"Voluntary Resignation"

[kitkatRN]

Long story short, I was let go by my hospital after 4 months of work. I am a new grad, my job performance wasn't an issue in fact it was excellent. I was disliked by two coworkers of the same race, who have poor job performance and have been reported on by several other staff members. I got along well with all of my coworkers except these two. So they begin to claim that I said offensive remarks and that they did not feel comfortable with me.

Some of the comments included telling a patient that I couldn't put her on a bedpan by myself because she is big and I am tiny (less than 100lbs). I recommended a nursing student NOT take a particular patient because he likes to argue, so those coworkers teamed up and said I told the student that "I like to take her/him because I like to argue with her/him" and they also claimed I said something racially offensive. So it was two against one... I also argued that they use racially offensive language, especially on their phones in the nurse's station for all to see/hear.

Yet they said the because they were on their cellphones it really didn't matter. Just because I defined a slang word for a nurse, they jumped on it and said I was being racist. An hr later, the charge nurse (same racial group) told me that wasn't professional, right infront of a patient while we were turning him. I told her that we can discuss this outside the room, and I apologized to her in the room and outside (patient was nonverbal) Note: I only said it ONCE. Instead of following chain of command, they reported it to the supervisor. I let my manager know the situation and the next day I get called into see ADON and my manager... My manager tried to plead for a final warning, but I was given two options: involuntary termination OR voluntary resignation... I again explained the situation but was denied... second opinions from other coworkers were not considered. The ADON said I had to leave because of "HR recommendations" My ex-hospital uses Group One, so they said if I took the resignation I would not be reported to Group One. The ADON said she experienced a similar situation in her day, but said she just got a warning.

I am really concerned about what to do since I have only 4 months experience, my GPA and resume are strong, I work well with others... My voluntary resignation paper says my reason for leaving "dissatisfied w/ coworkers/morale" I am not quite sure how do I address this in interviews and applications. My manager said she wanted to keep me, but her boss said no... she said I can come back maybe in a year or two.

I am more depressed about losing benefits than not having a source of income at this point.

I already had a phone interview with a recruiter and they kept asking "Were you fired or you voluntarily left" in addition I was also asked "You couldn't transfer to another floor?"

There was a lot of unfair things going on in the unit in general, but I don't ever want to "bad mouth" my former place of employement. Yet, I feel saying "This hospital wasn't a fit for me" sounds equally as bad.

My manager said she'd put in a good word for me anywhere I'd apply and that I'm smart so I'll have a job soon. I really don't quite agree with her at this point.

[golpn2010]

Ok, I come from a different industry and have experienced termination. First of all, all they can do is confirm your dates of employment.

1. Do what you have to do to get past the stigma of rejection and being fired, it WILL make you stronger.

2.Find a collegue that can positively reference you and move forward.

Chalk this up as experience. Trust no one. Smile, Document and do your BEST work.

Unfortunately, most states are 'at will' which means they can fire you for wearing the color purple on a Tuesday instead of blue. You will bounce back and you will be stronger. And most industries are terminating instead of 'warning'. There's like no room for mistakes anymore. I was in a similar situation as you in another industry and they are firing left in right for matters that are opportunities for development. There's no need for develpment in the age of no jobs, sad, just sad.

OOOOPs

1. NEVER EVER EVER VOLUNTARILY RESIGN: make them fire you. If you resign, you probably will not get benefits and yes you SIGNED away your rights for confidentiality to your resignation.

[golpn2010]

ps.

ask for your work file from Hr and have a friend call up/or you call up for job verification. They will need your address and SS#. See what they say. A slick ques is: Is the candidate rehireable. If they say something you dont like pm me and we can talk further. The most important thing is to bounce back right now and get your self-esteem in tact. Once you do that, you will be a bear and not let anyone blindsight you again. Trust.

[caliotter3]

I worked at a facility where the group that I didn't belong to comprised about 90% of the employees there. It is a no win situation. Management let you down. You will have to be persistent to get over this. I can assure you that if your replacement is just like the two who successfully got rid of you, s/he will have no problem whatsoever. Your problem is to answer the obvious questions that a prospective employer will ask without telling the whole truth. I would just stick with coworkers did not accept you. It is true and does not imply that you were at fault. Good luck.

[kitkatRN]

golpn2010>

I don't know if you've heard of group one... in the DFW area if you are terminated for ANY REASON you are pretty much blacklisted from most of the hospitals in the area. A nurse I used to work with got Group One'd and she cannot work in 16 states because of it. it is not easy to fight against either.

Its true I don't have benefits right now, but I was living with my parents anyway and my health is excellent.

And I will get my friend to call up HR for me.

In addition, my manager said she'd put in a very good word for me whereever I apply, so do you think it would make a difference if I asked for copies of my evaluations? Or employers are probably not interested.

My resignation paper states that the reason I left was "dissatisfied w/ coworkers/morale" is it acceptable/neccessary to put that on my application?

I already talked to one recruiter from another major hospital in the area and they sounded very interested... but I had to insist that I resigned. Some GN positions will be posted and the recruiter said go for those.