Mal-RN

The hard part is when your manager is involved with the gossiping/ whining. Esme I am so glad to know there are nurse managers that rise above it!! Hope your staff knows how lucky they are to have you!

Hey, So I'm slightly curious to know which hospital you were at - or at least which city - since I JUST had something VERY similar happen to me - except we were not unionized so I resigned. My manager did not outright tell me I was going to get terminated but she sat me down and GREATLY encouraged me to find a better fit while putting me on an improvement plan that had goals that could not be measured (I.e. Improved stress management -- how do you plan to accurately measure if I am managing my stress?) The horizontal violence on my floor was impressive. And the "feedback" I had been getting prior was coming two weeks after the assignment they were talking about - and from a person who talked to a person (and the person speaking with me was never even on the unit the day that the feedback was focusing on). I wanted to so much to do well the feedback I was getting was vague and often times contradicted itself (your not asking for help often enough [ well yes because the few times i did nurses said "No" while sitting at the front desk and checking e-mail] to - you are asking for too much help!) I took some time after I quit to let myself settle (needless to say my confidence is slashed) - and I had a few other major life events happen right after I resigned leaving me needing time to find my footing. Anyways - PM if you need someone else in a similar boat. I think some hospitals are somewhat known for these types of things (The majority of comments I have heard since was - oh well that hospital has a reputation for not being great with new grads). How many years were you at your ICU? (I was only 10 months in). I would definitely focus on your "reason for leaving." Advice I have been given from people who give interviews is - they know their is a reason you left or were terminated and if you "hide" it or down play it it might further spark a red flag. As for me I often say it was the "culture of the unit" that lead me to leave - because what it came down to was that there was major horizontal violence and I was very unhappy there - and that was acceptable on this specific unit. Anyways - know you are not alone in this situation...unfortunately. Mal-RN