chrisyen

After working for my previous employer for almost 4 years, I was let go for what they deemed "poor customer service." I live in an at-will state, so they did not need to provide any specifics for why they were letting me go. Some of the examples they gave didn't match up to anything I could recall, and I found it rather interesting that the "errors" leading up to my dismissal started just prior to me going from night shift to day shift. I'm waiting for our state board to close out the file or whatever action they feel necessary on their end since both the facility and myself had to report the termination. My question is how, when I interview for another position, should I answer any questions dealing with why I left? Honestly, I was getting very frustrated with our management at the facility and I know that probably affected my work inadvertently, though I did my best not to let it. The only thing I can think of for a response is that I was frustrated with where I was in my career at that particular facility, and should have left before they had to take the steps they did. As far as what I learned, of course, is to recognize that degree of frustration whether professional or at an institutional level and to find someone to talk to first. If it doesn't improve within a certain timeline, say a month, then start looking for something else so I don't have to go down this road again. Any other suggestions from you all out there are appreciated. I realize I messed up and will do my best to not let it happen again. I just need help in knowing how to convey to a future employer that I am worthy of being given the chance to prove myself. Thanks for your help! :)

If I were you, I'd ease off. The more you push it, the more likely you are to "turn off" that department manager and have the opposite effect. I'd say at this point they know you're interested. Most places have jobs posted for a certain length of time, to give them time to make sure they get enough applications to consider vs just 1 or 2. I read in another section here that someone had been told (I think) that the more someone attempted to contact the manager regarding the position, the more likely that manager was not to hire the person. Granted, you don't want to wait forever. I would let it go for at least 1 more week before contacting them (week starting 2/6) about the status of the position, providing you haven't heard back anything this week. The fact that you did the on-line app, faxed resume & letters, then also mailed them, while showing determination, also may show desperation to them. Try to relax for a week, apply for other positions if there's something else you're interested in. Good luck. :-)

Med-surg will kind of prepare you for a whole gambit of sorts - think of a general practitioner and how they have to know a little bit about everything, they aren't specialized like cardiologist or other doc. What you need to figure out is which one is truly your passion: do you dream of helping women give birth to healthy babies, or do you dream of helping everyone, regardless of age, etc? For example, I've done med-surg for over 3 years. However, if I can eventually get back into inpatient oncology I would do it in a heartbeat. My reason: I love nothing more than to help people either try and conquer that invader if that's what they choose, or aid them in passing away with dignity if they decide the fight isn't worth the battle of chemo/radiation. Kind of a hard choice to make, that's for sure. What it boils down to is what what you dream of doing? If public health is that dream and you know women's health deals more into that than a general med-surg background, then that may be the way to go. Just some suggestions to think about.