rlr260

Hi, everyone. I'm in a job search and have some questions. I was recently hired by a hospice agency, and then told I wasn't fitting in with the agency, and let go after 5 weeks' employeement. (That's the subject of a whole other rant, though.) I have started resubmitting applications online to various other employers. I will, of course, go to these places, in person, too. These are the same entities I applied to before my short employeement. I'm considering not mentioning the hospice job, since it was so short, and I left during the initial probationary period. Many of these agencies still have my original application or resume that I submitted the first time. I updated information on those applications with new dates, a new cell phone number, etc. Would it be appropriate to phone these places to let them know I am still available to work? I want to get my name and resume in front of as many people as I can, but I don't want to be seen as desperate or pushy. What do you guys think?

My mother and I worked at the same hospital for many years. She was on a surgical unit, then on orthopedics, where I was on cardiac step-down and later pulmonary, so our areas did not overlap much at all. We didn't have any problem with it. Of course, by the time I started working there, I had candystriped and then had nursing school clinicals at the same facility, so it was no big deal. We got a lot of "are you related to..." questions, and especially, since we had the same last name, and it was an uncommon one, we would get "there's a nurse on X unit with that same name." She was a great nurse, and I never minded being known as her daughter.

I'm new to the forum, so bear with me on this long-winded post. I need to confide in my peers and maybe get some feedback. I took a hospice (RN) nurse job 6 weeks ago after having worked in the hospital for 5 years. I was on a hem/onc unit and burned out on the pace. I have a total of 28 years experience in nursing, with stints on cardiac step-down, pulmonary, home health, and HMO/IPA, so I'm not a new nurse. The company I worked for is a small one and only about 4 years old, and it seemed like a lot of policies were not written down for a new employee to reference. My orientation consisted of riding with another RN for a week to see what the RN does, and then a week with the LPN on my team to meet the patients I would work with. The home visits were pretty routine, with assessments, medication review, etc. The patients on my team were pretty stable, and more like long-term care patients than actively dying hospice patients, but that was OK since I had had home health experience. I think I worked well with the patients and with other staff as a new employee. My problem was with the paperwork and charting, verbal orders, knowing what I could do with autonomy in the field versus calling to the office for my supervisor to handle.I was never clearly instructed in a lot of issues. It was more like I would get an explanation and correction after I had already made a mistake. I thought the mistakes I made were in the vein of a new employee learning the ropes, and these would resolve as I became more proficient in the position. Friday, the supervisor called me in to the office after I had seen my patients. She referred to the fact that I was in the 90 day probationary period, said I was not working out, and let me go. I was stunned. I did not see this coming at all. When I asked for details of why I didn't fit in, she just referenced the probationary policy again, and said to turn in my badge, bag, and supplies.She would not give me any specifics. I have to go back Monday to turn in charting. I interviewed with this woman, and I thought we got along OK, but when I started working, I got a cold vibe from her, like she just didn't like me. I found her intimidating, but I thought it was because of my new employee status, and her position in a stressful job. Let me say, I'm a grown-up, and I realize that I will work with people I will never be friends with, but I thought we had a good professional relationship. I'm hurt and angry at how this all panned out, but I don't think I have any recourse in this situation, since I was in the probationary period, and my state is an employeement at-will state. I am not in a union. Anyway, I don't want to work where I'm not wanted. I guess I will just chalk this up to experience, and go on with life. My more immediate problem is that there aren't that many jobs out there. I was looking for a job 2 months ago, before I got the hospice job, and this was the only job I was offered. The hospitals in my area are all pretty much 100% staffed, except for very specific positions that I am not qualified for. I did get 2 hospital interviews that didn't lead to a job. The hospice/home health agencies either did not call me for an interview, or didn't call back after an interview. I guess I'm writing to vent more than anything else, but if anyone has any suggestions for where to go next, I would really appreciate it.