Terminated after two months and in need of help please!

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I worked at a LTC place for two months. I'm fairly new to nursing. I've only been out of school since December last year and got my nclex in early April.

Recently on day shift I had very little sleep and I was overwhelmed. Working at a negative place for five days in a row, being charge nurse, having insults thrown at my face, and my night nurses not doing their duties correctly already had my anxiety through the roof.

As every hour passed more frustration grew...having new residents with IV pumps I've not been trained with...treatments and more medications to give.

A resident after a few hours, complained that they did not get their lunch tray and pouted/cried the whole way they went down the hall in their wheelchair. This is a difficult reside, A/Ox3 but uses every excuse to get people to jump for him and is very manipulative. He got his tray but then got even more upset when it had a food he couldn't eat on it.

I tried my hardest to keep my cool but ended up yelling at them as I walked down the hall to get my tray. I was then contacted by upper management and asked to be given a statement for verbal abuse investigation. Quickly after that I was terminated.

How screwed am I? I've gone now for the last three days with very little sleep and cried every single hour I feel. I'm just so depressed. My licence could be at stake here and I could never be able to find a job...I'm going to seek counseling at a psychologist's office Wednesday but how do i even get my feet back into nursing? How do I explain this to future employees?

Should I just stop nursing and get a retail job/education in something else? Or is there hope for me?

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Call your malpractice carrier. Accusations of verbal abuse of an elderly patient can be serious and adversely affect future employment as a nurse and other careers.

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Call your malpractice carrier. Accusations of verbal abuse of an elderly patient can be serious and adversely affect future employment as a nurse and other careers.

I dont have a malpractice carrier. I live in IL...how can I find one i can afford while I'm unemployed? How can i even get a new job with this on my record?

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I've been checking this post every 15 minutes im so scared

i didnt even cuss him out. i just rose my voice a bit. i was having a worse day than normal. i didnt threaten him either. he just got upset and i attempted to calm him down even after the fact.

im going to show everyone i can work under stress and manage it better with this psych guy

i just really really need reassurance that i can even work again let alone work in nursing

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Malpractice won't cover you after the fact.

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Malpractice won't cover you after the fact.

Please just help me...I really need to know if I can even ever work again. This is not contributing to my already piqued depression....I just got my insurance claim today after reading your suggestion... I want to know how much i need to be concerned and what steps I can take to ensure I can work again, I cannot not work. I need income. I need to pay my student loans, I need to be able to feed myself.

If i need antidepressants or anxiety medication to function better then I'll need to pay for that.

Am I screwed or not?

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What you need to do is put all electronics away and go outside for a walk. Then when you've calmed down a bit, go and calmly search for information regarding how you were laid off. The most important thing is you're going to be alright, it'll all work out in the end..ok? I would ask any friend of ours to come over and help you through this situation, it'll be okay! "Every little thing..is gonna be alright!"

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Take a breath. No one can answer that question. Consult with a nurse attorney, the cost will be worthwhile to ensure your license and ability remains intact. You can find a qualified nurse attorney experienced in license defense TAANA Executive Office - Home

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What you need to do is put all electronics away and go outside for a walk. Then when you've calmed down a bit, go and calmly search for information regarding how you were laid off. The most important thing is you're going to be alright, it'll all work out in the end..ok? I would ask any friend of ours to come over and help you through this situation, it'll be okay! "Every little thing..is gonna be alright!"

The only place where I could find info is at my previous employeer. I've looked and looked for cases regarding verbal abuse and all I can find is that "anger directed at a resident" is on the grounds as something that can be looked at by the BON.

I've looked at cases where nurses lost their degrees and all of them are drugs/not paying fees in time. I've only found one verbal abuse case in the last four years and it was also founded that the nurse was physically abusing the resident.

I didn't directly yell at the resident. I didn't threaten them.

I feel like my case is a very weak one and if questioned by new employers I can briefly explain the situation and tell them I am aware there was an issue and I have gone to counseling and it will not happen again.

I just dread putting under "reasons for employment" as "termination" under the applications. I don't want to lie cause they'll find out regardless.

I don't know how serious my case really is. I can't figure out if whoever reported me felt I was going to hurt the resident or if they just saw I was having a hard day. I just hope things work out best in the long run. I'll keep everyone posted too on what happens. I might do a running blog under recovery for a while until I can figure out how to survive!

