What are the chances of being fired as a nurse?

Marvie · Jun 2, 2010

well, let's see....don't be like me and have a genetic condition that steals your hearing away and disintegrates you with cerebellar ataxia, yeah because that is why my boss "let me go" even though I never put anyone in any harms way or ever had a complaint....so the answer to that is be genetically perfect and never have any disabilities because you won't be a 'perfect' nurse...

RNTwin · Jun 2, 2010

You most definitely can be fired from your job as a nurse. (speaking from many experiences!)

LOL... don't worry your not alone i was fired b/c of too many write up 3 in 7yrs :rolleyes:and one of the write ups was b/c the CEO came in the unit and people(nurses,doctors,NPs) had drinks and food in the unit. so the solution was to write up everybody that was scheduled that day, even a nurse that was scheduled to work from 11a-7p that wasn't even there during the CEO visit at 8am. What ****** me off, was that i didn't even have a drink on the unit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so i told my manager that, so she came back with we are all responsible for each others actions... I told her BVLLSH!T where is your write up!!! needless to say i walked out... :mad:

just remember that YOU ARE REPLACEABLE, no matter how much you give yourselft to an employer, they don't care about you, b/c they have many nurses lined up to take your place. I HAVE LEARNED MY LESSON AND WILL NEVER PUT MYSELF IN THAT SITUATION

FYI...after my termination the manager turned in her resignation as a manager that day, since then 10+ nurses left that unit in about 2-4 month period :yeah:

Leelee2 · Jun 2, 2010

You will be fired as a nurse. But if it is because your patient care standards are higher than your bosses, or you refuse to take medical orders from a administrator, or you wont look the other way when favorite nurses are sleeping on the job, than consider your firing a badge of honor...and never let yourself become the nurse that will cut corners to do it their way.
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I have seen this also....totally agree. Though i have also seen nurse's fired justly, by stealing narcotics.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jun 2, 2010

you most definitely can be fired from your job as a nurse. (speaking from many experiences!) i have not had much luck with nursing jobs. my first job i thought was going to be my dream job, one that i absolutely loved going to, i was fired from the week before i was to start being on my own and the last week of my orientation. my paperwork states that i was terminated due to "not meeting unit standards". i hadn't done anything wrong and had not harmed any patients. i had not even had any problems with co-workers. but for some reason, someone obviously didn't like me or want me there. the orientation was to be exactly 90 days, no more and no less, no matter how you learned. after this situation, i was unable to get a job for months. then come to find out, the manager of this unit had blacklisted me! at the termination meeting, she had suggested that maybe i get a job at such and such hospital in a similar unit to get more experience. i went to such and such hospital, applied, interviewed, and was told that they wanted to hire me but wanted to talk with my previous manager before making a final decision. not thinking anything of it, i said that it was fine to speak with her. after they spoke to her, they would not offer me the position. i contacted my previous manager and asked her what happened and she told me " it is none of your business what i say about you to other people!" seriously!!!
so, needless to say, i have had extremely bad luck with jobs in this area. i was terminated/fired from my next job because the new manager (who used to be night shift charge nurse) didn't like me. i was harassed and threatened at this job and no one cared or listened. i was terminated/fired from my next job because the scheduler didn't like me. i went to the manager and clinical director about things that she was doing or not doing and nothing ever changed. i was let go for write ups that i was unaware of. when i asked about getting a copy of these supposed write ups, i was told that they would have to check with corporate about it and that they don't let employees have copies of anything in their employee file! it is state law here that an employee is allowed to have a copy of anything they want that is in their employee file, but they refuse to let me see it!!
with all of these jobs, i took the necessary steps to go through the fair treatment procedures, contacting hr, etc. none of it did any good. they didn't care. i feel like i live in the wrong state or at least the wrong area of the state because no one around here cares, everyone is out for themselves, and personally i have found that a lot of people are down right mean. i moved to the northern part of the state for what was supposed to be my dream job and have gotten screwed out of almost every job i have held here. before moving here, i lived in the central/southern part of the state and held my job at the hospital there for almost 3 years without any problems or issues.
so yes, you can be fired from your job as a nurse for absolutely any reason they come up with. you can get unemployment benefits after being fired/terminated from a nursing job. i received unemployment after each of these jobs. and yes, they petitioned or whatever to not let me get benefits. i won each time! i wouldn't want any good nurse to ever get fired from their jobs, but it happens. i have had many patients who absolutely loved having me as their nurse and i was often requested to be someones nurse, however, some places it seems don't seem to care about whether or not you are a good nurse for your patients and their families, it's all about whether they like you or not. i have witnessed a lot of nurses that should have been fired for their actions and for bad patient care, but they still have their jobs because they were liked and accepted by the unit manager!

