Newly unemployed

Published

i'm sorry that this is long but i need to vent.

i was let go from my ed after 14 months of employment. i had a very extensive orientation that the hospital offers all new icu and ed nurses. my orientation was broken up into different segments. once i became efficient in one area such as medicine, peds, psych, ortho, i moved on to the next area. i was told by each preceptor that i was doing great, and that i had a awsome bedside manner. i used to get hugs and flowers from pt's and their families. the last area to tackle was the critical bays. i was going through this orientation with about 15-16 other rn's, some icu rn's from my hospital and some from neighboring hospitals. i was the only ed rn in this particular class. all of the rn's from the orientation class were offered to take a 2 day ekg course before taking the mandatory ekg test. i was scheduled to work in the ed those 2 days and questioned why i was able to take the 2 day ekg course. at that time i was told by my nurse educator that because i was in the ed and not the icu i did not need to take the test. if i don't need the test i don't need the course. i was also told at that time that we (ed staff) had additional classes that we had to take and not to worry about it. even though when i was first hired i was told that i would take the 2 day ekg course because all of my 18 years of nursing have been on the med/surg floor. shortly before the end of my orientation i was told that i needed to do some self studying and was given a pile of stips to study because i did have to take the ekg test after all. i then asked my nurse educator if i could take the 2 day class the next time that it was offered before taking the test. i was told that since i passed acls with a 100% this test should not be a problem. i needed to have 85% to pass and to keep my job. i got a 84% on the test. i got points taken off for spelling errors, and 3 points off for writing a-fib, not writing a-fib with ventricular response.

my nurse educator denies every telling me that she would sign me up for the ekg course and has told my nurse manager that i am lying about this. i have been told by management that i will not get a good reference from them.

the last problem i have with this, is that the nurse educator told some of my peers to take me off the schedule. one nurse in particular has had a great time with this. i have felt very betrayed and not sure where to turn next. i think that the nurse educator made a mistake and didn't sign me up for the class. oh, by the way.... one of the ed rn's that was in the class before me took that ekg course twice. hummm.....

any suggestions on travel nursing?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Home Health, Geriatrics.

Oh honey, I am so sorry this happened to you. I never understand why things like this happen to good people. It seems like people like your nurse educator will always rise to the top and don't seem to care how many lives they wreck on the way up. I had a bad situation in December of last year and am now working at one-half of my former pay. I can barely make ends meet. Have you tried home health in your area? The pay is usually good. I feel for you and wish you the best of luck. I will keep you in my prayers.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU, ER.

Something seems fishy to me. You worked there for 14 months and were terminated for missing a test by 1 point? Something else is going on, don't you think?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

There is something else going on, I just don't know what it is. I have been trying to figure out if I have done something to someone or what? This ED is in trouble. They have more nurses leaving than they can hire. So, it confuses me that they would let someone go that actually wants to stay there.

My husband want's me to speak to any attorney because I should have been given the same opportunites the other RN's in the class had. I don't know if this is something I really want to do though.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU, ER.

There is little an attorney can do, unless you had a contract or can show discrimination based on sex, race, etc. In most instances, you can be terminated at any time with little recouse other than to apply for unemployment. I hope you are able to move on.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Something is wrong with this picture. Points taken off your test for spelling? Obviously they don't want you there for one reason or another.

I personally have never been a travel nurse but have had friends that traveled. I have worked agency and drove 100+ miles one way to do it. Anytime you are agency or travel nursing, you can expect to walk into a nightmare. Most places are using you because they don't have enough staff. I've been sent to places that were short 4 nurses and several aides and I was all that they got sent! Regular staff is frequently not friendly to you as they are jealous that you make more money and that you are not "stuck" at the facility/unit. I have found that agency/travel nurses stick together and help each other out, so if you find one, be nice to them and hang on to them. You usually are expected to function as a staff nurse with little to no orientation. They will expect you to be able to be proficient at the computer (checking labs/orders/charting) as soon as you get there. You are expected to take your lunch and not have any OT. You may frequently find that you are given the worst pt assignments because the staff is sick of a long term pt or high acuity/obnoxious pt. When you travel, you take a contract. You have to read the fine print. You can think you are going to a hospital and supposed to be working day shift only and then they put you on rotating schedule or night shifts. And by the time you find it out, sometimes it is too late and you are stuck. The good thing about agency/travel - you aren't stuck there forever; you get paid more than staff nurses (although you may not have benefits); you can have more of a say in your schedule; you can do your job and go home and stay out of the politics.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in tele, icu, homecare, long-term acute.
i'm sorry that this is long but i need to vent.

i was let go from my ed after 14 months of employment. i had a very extensive orientation that the hospital offers all new icu and ed nurses. my orientation was broken up into different segments. once i became efficient in one area such as medicine, peds, psych, ortho, i moved on to the next area. i was told by each preceptor that i was doing great, and that i had a awsome bedside manner. i used to get hugs and flowers from pt's and their families. the last area to tackle was the critical bays. i was going through this orientation with about 15-16 other rn's, some icu rn's from my hospital and some from neighboring hospitals. i was the only ed rn in this particular class. all of the rn's from the orientation class were offered to take a 2 day ekg course before taking the mandatory ekg test. i was scheduled to work in the ed those 2 days and questioned why i was able to take the 2 day ekg course. at that time i was told by my nurse educator that because i was in the ed and not the icu i did not need to take the test. if i don't need the test i don't need the course. i was also told at that time that we (ed staff) had additional classes that we had to take and not to worry about it. even though when i was first hired i was told that i would take the 2 day ekg course because all of my 18 years of nursing have been on the med/surg floor. shortly before the end of my orientation i was told that i needed to do some self studying and was given a pile of stips to study because i did have to take the ekg test after all. i then asked my nurse educator if i could take the 2 day class the next time that it was offered before taking the test. i was told that since i passed acls with a 100% this test should not be a problem. i needed to have 85% to pass and to keep my job. i got a 84% on the test. i got points taken off for spelling errors, and 3 points off for writing a-fib, not writing a-fib with ventricular response.

