PLEASE HELP: Psychotic Nurse Recruiter!!

Nurses General Nursing

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DISCLAIMER: No, I'm not a new graduate RN, but i'd like to give a shout out to those that are.

Ok everyone, I need your help in determining what I should do in this scenario:

Some time ago (Spring 2017), I saw that a private network hospital (with several different locations) had posted a plethora of full-time critical care positions, to which I applied. I am looking to diversify my nursing experience, and feel as though my ER nursing experience has equipped me for this specialty.

Side note: This healthcare system has acquired several different hospitals under it's umbrella, but for this purposes of this post, I've applied to two of the hospitals it owns, which I will refer to as Hospital A and Hospital B.

I had the recruiter's email and phone number and contacted her several times to no avail. Most recently, in October, I sent her another email detailing my nearly 7 years of ER experience, and inquiring about the critical care positions recently posted within Hospital A, which is only 8 blocks away from me. Fast forward to end of December, I was able to get the direct phone numbers to the critical care charge nurse, and related to her my desire to work on her unit. Immediately she gave me the email address to the nurse manager and I submitted my resume.

Later, a friend of mine who works in the ER at Hospital A urged me to reach out to her nurse manager, and to also apply for an ER position at Hospital B, which is much further away from me. So I did. I met with both nurse managers from the two hospitals last month and they both offered me a night shift position right away, but the one that works with my friend at Hospital A was so ecstatic he walked me to nurse recruitment and instructed me to take two preliminary exams (pharm and basic nursing care concepts). I passed both with flying colors. While I was taking the exam, the nurse recruiter appeared, began interrupting me several times, but I was able to remain focused. She then had her assistant hand me a paper application. I thought "I filled out the application very meticulously online, but okay", and proceeded to fill it out. I waited an hour for her to appear again.

Once I got to her office, she stated "I'm the gatekeeper, do you understand? Everyone has to go through me". I took that to mean that she wasn't satisfied that I met with the two ER nurse managers on my own (she later revealed to me that the other nurse manager emailed her to start the hiring process). I wanted to explain to her that i'd been trying to contact her since Spring 2017, but I thought it was futile. Some people like to feel powerful, and if I have to stroke her ego to get my foot in the door, so be it. Bite the bullet. When the interview ended, I handed her my certifications and my references, and told her that I applied online to the ERs at Hospital A and B but preferred A since it's only 8 blocks from me. I also discussed this with the NM that walked me to her office. She told me that the position that was posted online most likely went to someone else, but to keep my eyes peeled for another one and to apply right away. She proceeded to hand me her business card with the same email address and phone number i'd been using ad nauseam since last year. Then she smiled cheekily.

I set up notifications for the ER position and applied as soon as it was posted, but got called in to interview for a Critical Care position within Hospital A (this was two weeks ago). EUREKA!!

The nurse manager for critical care loved me. She could see that I had already conducted thorough research on the roles/responsibilities required, and told me she would forward my resume to the nurse recruiter. On the way out, I admitted to her that I interviewed for ER already, but only because I was waiting for her to respond to my email. I was much more passionate about this though. She said that this was fine and asked if I passed the exams, and I affirmed that I did.

I had been waiting to hear from the nurse recruiter. In that time, my online applications for the two ERs had been denied. She finally emailed me yesterday, stating that she received word that I was interested in critical care per diem (it was the only vacancy for that specialty) and that I would have to take a challenge exam in order to be deemed competent to work there. She also mentioned that if I was still interested in a full-time ER night shift position, there was a couple at Hospital B. I asked her to schedule me for the challenge exam for the critical care position and she responded "So wait, are you seeking the per diem position or not?". I confirmed that I am, and then she emails me that I am pending two references (5 were required; I gave her 6; 4 responded thus far). She emailed me again (she is way more active than I thought considering the fact that i've been emailing her since spring) with the location of the challenge test, the study guide (which seems more ER than critical care) and that I was still pending 2 references. I kept it short and thanked her. She emailed me again asking what shift I wanted because I needed to apply online for it. I ignored her this time. I called the critical care NM and found out (I don't think I was supposed to) that she was forced into interviewing several other candidates after me....

Here is my dilemma, lovely folks: Today I received a call from her. She had me on speakerphone with the NM from the ER (Hospital A location) and said that although she knows I've applied for the per diem critical care position within the same hospital, he is willing to offer me a per diem ER position, this way I won't have to take a challenge exam. Realizing what she was doing, and not wanting to have this conversation while he was listening in, I respectfully told her "Can I think it over and call you back? I have something on the stove and I have to wait until my husband returns home to have a discussion. Can I call you back at this number? Wonderful, talk to you later." I hang up. You guys, I'm not married, but i'm not stupid either. She tried to set me up!

