Termination= Fired?

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Hi all! I graduated last Dec with a BSN and my first job was in a hospital on a med-surg floor. I was there for four months until my employment was "terminated" there yesterday. The hospital is in the mid west and they fired 144 people within the past month and eliminated 277 positions. My nurse manager told us that the bedside RN's jobs were safe. I was still in my probationary period when I got terminated yesterday. The reason for that is that the nurse manager felt as though I was not "caring" enough for the patients and I was so focused on completing tasks and did not really engage with the patients and other employees. A month prior I had a brief conversation with an employee there and we discussed future plans. I stated that I eventually wanted to do peds and go back to grad school... Somehow that got back to my nurse manager that I was unhappy there and really wanted to do peds! How in the world does that translate to that???? I'm angry and frustrated! How in the world do I start a Job Search with that? I'm pretty sure I was fired since it was not my decision with no warning! I never had any complaints and now this. Is this the hospital's cop out of laying more people off but silently doing it? Should I still put this job on my resume? If I don't I'll have a huge employment gap from being a student! But how do I explain this? Will I ever find another job...? Please help! I feel awful...:(

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

You will need to list this job on your resume & employment applications because it is 'on record'. The employer deducted FICA & taxes which are now connected to your SSN. Any future inquiries into your background (Federal requirement for US health care employers) will turn up this information.

The term "fired" usually means that there was some negative action (ex, med errors, failure to follow procedures, violation of policy, etc) that triggered a 'for cause' termination. In your case, it would appear that you were not a good fit. And that's probably what you should tell prospective employers if they ask.

FYI, nearly all new grads are 'task oriented' in the begining of their careers.. it's normal. With experience, you become more confident in your skills and they become more automatic so you can concentrate on the bigger picture. It's a shame that your ex-manager did not understand this.

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I have began applying for jobs and listed my previous experience. I put laid off on my app and will explain in detail if I need to at an interview. The hospital fired 144 employees within the month. This just really sucks all around though... Thanks.

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The take away lesson from this is to be very careful about what you say to fellow employees. You were actually laid off in a round of downsizing. The manager criticized your demeanor to make it look justified.

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.
Hi all! I graduated last Dec with a BSN and my first job was in a hospital on a med-surg floor. I was there for four months until my employment was "terminated" there yesterday. The hospital is in the mid west and they fired 144 people within the past month and eliminated 277 positions. My nurse manager told us that the bedside RN's jobs were safe. I was still in my probationary period when I got terminated yesterday. ...Should I still put this job on my resume? If I don't I'll have a huge employment gap from being a student! But how do I explain this? Will I ever find another job...? Please help! I feel awful...:(

Yes, put it on your resume, as you do now have 4 months of expereince, and you don't want to end up lying about what you've been doing since graduation. And if you bring up your past employment in the interview, and its not on the resume, you'll look like you are hiding something.

It is what it is.

Give it some thought as to how you want to answer the question. They recently downsized a lot of staff, you were on probation, it wasn't working out, and you were let go. Check with HR and find out how they handle reference inquiries from future employees. After that, you'll be better able to formulate a reasonable response.

G'Luck

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.

This makes me sad. I am so sorry you were screwed this way. You do need to list it and being task oriented is very normal as a new grad until you are comfortable in your domain sort of speaking.

Be very careful what you say around co-workers. This profession is very catty as it is predominantly female.

Keep your head up and keep looking. Much luck!

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The take away lesson from this is to be very careful about what you say to fellow employees. You were actually laid off in a round of downsizing. The manager criticized your demeanor to make it look justified.

That I have definitely learned! Sucks nurses can't learn to support others and help the new ones get a positive experience...

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Thanks for all the support guys! I am starting to feel a little better about my situation. I just hate to feel I failed at my first job although I was never given any complaints... I have a phone interview next Tuesday so I definitely want to go about this the right way. Its so horrible the way some employers will treat you. Thanks everyone :)

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That I have definitely learned! Sucks nurses can't learn to support others and help the new ones get a positive experience...

so very true..it seems that some, maybe most of the experienced nurses where i work want to actually see me fail and have so much time on there hands to search for things to complain about. I knew working with women was going to be difficult, just unbelievable how much and how people are.

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Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.
The take away lesson from this is to be very careful about what you say to fellow employees... The manager criticized your demeanor to make it look justified.

Totally correct.

Your manager believed you'd be leaving in the near-term, and chose to spare someone else who may have been viewed as more dedicated to the unit.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Critical Care.

This sounds really hard...I wish you the very best in finding a new job!

BUT You cannot lie and say you were laid off just because it was in the same time frame as lay offs. This could be very risky.

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What makes anyone think it is the more experienced nurses that went blabbing to the nursing mananger. I would more aptly think it was closer to a newer nurse who wanted to score some points -one whose not very secure in their own level of functioning. Older more experienced nurses are generally not too focused on or thrilled with babysitting, unless they have to repeatedly "clean up" after the newer nurses and even then- they generally don't have a problem telling you about it to your face.

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