Passed Up....

[hbncns35]

I am set to Graduate this May and I have been working at a teaching hospital as an extern for the past 9 months.

From time to time, my NM mentioned to me that she could expand her staff by using plus positions if I was interested.

3 weeks ago, I had a project for school in which I needed to interview her. It was a nice conversation and we also talked about the extent of the plus position. I told her that I was interested and she said I should call HR. I let HR know of my conversation with my NM. Two weeks later I received a call from HR informing me that my NM could not take any more new graduates.

I called my NM immediately and she said she had already hired two new grads as plus positions and she did not know I was "interested" or when I was graduating. She said she had felt bad about this. Neither one of these new grads were familiar with the floor or the equipment like me.

For all you managers, how does one not realize that an extern is not interested after working 9 months on your floor? And especially after a position was discussed in detail two weeks earlier?

She did mention that she was writing my recommendation for the bonus program and remained open to my suggestion of working on her floor at a later date.

So what happened here? Why did I have to wait two weeks to find out- Why couldn't she have told me the truth...I feel like I wasted 9 months of thinking I would have a job on that floor. I never had a problem with anyone and really developed relationships with the staff and patients. I am very disappointed.................I saw her when I came into work an hour after our phone conversation and she was visibly uncomfortable in my presence.

Now I am forced to go to another floor after I had my heart set on this one.

Was this a bad management decision with a flawed cover-up?

[llg, PhD, RN]

There is no way to know what really happened here ... so, I think it would be a mistake to do or say anything to aggravate the situation.

It could easily be that there was some mis-communication or misunderstanding that was not intentional. Perhaps your NM mistakenly thought she could hire a 3rd or even a 4th new grad and only found out after she tried to hire you that she would not be allowed to do that. Perhaps she didn't realize until 2 weeks ago that you were actually planning to apply for a new grad job there. (Not all externs do.)

Right now, all you can do is speculate about it ... and fume ... and fuss ... an none of that is probably helpful at this point.

Your best move right now is be gracious about it. Express you disappointment that there is not a position for you on her floor at this time -- and use the fact that she feels a little guilty to your advantage. Get a really good recommendation from her for another position, move on, and make the most of it. Leave her (and your unit) with a positive impression of you. You might want to return to that unit some day. Even if you don't, her good will can help your career. Don't blow it now by making a fuss.

Sometimes misunderstandings and mix-ups happen -- even with good people involved. It's painful when you are one hurt by it, but I have learned over a long career that it is usually best to be generous and forgiving in your judgments of others. We all make mistakes and need to be tolerant of them in others.

Take care of yourself and use her recommendation to get a good job. Land on your feet and have a good life.

Good luck,

llg

[Sable's mom]

I agree with llg's reply. You may never know exactly what happened:( , but handling this in a positive and professional manner will do you more good than any other response at this point.

It's hard to handle the anger and dissapointment, but nothing positive will come out of confrontation or negativity. Keep your chin up and I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers.:balloons: