Terminated After Two Months!!

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Jul346

2 Posts

I worked in surgery after graduation, and this was crazy busy. I then worked orthopedics on the floor for 5 years. This was a much better fit. We aren't trained in surgery during RN school. I will however confess it has helped me with patients teaching. I have also worked med. Surg., allergy and asthma clinic, and long term care. After 26 years I have learned with each position I have held. I now work at a rehab center . This gives me a good balance between challenges, and not getting too overwhelmed. Bless you in your indeavers.

Monaco

1 Post

Dear Disheartened,

You sound like an honest, caring and compassionate nurse. The two errors you describe, unfortunately, resulted in negative consequences for the patients. But, you are not solely to blame. During your first job on the MS/TELE/ONC unit, you were overwhelmed after your 3 month orientation. The fact that you received an extra month of orientation, is proof that management was aware of your anxiety, and needed a more prolonged training period. We all learn at different rates and in different ways. You successfully completed nursing school and I assume passed your boards. That being said, you have the ability to learn the complexities of patient care. Your second job as Case Manager, was way over your skill level, considering you were basically a new grad, 6 months post nursing school graduation. Your assessment and critical thinking skills still needed honing so as to be able to apply them to different patient care scenarios. The lack of available staff to provide you with proper orientation/training in this specialized field is what led to the error. With all this said, I do hope you felt comfortable to request assistance when you were feeling overwhelmed and under prepared to perform your job. It is ultimately up to us as individuals to request help when we need it, so as to provide safe patient care. Don't give up on yourself or on your chosen nursing career. Be patient with yourself. With more time and experience under your belt, you will grow into your role as a nurse. All the best to you. Monaco

sfisher50

2 Posts

I do not recommend Correctional Care either, it can be very stressful. Emergencies, chronic diseases and sometimes difficult and unusual disease processes can present and and without experience and good judgment can cause problems. Some inmates are quick to sue and bring legal action.

Behavioral health is good if you don't want to practice medical hands-on nursing, however those skills are important in case of medical issues.

I recommend a year of Med-surg.

TeamNutella

4 Posts

I would love advice as well! I'm a new nurse and lost my job after orienting to a unit for a 3 month period. I would like to send Nurse Beth a PM, but as a new member of allnurses I am unable to do so. I feel that disclosing my situation in a public forum is not a wise choice because I fear discrimination. In my case, no patients were harmed and there were no accidents or errors made. Perhaps someone could PM me?

Thank you in advance!

ambrielle26

1 Post

A bad experience can be difficult to overcome, but can definitely set you up for a great future. I work for JBR Healthcare and we are always looking for new talent.

I've been in the same situation, having been terminated from 3 of my 5 RN positions. It was never due to major errors, more like personality conflicts. I'm now back at the home health job I love. That being said, home health is NOT the place for a new grad, or someone with minimal experience. You are basically on your own. I had 1 week of on the job training, plus 1 week of computer training, and I was on my own. We have had a high turnover because people think home health isn't that difficult or stressful. There have been days I've cried from the overload, or fallen asleep with my tablet on my lap while documenting. The pay is WAY better than what I've made in any hospital, including the ER, but you put in major hours to get it. It's not for everyone. LTC would be a good place to get settled and confident.

You can also try Dialysis. Every dialysis company I know has a training program. It is extensive and dictated to by CMS. It is spelled out in the regulations how long a nurse must be in training before they can be left on their own. You may find that this will appeal to you. You see the same groups of patients, all with co-morbidities that will introduce you to a lot of different things. Good luck to you.

sarose611

62 Posts

Having worked in multiple acute care areas,as well as mental health, home health, and insurance, I have some concerns. You should have some solid skills from nursing school, and I hope you made your mentor aware you were drowning in yourexternship. In my opinion, a new grad should never start in ICU, ED, L&D. These are frantic,high stress areas that require split second recognition of problems, and equally fast responses. Med-surg for a year or twowillhelpthetransition from 2 patients in school to 8-10 patients in the real world. Home health has th he same limitations. You are, frankly, not ready to Be out on your own, making decisions in a home setting with little or no backup. LTD would be much slower, and give you time to get your feet under you. Working part time in a small hospital might also. Be an option. Check with your state board to see if your state has some opportunities for extended internships, or other further training. Hang in there, take a deep breath, settle down. You can do this!

Specializes in Nephrology Home Therapies, Wound Care, Foot Care..

As another new grad- I agree! My limited time in ICU during clinicals was amazing- I learned more than any other rotation. It's one to two patients (I'm in California), and you're able to laser focus on what you're doing. Your skill set grows, your muscle memory is solidified, there's enough other people around in close quarters to get help when you need it.

judes9953

1 Post

Hello,

I feel your pain but have hope. Maybe you would entertain working in a doctor's office, insurance company, home health agency, school?

TheCommuter, BSN, RN

102 Articles; 27,612 Posts

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
ChrisWeaver said:
New grads should NOT start their career on Behavioral Health. You need to hone your medical skills which BH will not give you.

What if the new grad does not want to learn any medical/procedural hands-on skills? Skills are dramatically overrated, IMHO.

BabyFood26

203 Posts

Specializes in Home Health, Mental/Behavioral Health.
TheCommuter said:
What if the new grad does not want to learn any medical/procedural hands-on skills? Skills are dramatically overrated, IMHO.

This is a valid point. Not all nurses are needed in the classic clinical setting. There is such an array of positions that can be held by a licensed nurse, many of which do not require you to have "hospital floor skills." Further, it is not a requirement that all nurses work in the hospital setting to become a valid and valuable professional in their field of expertise. The beauty of nursing is how diverse the specialties are.