my nurse educator denies every telling me that she would sign me up for the ekg course and has told my nurse manager that i am lying about this. i have been told by management that i will not get a good reference from them.

the last problem i have with this, is that the nurse educator told some of my peers to take me off the schedule. one nurse in particular has had a great time with this. i have felt very betrayed and not sure where to turn next. i think that the nurse educator made a mistake and didn't sign me up for the class. oh, by the way.... one of the ed rn's that was in the class before me took that ekg course twice. hummm.....

any suggestions on travel nursing?

my heart goes out to you b/c i had a situation where i worked for an employer that didn't like me and basically, didn't want me there. sometimes there is no rhyme or reason why a certain employer doesn't want you....the place i had an issue with, i just didn't fit in, even though i tried to, my nurse manager wasn't interested in giving me a shot to try to fit in. she had it out for me from the get-go. i hate these petty, self-absorbed, hateful people who act like children. she made up all kind of reasons why i was an incompetent nurse, even though i did nothing wrong according to my peers. they even could see that i was blatantly being picked on. trust me, this is for the best for you to move on.

i know you don't wanna seem like a job-hopper, but you were there for over a year, which doesn't look like a very short employment period to me. as far as agency nursing, i never did it, but as a previous poster said, i've worked on floors where coworkers did have disdain for the agency nurses and were given little to no orientation and expected to function. but then, i've been places where we liked certain agency nurses and wanted them to come on board as staff. just depends i guess.

whatever you do, good luck and sorry for you're bad, back-stabbing experience. hope your venting helps

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I would say file a grievance with the hospitals HR department. If you truly feel that you were unjustly let go then it might be worth it for you, it could also just go to def ears but then atleast you told your side. I would also say that I think your prev. empl. can not give you a "bad" reference if you were terminated for circumstances not pertaining to pt abuse/neglect/harm. I think legally all the NM can do is transfer an in-coming call from a potential employer to the HR department and then supp. HR can only say that yes you worked their as a RN from bla to bla. unless there was a known violation of pt rights or safety I really don't think they can say anything else, but if I were you I would give a call to HR and find out for sure. Make sure they know if it comes down to it that you will not except your reputation to be smeared for such an event. Hope you hang in there and eventually get something good from this experience which I am sure you will. It really doesn't sound like you want to work with such people anyway. Good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I have started to look at different agencies and I think I will do that for now. At least it will be bringing in some $$$. I have recieved a few phone calls from my co-workers all offering support and encourgement. 2 of the Doc's I work with have offered to write me letters of recomendation.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
My husband want's me to speak to any attorney because I should have been given the same opportunites the other RN's in the class had. I don't know if this is something I really want to do though.

I'd lawyer up and sue their butts. I used to think that was a terrible thing to do but then I became a nurse.

Even if you get nothing out of it you get to screw with their resources for a bit.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Having just finished our ED orientation, I too had to take a Critical Care test, which was based on a... *drum roll*... 2-day EKG course. EKG I was 8 hours, then a week later we had the EKG II class (same, 8 hours) in which we took our EKG I test at the start of that day before the class started. EKG II test was actually a "critical care" test... this all sounds so familiar. We did have several people in the class who had already had ACLS, ICU experience, etc -- it was a mix of people going to all different areas in the hospital -- and regardless of your background and what dept you were going to, the class AND the tests were mandatory/part of new nurse orientation.

I can't believe they did that to you -- that's very unfair. I have done a little travel nursing, in California, and I absolutely LOVED it. My agency was amazing -- from the housing to the job, support, and things they didn't even have to do. (Actually it was the recruiter that was great!) My housing was beautiful, furnished down to the silverware, pots and pans, baking dishes, garbage cans, linens on the bed and in the bathroom, etc... EVERYTHING but clothes for me and personal items (shower gel, shampoo, etc). I could have arrived with a suitcase of clothes, toiletries, and a laptop and I would have been good to go after a trip to the grocery store. They were SO nice and made sure that the facility I worked for stuck to the contract exactly, and went out of their way to help me find out good restaurants, things to do on my days off, and directions to wherever I wanted to go. It was kind of like being on a paid vacation with an amateur travel agent available to help you find things to do when you aren't working...

If you have any questions, you can PM me. If you want to go to the west coast or Hawaii, the agency I worked for staffs those areas. If you are able to pick up and go, I say do it... it's fun and liberating, and pretty much stress free provided you have a good agency and recruiter.

Good luck!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Sorry about your bad time in the ER. It sounds as if nursing educator has it in for you. It makes me feel lucky because I have wonderful educators. I am a new grad and went straight to the ER. Although i have almost 10 years of hospital experience...but, I am making a nice transition because of the supportive staff and great educators. I find that many med/surg nurses have a very difficult transition to the ER and not many stay. So don't take it personally. YOU are a NURSE!! You can get a job anywhere. You said you have 14 years of experience? Well, your new employer will take your last 14 years of references and not the last 14 months, so buck up!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion