Terminated

If that's what was said, it wasn't very professional, obviously.

I assume your friend is as upset about the termination as she is about others possibly finding out about it. A coworker or two might have reached out to see if she was okay even if nothing had been said. The manager also could have said, "she no longer works here," and others would assume termination. And when nothing is said, everyone assumes termination. What I'm getting at is, although I've heard things phrased better (she's decided to move on, she is pursuing other opportunities, etc.) your friend's anger about this issue is a defense mechanism (sort of unhealthy attempt at coping, understandable as it may be). It's a major focus on a relatively minor side issue.

I get the adding-insult-to-injury aspect of what you're saying, but unless she is being slandered there is just nothing here. Even then, one would have to decide how much life to waste on dealing with it. I would probably encourage her to move forward, and regardless of anything else, this focus is not going to take her forward.

Thank you, JKL.

I feel like it something that she should do as well. But spreading that someone got "fired" or "let go" some form of slander?

It's not professional, but nurses do it all the time. And some of them love doing it.

You have a choice: wish the nurses would stop, or stop listening to what they say. I prefer the latter.

Thanks Paige,

It's sad how people operate this way.

The manager may not have offered that your friend was fired. Sometimes, when someone is fired for cause the charge nurses are aware that it is going on because documentation is needed. Your friend is crossed off the schedule, and someone asks about it, and your manager said "They don't work here anymore." AHA! Everyone "knows" the person has been fired.

Or, "everyone knows" that that a person did something majorly wrong. I came to work one morning, and found the screen to the Pyxis was broken and we had to try and get our medications from the Pharmacy. I called the pharmacy, and the tech who answered said, "Oh, yeah. I heard that Tom got mad and punched out the screen on the Pyxis." Tom is taken off the schedule, and everyone is asked to work overtime tonight. So, everyone rushes to check the assignment sheet for tonight (are my friends working? Is it a good crew? Should I work some overtime? Tom is crossed off in the manager's handwriting). We all know that Tom did a destructive thing, Tom is off the schedule. Did Tom get fired? No one says yes or no, but the assistant manager MAY have microscopically nodded her head when we asked. That's all we need -- Tom got fired!

I would suggest that your friend has other priorities right now -- finding a new job perhaps. The previous job is gone. Rather than obsess about whether other people have done wrong things (gossiping about the termination) she should perhaps be focusing on why she was terminated and how she might avoid such a fate at her next job.