patty377

@PattiRN, I tried to respond to your message but apparently I haven't been on here long enough. Anyway thank you for your kind words and encouragement

Seriously???

I believe I said I was willing to take responsibility for the mistakes I had made. I just wanted to be treated fairly and that did not happen. Others had made the same mistakes and more serious mistakes and nothing was done. As far as the Facebook post I did not post it at work i did not have internet access at work and did not use my phone at work. A good friend of mine who unfortunately had not been as careful as I was with choosing who to friend on FB commented on my post agreeing with me. By the way her post had more info on it than mine and she was not disciplined at all. That made my post visible to people I would not have chosen to be friends with. As I said I have definitely learned lessons from this experience. Like how to speak up when I'm feeling overwhelmed and standing my ground when I'm asked to do more than I think I can handle. Others had the nerve to complain and were not given the same workload. I was NEVER grumpy with my patients but I admit that after I was threatened with being fired and began to understand that people were actively throwing me under the bus, I was not the most pleasant person to work with but that was only the last week that I was there. And some of the things they lumped together to justify firing me were things that had happened over a year ago, when I was a new grad still finding my way. I had already been disciplined for them and my probation had been over for well over 9 months. You can think I'm trying to pass the buck but the turnover at this facility is huge. There were actually only a handful of nurses who had been there longer than I. My direct supervisors were always happy with my work and when my last supervisor left about a month before I was fired she told me they were gunning for me and she didn't understand why. I want to thank everyone for their support. I was actually offered 2 jobs today and have to decide which direction I want to go. I guess there is life after being let go.

It might have but we had just discussed in a meeting earlier in the week how we were doing entirely too many unnecessary BP's on med passes. This is a LTC facility. It's supposed to be a persons home and I know that my Doc has never told me that I need to take my BP before every time I take my meds. It may be necessary for some patients who have a tendency to drop their pressure on a regular basis but for the most part it should be ok to do it once a week or so. That being said, I normally did do it but I was distracted by the RN following me and already rattled by the earlier warnings I had received. I was perfectly willing to take credit for the mistakes I made but a policy needs to be enforced uniformly to be fair and this was not the case where I worked. Things much more harmful than the mistakes I made were covered up and brushed under the rug for those who were part of the "click"

I have learned valuable lessons from this. And I did go to her long before this and asked for help which was never given. I was basically told, "No one ever helped me you need to work this out for yourself" This DON has done the same thing she did to me to several other nurses as well. As far as I can tell my only offense was doing my job well. Another nurse had a problem with the fact that a doctor who had previously looked to her for help and praised her as a good nurse began to ask me to do things for her and was complimenting me. Asking to have me assigned to her patients. Shortly after this I began to hear rumblings that this nurse was out to get me, to watch my back. We all make mistakes and we are supposed to learn from them and I was doing my best in a very bad environment. They were starting to cut back on all types of staff and purchasing inferior supplies. I had already begun to try to find a new job. They just beat me to the punch. As far as my exit interview, it consisted of 20 minutes of my being told why I was a bad nurse and how long they had known it. Although they had no answer for why it took so long to fire me if I was "dangerous" I am trying not to let this disillusion me. I love being a nurse. I loved my job with all my heart, I just no longer liked or felt comfortable where I worked.

Thanks for the encouragement. That's what I have been telling people which is really true anyway. I have wanted to move on but had become comfortable and it was easier to stay.

I was there for just over a year. And my Facebook post was beyond harmless. I posted "I wish families wouldn't fight about patients wishes when there is a Power of Attorney and a Living Will that spells those wishes out so plainly" No names, no facility, no identifying factors whatsoever. But I have definitely learned my lesson. I am no longer FB friends with anyone I work with, even those I am legitimately friends with. It's sad that they felt the need to have to dig so deep to find a reason to fire me. The best part is that other employees had in the past and since made posts with patients names and obvious identifying factors have not been disciplined at all. I had been unhappy there for a while, I'm sure it was for the best but it's tough not being able to do a job that I love.

I find myself in a place I never though I would be. Due to politics at my facility I was fired. Someone decided they had it out for me and everything I did was micro-scrutinized. Everything I did was put under a microscope. I missed initialling a few places in a treatment book and put a completely harmless post on Facebook mentioning no names or other identifying factors. I didn't even have on my profile where I worked. I was dragged into the DON's office and told that the next mistake I made I would be terminated. Needless to say I was not at my best from then on. I was so nervous about making a mistake that I couldn't help making mistakes. I was grumpy with my co-workers and my patients and it wasn't long before they had me once again. They had a representative from their pharmacy follow me on a med pass to supposedly help us improve and correct mistakes. This woman talked to me the entire time I was trying to work despite my asking her to stop and needless to say I made mistakes, ie: forgetting to take a BP, forgetting to administer eye drops. I was toast. The DON tore at me for a good 30 minutes going on and on about what a bad nurse I was. I know it's not true. Most of my co-workers and supervisors told me they thought was done to me was wrong that I didn't do anything other nurses had done before and I was told by one person who was actually out to get me and I believe it. Anyway do I tell prospective employers? as this happened to anyone else? I'm feeling disillusioned about nursing in general. This was my first position out of school and I thought I was doing a really good job. In my heart I know I'm a good nurse who was put in a very bad position. I love my patients and they loved me. I've been told they miss me terribly but I haven't had the nerve to go back to visit them. I've been questioning if I should even continue my education and my career. Help!!