Hi All,
I was hired as a travel nurse with 1 year of experience in Tele/then Covid stepdown(when the first wave hit NYC). I know that usually you need at least 2 years, but due to the Covid crisis, I was able to snag a travel nursing contract from a large agency.
I oriented for 1 day(I understand that is the norm). I trained with the senior nurse on a med-surg floor.
After that, I was floated 2 days in a row to PCCU, and Covid stepdown ICU for "me to help out". I did admissions, discharges, transfers, administered some meds, glucose, etc.
The 3rd day they assigned me to the same floor where I previously trained with a senior nurse for that 1 day. This is a med-surg floor. I was stressed only because it is different pumps, med dispensing system and glucometers than I am used to. I was running behind on meds but other nurses said "that always happens and they (management) do not care about that very much.
Anyway, the next afternoon my travel agency calls me and tells me that the hospital decided not to move forward with my contract "because I am too inexperienced", and they cited a bunch of reasons which were absurd. Some were sort of valid but still miniscule according to other travel nurses I know. For example, they claimed I gave a patient a glucose tab they did not need, which is not true at all. They also claimed they had to give other nurses on the floor more patients because I could not handle the assignment- that is also not true- I was assigned those patients from the start of the shift. They also claimed I gave lantus 2 hours late and also did not give lunch aspart- both meals were hours late that day and the lantus was late because the FS was low enough that I had to confirm if it was OK from the doctor first, which took forever. The aspart was not needed due to the FS value (rolling scale). They also said I did not chart any assessments on my patients until hours into my shift (which from what I gather is typical at this facility also). I explained all this to the Clinical Director of my travel agency.
I explained this to the Clinical RN Director of the Staffing Agency. They said the facility's Clinical Director "adored me" personally and would even hire me as staff to give me more training which makes ZERO SENSE if they think I am so horrible.
Because of this, my agency needs to make a decision among their clinical team to decide if I can move on to travel gigs after this. I will find out within a few business days.
I sounds like they were watching me moreso than others. I think this might be because of something that happened that 1 day that I trained with that senior nurse- she asked me how long I had been a nurse and I said "a year", without thinking anything of it. She made a face and glared at another nurse. She seemed to grow to like me over the course of the day, but now that this all happened I am starting to think I should not have disclosed that I have been an RN for a year and should have said "A few years" or something.
Would an experience like this keep me from getting travel contracts after this from this agency?
I am just looking from feedback from people who are travel nurses. I am replaying how I did yesterday on the med-surg floor and I honestly keep feeling that I did OK for being new to a floor with a new med system and pumps than I am used to... I feel stupid now because I left a job to be a travel nurse and now I have no idea what is going to happen with this path.
Thanks.
