rnoutlaw

I don't know whether our state Board provides that info. Usually employers go to the professional licensing Web site and check to see whether there is any action on the license. Since this post, I managed to do some flu shot clinics and agency work in doctor's offices, home care, and health fairs. I also did patient education in a pharmacy. However, I may need a job as a staff nurse in a hospital, and even though I'm seeing Med-Surg positions that require only 1 year of experience, I still doubt that I'll be able to get hired. One hospital recommended a $500 nurse refresher course! I was not found guilty of anything, and my state determined that it was a wrongful termination. You are right, this is an unnecessary and unethical intrusion and punishment. It was all alleged. Our new manager fired 12 of us over a period of a few months and then hired new nurses.

Hi - Our state nurse practice act requires nurses to disclose terminations. I have a little over a year Med-Surg experience, some LTC experience, and some agency experience. I told my licensing board that I had been terminated from my Med-Surg job after informing them that the unit wasn't a good fit and that I wanted to transfer, and they terminated me. Then I got a job at a LTC and it was horrible. I was 1 nurse for 30-40 residents and my 1-2 CNA's were a joke. I informed them that I wanted to transfer to a smaller facility, and they said that I hadn't been there long enough for a transfer and that I would have to quit. However, they said they wanted to work things out and keep me, but then terminated me. I didn't get any action against my license when I informed the nursing board. However, I still can't find a job with a hospital. When I disclose on my job app that I've been terminated, I never get any calls, and when a manager does want to hire me, HR vetoes the hire when I disclose the termination. Will I ever work as an RN again? What can I do?

Thank you for all of the replies and help! I have 1 year and 3 months of Med-Surg experience and a few months of nursing home experience. I also did agency for doctor's offices. I really didn't like the nursing home/LTC, and the Med-Surg unit I was on wasn't a good fit for me at all. Our Med-Surg unit had budget problems, personnel problems, supply problems, cultural communication problems, and any other problem you can think of! After 20 years of work experience outside of nursing, what I saw on this Med-Surg unit was truly shocking to me. Despite the unnecessary drama, I became bored from a nursing standpoint, and I wasn't getting code experience. So I'm trying to find an area of nursing that I enjoy and a unit that isn't a disaster.

Hi. I'm an older RN. I've been on somebody's payroll since I was 16 except for full-time college, serious illness, and the recent severe economic struggle. I've had all kinds of jobs - farming, retail, fast food, secretarial, corporate, you name it, and the most unprofessional people I've EVER worked with in 29 years of job experience have been in HEALTHCARE. It ain't you folks, trust me: this profession has a real problem with professionalism, hostility, respect, and understanding rank. It's costing units a lot of money to train nurses only to have them leave to go somewhere else because coworkers are humiliating and threatening. Not only that but when anger becomes a way of life, patient safety and care suffers. Professionalism needs to be part of training/orientation for all levels of healthcare personnel, and managers must reinforce rank because without any social organization, scope of practice and appropriate authority flies out the window. Also, women need to understand the concept of TEAM. A team is a unit that values its members and works together cooperatively, including the unit manager. Unit managers must know that if you write people up for every teeny tiny thing, then eventually, you ain't gonna have a staff.

Hi. I'm an RN with 0-3 years nursing experience. How does an RN break into the ER? I talked with a rectruiter in my area, and she said that experienced RN's must have several years of experience, telemetry, and EMT background or you must be a SNE in the ER. It's confusing to me that the recruiter stated that you either have to be super experienced or be a new grad! I was thinking about volunteering in the ER. Any info or advice would be appreciated!

Hi folks - I'm so tired of not being able to find another nursing job, I'm losing my mind. I received my license in Nov. '08, and I went to work in a teaching Mag hospital for over a year. The unit I was on was rumored to be the worst in the hospital. Big CNA problems, our manager and DON were demoted, lots of right ups, no raises, lateral employee hostility that was at times physically threatening and physical - you name it, it happened on that unit. I was written up for things I didn't do. I actually tried to stay and work it out like an idiot rather than resign, and I was terminated. So I did homecare. It was okay, but some of these families didn't have lifts, and excuse me, but what nurse can lift 180 lbs. of dead weight? So I did what little agency work there was in doctor's offices. Then I took a job in a LTC. Omagosh. This was supposed to be a really good place, but after all of their cutbacks in staffing, it was 1 nurse for 35-40 patients!!!!! The whole shift is one big giant med pass! It wasn't even nursing, it was "conveyer belt med passing with no regard to when the meds were scheduled." The facility didn't care at all about our nursing licenses or the fact that state could walk in at any time while the nurse was overburdened. I told them I wanted to go to a smaller facility, but they said I hadn't been there long enough and that I would have to reapply. So they terminated me. After that I did seasonal flu shot clinics. It's a really good company, but it's not permanent. I was so excited to be a nurse. I've been working since I was 13 years old - corn detassling, fast food, you name it, I did it, and I've never seen workflow/staffing/hostility/lack of professionalism ever like I've seen in a couple of the nursing jobs I've had. Are all nursing jobs like this? Or is it the economy? Will things get better in the future? Are there any good nursing jobs at all? I'm a hard worker and I'm over 40, but I feel as though these places are putting nurses and patients in jeopardy. I'm probably not the first to say this, but now I can't find ANY job - not in nursing, and not even at a gas station. They want 2 years of acute care experience for hospital, so that puts me out. The rope is short, frayed, and getting shorter...

I would say that the hiring is slow in Indy. I'm also noticing that there are NP jobs, case manager jobs, and such but not a lot for someone with fewer than 2 years of experience. For standard staff RN jobs, a lot of them specify 2+ years it seems. At the big hospitals in Indy they are basically working staff RNs like dogs and changing their RN to patient ratios so that fewer RNs serve more patients, which of course isn't good. PCAs are also overextended. If you want to snag a job fast, go to Florida or Texas - I have recruiters calling me from there after just glancing at my resume online not to mention all of the emails they send about free relocation. Of course if you don't want to move, it just may take more time because hospitals are doing everything they can right now to not hire a lot of people and to not give any raises. Even though there is a nursing shortage, not all hospitals are doing very well with their budgets - some units a lot worse than others. Honestly, the health care industry is in flux right now and thus so is the nursing industry.