I was recently terminated from my previous employer of 6 years. I worked full time at the hospital as a nursing technician while I attended my LPN program.
I graduated from my LPN program in June and I am scheduled to take my boards on Oct 4th. I'm very nervous, feeling like I won't be able to land a job due to the termination. I was terminated because of one of the nurses I worked with. For some reason, she had something against me. She always had an attitude towards me. She strongly disliked the fact that every time she'd tell (not ask) me to do something, I had already done it. I knew how to utilize the computer to check orders and see what needed to be done for each patient. I usually didn't need anything to be asked of me. I was a very independent worker, but of course I always made myself available if any of the nurses needed assistance. One particular day, I was checking vital signs on one of this particular nurse's patients. The BP was 80/50 (significantly lower than the patient's baseline). I immediately called the nurse on her work cell phone (we all carry ASCOM cell phones around) and informed her of the BP. I proceeded to tell her that the patient had no reports of feeling dizzy or weak; the patient stated she felt fine. The nurse replied that she would recheck a manual blood pressure and hung up the phone. I then informed the unit that I was going to lunch.
A few days later, I arrived onto the unit to begin my 3PM shift and I was immediately told to go down to HR. In HR, I was brought into an office where my manager and HR director were seated. They told me that they were terminating me because the nurse stated that I did not inform her of an abnormally low BP and that when she asked me to recheck the BP, I stated that I was going to lunch. I was shocked and told them that this accusation was false. I told my story and they told me that they were going to place the termination on hold, while I sat in the waiting area. They called the nurse down to discuss with her and ask if what I was saying was true. After they had this discussion with the nurse, I was called back into the office to be told that the termination would stand. I have never felt so betrayed.
I'm not sure what to write a job application where it asks the reason for leaving employment & my eligibility for rehire. Will the HR department state that I was terminated? Luckily, I am still in touch with a few of the nurses that work in the hospital that are more than willing to give a reference so I'm not that worried about that. Will a background check show that I was terminated? Please help. I am looking for any advice on how to land my first nursing position after being terminated!
