What can get you fired??

[kelsie*bear]

Hi everyone,

I'm a nursing student and would like to ask the nurses here, the "hospital policy".

I'm doing a poster board for the class and came up with just a few. I'd really appreciate all your inputs.

-documentation error

-not storing needles in sharp container box

-medication mix up

Thanks so much!

[FlyingScot, RN]

Breathing.

[sissykim]

Punching your DON in the face and knocking one of his teeth out.

(a former coworker of mine actually did this, rather recently in fact)

Wow! That is funny. I was canned for attendance, documentation. But mostly attendance. OTHERS cursing clients, but if the DON likes you can throw medication in the trash, get it out, and administer the same medication intravenously, while talking on your cell phone.

[leslie :-D]

heck, you can even be fired for doing the right things...

such as being pt advocate, taking a stand against substandard txs/acts, etc.

it doesn't matter that we're supposed to do this.

it matters more, if you make your employer look bad.

leslie

[Coffee Nurse, BSN, RN]

Saying anything even vaguely job-related on Facebook, even if it's not strictly a HIPAA violation. It's not as objectively serious as some of the other suggestions in this thread (withholding meds, etc.), but it's a good thing for current students to learn now.

[Baloney Amputation, BSN, LPN, RN]

You can get fired for being ethical and doing your job, or at least in my state with lovely at-will employment.

[JB2007, ASN, RN]

Punching your DON in the face and knocking one of his teeth out.

(a former coworker of mine actually did this, rather recently in fact)

Too funny! I have dreamed of doing this a few times in the past!! Might as well go out with a bang.

[systoly]

If The ADON or DON doesn't like you or your response to his/her bulljunk!

Sorry to bust bubbles, but that has to be the all time #1 reason. If they like you, you'd be surprised how creative management can be in salvaging an employee.

[systoly]

Showing up to work in your wife's clothes, that might get you fired.

Only if you don't shave your legs, however, showing up in your boss's wife's clothes...

[bustthewave]

So I think when I get my first job as a nurse I'm a big candidate for getting fired because I 1. breath, and 2. I have gotten sick more than twice in the past 5 years. Oh, and 3. I have far from a photographic memory.

Is there life after getting fired in nursing?

I've never been fired before but it seems like a very real possibility in nursing despite my suave social skills and charming good looks.

[Overland1, RN]

Pretty much anything can get a person fired, depending upon the decision of the management at the time and the situation at hand. There are a lot of folks who live and work in "at will" states and are never fired (I am sure this will give rise to a bazillion comments ).

Having been fired a couple of times several decades ago (very common in broadcasting, especially small market stations), I will say that each time, I went to a better and higher paying job, and changed careers a few times along the way. I learned the first time to not take it personally. The reality of life is that no other person nor organization will really protect you from being fired.

[OttawaRPN]

Only if you don't shave your legs, however, showing up in your boss's wife's clothes...

Showing up to work in your wife's clothes, that might get you fired.

I worked with an HCA who was a cross dresser in his spare time. A few times he showed up for work in a toned down version of his female persona, but because he worked on an advanced dementia unit, the patients didn't know any different.

[DeLana_RN, BSN, RN]

So I think when I get my first job as a nurse I'm a big candidate for getting fired because I 1. breath, and 2. I have gotten sick more than twice in the past 5 years. Oh, and 3. I have far from a photographic memory.

Is there life after getting fired in nursing?

I've never been fired before but it seems like a very real possibility in nursing despite my suave social skills and charming good looks.

I wish I could assure you otherwise, but it's unbelievable how much nurses still eat their young (or their own; it's not limited to new grads). I'm one of those who got canned (actually, forced to resign) in her very first job out of nursing - and can't really tell you why. I think the manager simply didn't like me, or I didn't fit in with the "clique". The only feedback I ever got was that I was "too meticulous" (read: "Too slow"; never mind I was a brand new grad who took the time to read up on unfamiliar new meds before giving them). I wasn't dumb (BSN, magna cum laude), but maybe she hated me for that. Who will ever know.... (I was immediately hired in another hospital, so it wasn't career ending - but you can imagine what this will do to your professional, still very shaky new grad confidence).

I often wonder why it's so easy to get fired in nursing. Your knowledge, skills and ability may not have anything to do with it; in fact, they can be the problem, if other nurses feel threatened by you. There is a horrible henhouse mentality - the overwhelming majority of nurses are female (well over 90%), as are most managers. You may not "fit in" for being too young/old/pretty/homely/obese/thin/intelligent/dumb/average... you name it. Not "polishing the apple" (aka brown nosing, a$$ kissing) is also a major problem in nursing (and yes, mine; I just don't do this, and have paid dearly for it. But I have to be true to myself.)

Once they decide to get rid of you, it's very easy to find grounds because so much in nursing is subjective. One nurse I know was told by her supervisor that "I have a feeling that you're not safe"; she was also a new grad, and forced to resign. Another was told that "you seem to have problems with critical thinking". In either case, no examples were given when asked, and neither nurse had ever received any disciplinary actions or "write ups". So what do you do about a feeling or opinion?!

That said, please don't let it discourage you. Just keep in mind you need to be vigilant, stay under the radar, be enthusiastic (but not too much), ask questions (but not too many), compliment the boss, do all you can to get along with your coworkers.... it also helps to have connections. And - of yes, skills and knowledge (but keep some of that to yourself.)

I wish you luck.

DeLana

P.S. A good way to have a much easier time in nursing: Be male. No kidding - my husband, an ICU nurse, has had very few problems. But he has seen most of his female colleagues having to deal with it....