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Do you know for a fact that your previous employer has reported this to the BON? When they terminated you, what exactly did they say was the reason? Was it the incident you described specifically, or other things as well? Are you eligible for re-hire? It would absolutely be worth the expense of a lawyer in this situation. That way you will know your legal options and potential ramifications.

While you are working on counseling and obtaining a lawyer, you probably will be applying for a new job. I wouldn't describe/explain the situation to a prospective employer the way that you have on here.

I say that because although you acknowledged you need some counseling/therapy, the post is all about how you are worried about employment and your license, but very little acknowledgement that how you treated the resident was wrong. A prospective employer will not want to hear any excuses about you having a bad day or how he was a manipulative resident. I read a lot of excuses in your post. You have to totally own your actions and behavior, then take steps to correct it. Sounds like you do want to change since you are considering some kind of therapy/counseling. That's good.

Nursing and healthcare are massively stressful. I really wish you luck in the future, and genuinely hope you get some help to learn how to handle stress better.

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Do you know for a fact that your previous employer has reported this to the BON? When they terminated you, what exactly did they say was the reason? Was it the incident you described specifically, or other things as well? Are you eligible for re-hire? It would absolutely be worth the expense of a lawyer in this situation. That way you will know your legal options and potential ramifications.

While you are working on counseling and obtaining a lawyer, you probably will be applying for a new job. I wouldn't describe/explain the situation to a prospective employer the way that you have on here.

I say that because although you acknowledged you need some counseling/therapy, the post is all about how you are worried about employment and your license, but very little acknowledgement that how you treated the resident was wrong. A prospective employer will not want to hear any excuses about you having a bad day or how he was a manipulative resident. I read a lot of excuses in your post. You have to totally own your actions and behavior, then take steps to correct it. Sounds like you do want to change since you are considering some kind of therapy/counseling. That's good.

Nursing and healthcare are massively stressful. I really wish you luck in the future, and genuinely hope you get some help to learn how to handle stress better.

They HAVE to make the board aware of the issue. They are mandated on that. I was told it might be dropped. I'm unsure if I can be re-hired but I seriously doubt it.

Yes i was terminated specifically for this incendent. No other things were brought up and I asked them before I left, they said I was a genuinely good nurse but they don't tolerate verbal abuse because its against the residents rights.

I am taking full responsibility for this issue at hand. I recognize that I was probably not intended to work as a bedside nurse. I have anger issues and I tend to let my emotions get to me. I let negative people get to me too much and I am far too sensitive to others. I may have lied to myself in the past that I didn't need help but this was the straw that broke the camel's back.

I don't know what else I CAN do beyond going to therapy and counseling through a psychologist.

The psychologist should be able to help me manage stress better as well.

I suspect this: I let my anxiety about life get to me at the worst of times. I can function just fine and then something snaps for some reason or another. And I should have got help a long time ago, when I was in college. But my family didn't support my evidence I provided them and told me I was 'normal' or 'didn't need help'.

But I'm tired of letting myself be this way...for the sake of my career and my own life I'm getting help now.

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Do you know for a fact that your previous employer has reported this to the BON? When they terminated you, what exactly did they say was the reason? Was it the incident you described specifically, or other things as well? Are you eligible for re-hire? It would absolutely be worth the expense of a lawyer in this situation. That way you will know your legal options and potential ramifications.

While you are working on counseling and obtaining a lawyer, you probably will be applying for a new job. I wouldn't describe/explain the situation to a prospective employer the way that you have on here.

I say that because although you acknowledged you need some counseling/therapy, the post is all about how you are worried about employment and your license, but very little acknowledgement that how you treated the resident was wrong. A prospective employer will not want to hear any excuses about you having a bad day or how he was a manipulative resident. I read a lot of excuses in your post. You have to totally own your actions and behavior, then take steps to correct it. Sounds like you do want to change since you are considering some kind of therapy/counseling. That's good.

Nursing and healthcare are massively stressful. I really wish you luck in the future, and genuinely hope you get some help to learn how to handle stress better.

Also how exactly do you recommend I tell a future employer about this incident?

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