Jenbred

Greetings everyone! First I would like to say that this site is an invaluable asset to me to be able to come here and have my questions answered objectively and intelligently and I really do appreciate it. My issue is this ... I have worked in SNF for 10+ years and in the past year have been fired twice not for poor patient care issues but for having bad communication skills/and handling a situation with an irate family badly. Now, when I am filling out applications it looks so bad - so awful that no one will give me the time of day and I can't say as I blame them. When I read it I wouldn't want anything to do with me either honestly. In my personal life, I have some serious problems such as taking care of my father who has Beurger's Disease who lives with me, in litigation with a contractor I hired to build him a handicapped accessible room/bathroom (yes..he was licensed but the foundation is structurally defective) and serious financial trouble due to all of this and now I realize it is affecting me way more than I thought. I thought I had gotten my act together because I got a new job but last week there was a situation with an irate family and they fired me. They suspended me at the end of my shift and and the next day called me to fire me. The week before the ADON told me to keep up the good work and I really thought I was doing better because I was not given any verbal/written counseling about my attitude/communicating. Does anyone know if there is some sort of training for nurses where I could learn to communicate better and handle work place conflicts better so that I can improve my areas of weakness. How do I show prospective employers that I admit my flaws and am trying to improve so I won't be a problem? I honestly don't mean to be a jerk and I don't want this to happen again if I ever get another job ... I appreciate any advice you can offer. Thank you!!!

Thank you all for your advice ... I did not intend to come off sounding like I do not want to take responsibility for my part because I do ... of course I want to learn what my mistakes are so that I do not repeat them ... I was only trying to provide the details of the situation ... believe me when I say that this has taught me a lot ... and tepbsmith i am committing your words and advice to memory ... thanks

Last W/E I had a pt admitted the night before s/p CABG...the family had many c/o re:diet,swollen feet,facility etc and were beligerant/insulting/yelling...MD called and pt sent to ER as requested..on tue after my shift I was suspended while DON investigated...I emailed my statement as requested..next day called+fired...no exact reason given but I was told the physical therapist complained that i was inappropriate...I did ventilate about the family but in the office w/door closed which everybody incl she has done(i admit I was upset when the lady went off on me because i was chewing gum)...the week before i had gone to the ADON to c/o because the LPN that had been promoted to unit coordinator,who was a lazy floor nurse btw,refused to do the D/C paperwork that was always the UC's job,was not helping us,backstabbing etc(the other nurses felt the same way and even counted her breaks totalling 2-3hrs daily)I was there until 5 everyday trying to get it all done..I was told that we needed to learn to communicate and I should keep up the good work..I had tried to talk to this LPN before she even got the job because she started getting power crazy and the situation was only deteriorating..This SNF is very cliquey with a lot of related people working there...for example:the DON's whole family works there with cushy jobs..I have seen staff hurt people/neglect pts/falsify documents/and get many complaints and still have a job...I do not know if the two situations are related but i do know that I was never written up there so i thought i was doing a good job...I need advice on what to say on applications/job interviews...i am pretty sure they are going to trash me ... I feel absolutely terrible !!!! Thank you .... jen(rn)