparently she complained about me because I was called into HR two days later (the coworker who told me it wasn’t her job to do phone triage told me to bring my stuff with me so she knew) and I was terminated on the spot. Sometimes employers just suck. 

Sometimes coworkers do, too. Wow, they sucked

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

11 hours ago, cynical-RN said:

Nonetheless, I applaud you and your ilk for never embellishing any details to make yourselves appear more appealing on any application. 

If you promote yourself with facts and are known by a good reputation, there's no need to embellish anything

[Guest856929]

14 minutes ago, Hoosier_RN said:

If you promote yourself with facts and are known by a good reputation, there's no need to embellish anything

Indeed. I agree with your sentiment. However, in this particular context, OP's facts are quite detrimental all things considered. If she recanted that entire story in an application and/or interview as factually as she presented it here, I doubt she will get hired. If one company found it fit to fire her based on that story, what would make another company hire her in spite of the same story? It would have to be quite a desperate company by my fallible estimation. There is the perfect world then there is reality and context. Veracity is important, but adaptability is important. The game is already rigged against her from the get-go from a HR standpoint. "Hate the game not the player" -author unknown. LOL 

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

52 minutes ago, cynical-RN said:

Indeed. I agree with your sentiment. However, in this particular context, OP's facts are quite detrimental all things considered. If she recanted that entire story in an application and/or interview as factually as she presented it here, I doubt she will get hired. If one company found it fit to fire her based on that story, what would make another company hire her in spite of the same story? It would have to be quite a desperate company by my fallible estimation. There is the perfect world then there is reality and context. Veracity is important, but adaptability is important. The game is already rigged against her from the get-go from a HR standpoint. "Hate the game not the player" -author unknown. LOL 

Many have offered plausible sentiments: injury recovered from, not a good fit, etc. Since OP had 5 years at 1 employer and the parting was good, that is a good leg to stand on.

Most applications require truthfulness as noted by a signature. Leaving off an employer isn't being truthful. You can be fired for omissions,  I've had to do it before. Nursing is a small world and people do talk...

[Guest856929]

16 minutes ago, Hoosier_RN said:

Many have offered plausible sentiments: injury recovered from, not a good fit, etc. Since OP had 5 years at 1 employer and the parting was good, that is a good leg to stand on.

Most applications require truthfulness as noted by a signature. Leaving off an employer isn't being truthful. You can be fired for omissions,  I've had to do it before. Nursing is a small world and people do talk...

I understand that and I mentioned that omission is in fact deception. I am just offering a contrarian POV for OP to consider given that her circumstances are quite dire. I am not saying it is the rightful thing to do, but there are contexts where keeping it 100% real can go wrong. I am looking at it practically and from a statistical perspective I.e. the probability of gaining employment given her tarnished history. If we are talking about being 100% truthful, then the plausible euphemisms being offered are in fact embellishing facts, from a moral perspective.