I was however, cooking, and so when I finished, I noticed that she emailed me twice: one to send me an "invitation to apply" and a second time to tell me that there is a full-time night shift ER position (lo and behold, at Hospital A). Mind you, I don't even like working night shift. I did it as a new grad for 2 years, because I had to pay my dues and because I wanted to start my career in ER instead of Med/Surg. Occasionally, I'll do a night shift here and there for overtime, but it's rare. That's not even the point. Suddenly this "gatekeeper" had a full-time ER position for me at Hospital B. Then when she realized that I am actually zealous for critical care, so much so that I am willing to work there per diem, she suddenly has a per diem ER position at Hospital A. That per diem position has now morphed into a full-time position.

I'm not calling her back. Not today, not ever. I now realize why she doesn't have time to respond to emails from external candidates: she is busy being a child. At work, of all places! And I don't have the time for this. I feel bad for the people that are getting dragged into this; the poor nurse managers don't even know they are being used as pawns in an effort to assert her authority. I need to know what to do. Do I call the NM from the ER and explain to him what she is trying to do? Or do I say nothing and just show up for the exam on monday? All of this is distracting me from studying, by the way....

PLEASE HELP. Thanks in advance!!

TL;DR: A crazy nurse recruiter with no nursing experience refused to source my application to a critical care unit. When I discovered a clever way to get my resume to the nurse manager, she reacted punitively. Now she is trying to assert her authority by not only determining which hospital location I can work at, but also which unit.

I'm exhausted reading all that and can't even imagine living it. I think I would have given up and moved on to someplace less crazy way before now. I'm not sure how anyone here can help you ...but I hope you get the job you,re after as a reward for putting up with so much nonsense.

I'm exhausted reading all that and can't even imagine living it. I think I would have given up and moved on to someplace less crazy way before now. I'm not sure how anyone here can help you ...but I hope you get the job your after as a reward for putting up with so much nonsense.

Getting the job is only fair, right?! And the best revenge.....

But I really do want this to work, because as much as I love ER, I need something else under my belt, and it has to be challenging, because easy is boring. Plus, writing doesn't pay the bills....

Still, I can't believe someone with zero nursing experience is harassing leadership staff on who to hire/not hire. This is absurd.

Specializes in Case manager, float pool, and more.

I am not sure how to help either. I suppose you have to weigh the benefits of the position you want with the drama. I mean once you do secure the position you desire, you really won't have to deal with the recruiter anymore either?

Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

That was complicated. I couldn't get through it all.

Nurse recruiter sounds like someone out of a Lifetime

Movie though.

I am not sure how to help either. I suppose you have to weigh the benefits of the position you want with the drama. I mean once you do secure the position you desire, you really won't have to deal with the recruiter anymore either?

That's my consolation! If I can secure this position, I won't have to deal with her ever again! There's a separate nurse recruiter for internal applicants :)

PASSED BOTH THE CRITICAL EXAM AND EKG RHYTHM INTERPRETATION EXAMS WITH 95s!! *happy dance*

Specializes in Ambulatory Care-Family Medicine.

I had to deal with a lazy nurse recruiter at my previous employer. I worked there as a LVN and when I passed my RN boards I wanted to transfer into one of the RN positions so I had to apply through the recruiters as an internal applicant. 6 weeks later after not hearing a word from either of the recruiters on my applications or multiple e-mails that I sent I applied to the hospital across town. I got a call the same day and interviewed a week later with an offer that afternoon. So I am now working at the hospital across town. If the recruiter is being this way just imagine how it will be anytime you have to deal with HR as they are normally all one crew and act the same. You need to decide if you really like this hospital enough to deal with the headache or if it is just time to move on. I chose move on but that's just me.

This recruiter sounds like a maniac. I guess you could email the managers of the units and try and have them push the issue through management channels. Even if this is successful I'm thinking the next drama will be a retaliation in the form of a low ball pay offer. The best advise here may be to focus on being hired elsewhere.

It's a long story story and I'm a little confused... but you DID apply for different positions though... why don't you just tell her the truth, that you really just want the critical care job? I would rather do that then not get back to her at all. She could blackball you from applying anywhere within that system.

It's a long story story and I'm a little confused... but you DID apply for different positions though... why don't you just tell her the truth, that you really just want the critical care job? I would rather do that then not get back to her at all. She could blackball you from applying anywhere within that system.

I emailed her about the critical care positions LAST YEAR and have been applying since then. She was rejecting my application time and again because she has no nursing experience whatsoever and was not aware the ER/OR/Stepdown/Telemetry can all segue into ICU. I've been honest with her since the beginning about wanting to diversify my nursing career and add to my repetoire. Discussing my desires with her as it pertains to my career was never the issue, it's how SHE went about it. She tried to set me up by calling me and putting me on speakerphone in front of a manager I had already interviewed with for a unit/specialty I had no desire to work in. That was her attempt to tarnish that nurse manager's perception by trying to make me seem "flighty" and disloyal, when all the while, i've been telling her that I wanted critical care.

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