Trying to get a new job with no good current references

[pinkiepieRN]

I've been a nurse since 2009. My professional history looks like this:

2009-2012: adult psych (community hospital)

I left because I felt unsafe with the patient population (high substance abuse, very high patient turn-around, unenclosed nursing station, and then I was bitten by an out of control patient and it was the last straw.) I'd been taking graduate classes and received my post-bacc certificate in Nursing Ed.

2012: 6 months teaching allied health (high school)

I started teaching in the middle of the school year to students with multiple other failed teachers and in a program where the curriculum was being re-worked. I was encouraged to leave and told my contact would not be renewed.

2013: 1 year of failed jobs - nothing I was at long enough to keep on my resume

2014: hired at a nursing home (large corporate company)

5 months as staff nurse > 4 months as overnight supervisor > transferred to larger facility as unit manager > fired as unit manager after 3 months

November 2014-February 2015 - UNEMPLOYED

February 2015-July 2016 - adult psych (large teaching hospital)

Last spring, they closed down one of our 2 adult psych units for remodeling and allowed us to float to other units. I floated to child psych and loved it. I transferred to be a full-time employee after 2 months of floating. I didn't have any major performance issues on Adult Psych and got good evaluations from management.

July 2016-present: Child psych

Things were going well until my 6 month probationary period was scheduled to end at the end of January. I was called out here and there for making mistakes but I easily corrected my mistakes and did my best not to repeat them. When I came on, one of the more senior nurses on my shift was constantly being bullied and belittled by our supervisor. He retired in January due to what was the incessant game playing and bullying.

Two weeks go by after my senior co-worker retired and I was given his schedule. I was called in by my NM and placed on a performance improvement plan, and was told my probation was being extended by 12 weeks. Since the implementation of the performance improvement plan, I had several meetings with my supervisor - one went badly, then we went 3 weeks without a meeting and after cornering her and insisting we meet, she told me that I was informally being taken off of the performance improvement plan. I have bipolar disorder and became really depressed in early January. My depression led to declining performance at work and then my husband and I started fighting on almost a daily basis. I have intermittent FMLA and took some personal days for my mental health, while keeping my NM in the loop. My NM likes me but my supervisor is the one who's been complaining about my performance and was bullying my senior coworker who has since retired.

I've been out on FMLA since late April due to exacerbation of my current mental health issues. I was hospitalized for a week and am in a partial hospitalization program now. I expect to return back to work the last week in May at the earliest. I called my NM to let her know of my plans and she told me that my probation would be being extended for 4 more weeks, at which point she has to terminate me. I don't expect to see the end of those 4 weeks without being fired sooner or losing my mind. My supervisor will make my life a living hell.

Also night shifts are bad for my mental health. I need to get off of night shift.

I am trying to get off of this burning ship because I don't think there's much I can do to salvage things. I'm on pretty thin ice and I don't think it's worth trying super duper hard to get put down and burned anyway. I'd like to return to work after my FMLA is over but I'm just trying to keep my head down and get a paycheck.

I want a new job. I've been getting calls about my resume because I was able to stay with this hospital for 2 years before things started to get really bad. I have co-workers that I can use as references but do not trust letting anyone call my supervisor or my nurse manager right now, even though I've been told that they can't say bad things (which I think is BS). What can I do? I think it's in my best interest to get a new job. I know I need to get my head on straight. I don't want to leave nursing and I don't want to leave the bedside. My meds were adjusted when I was hospitalized and I'm getting the therapy and help I need now. I've had a rough job history with periods of stability. I have current co-workers who will give me references but don't think my supervisor or NM will.

I guess I'm just looking for reassurance from someone that I'll get through this. That it's okay for me to have job hopped between some stability and that I should be able to get a new job with references from co-workers if not from supervisor or NM. I'm running low on hope.

TL;DR - Unstable mental health has lead to job hopping. I've stayed in 2 jobs for more than 2 years but have been in 4 different positions for 6 months or less with some periods of unemployment. Out on FMLA, on leave from a burning ship. Wanting to jump ship before the ship turns to ashes.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Moved to Nursing Career Advice

[Zyprexa]

I'm sorry you're going through this Right now, the most important thing for you is to take care of yourself and your health. I think it might be best to resign from your current position, rather than be terminated as you suggested. As for references, could you use your manager from when you worked on Adult Psych (2015-2016)? And I think you could also list your coworkers as references, I have done that before and it worked out fine. I think a lot of nurses job-hop. I've only been a nurse for a little over one year and I'm already in my second job (although technically I moved to a different unit in the same hospital). Many nurses only stay in one place for 1-2 yrs.

I agree that you definitely need to get off night shift and out of the toxic work environment. I also have some mental health problems, and night shift really messed with me. Do you think working in a less stressful environment, maybe outpatient psych, would work better for you?

Best of luck, I hope everything works out for you!

[TheSocialMediaCoach]

Take time to care for your self. Think about having a job outside of nursing as well. Something super part time that you enjoy. Let me know if you want details about what has worked for me. Regarding using your manager as a reference, I'm unsure if that willl be a problem. Managers move too! Resumes ask for my past three facilities, yet since being a nurse I have only worked at two facilities, the manager of my first job is no where to be found, not a problem. I have a co- worker who I last worked with over 7 years ago, she has moved around in terms of jobs yet always asks to use me as a reference, she finds work. Keep us updated!