i know you didn't ask for advice, but here it is anyway: you've been fired from three jobs for no reason (according to you) other than that someone didn't like you. either you're a very unlikable person, and i'm not suggesting that, or you're doing something wrong that you haven't yet figured out. please spend some time on self-assessment, or maybe ask a few trusted former colleagues to tell you what that is.

and maybe take a look at the "fired for no reason" thread.

fitRNpic · Jun 4, 2010

i know you didn't ask for advice, but here it is anyway: you've been fired from three jobs for no reason (according to you) other than that someone didn't like you. either you're a very unlikable person, and i'm not suggesting that, or you're doing something wrong that you haven't yet figured out. please spend some time on self-assessment, or maybe ask a few trusted former colleagues to tell you what that is.

and maybe take a look at the "fired for no reason" thread.

not trying to be rude, but no thanks to the advice! i have done a lot of self assessment and have asked a lot of former colleagues what's wrong with me and none of them can figure it out either. i never had any problems with jobs until i moved to a different part of the state! i have never had any patient problems/complaints nor from any family members of patients. i've actually had patients and family members offer me jobs to work for them doing private duty! so no problem there. former colleagues have said that i am a likable and fun person once they got to know me. a new grad once said that she thought i was intimidating and had a strong personality when she first met me and then said she thought i was cool once she knew me. not sure if this is why i am not liked by people in this area or what. i am me and that will never change. i have gone through a lot throughout my life that a lot of people have never experienced and truly don't understand and maybe this is where my strong personality comes from. i was also a military police officer for 6 years, so i am sure some of my personality comes from this. but, if people don't want to get to know me and instead want to go by what they think of me and judge me, i think it is their problem and not mine.

eldragon · Jun 4, 2010

I just quit a job I was at 3 weeks because if I didn't quit, I was sure they would put me on the PRN list and never call, which is the same as being terminated but there's no benefits paid.

I liked the job alot. I had no orientation but I found my way. The job, a clinic, was fraught with difficulties and had an entire new crew/staff, from the front office to all nurses but one. One doctor has put her notice in, and another was fired on my second day. The director went around and jacked everyone's schedules day after day. The place was so broke there was no toilet paper for two days (this included the adjoining hospital) because the facility had not paid its bills for over 3 months.

It was clear they needed to downsize and get rid of the new nurse (me) because of firing that one doctor, and there was an old timer nurse who stood around doing nothing, gossiping and started working when the directors came in, an made herself look invincible.

Anyway, after 3 weeks the director told me in so many words that I wasn't fitting in with the rest of the staff. She didn't think I was putting in the effort to learn everything I needed to know about that facility, when in actuality I had spent alot of time stocking, sorting, doing inventory, etc. and felt comfortable with those things. Even as I sat there doing another nurses work, she told me didn't think I was offering my help to other nurses, and "this place needs to work as a team."

Bottom line was that they needed to lay someone off and didn't want to pay any benefits so instead of just cutting my hours or being honest, they came up with a bunch of mixed up reasons why it had to be my fault, because of my inability to mingle with the others, or perhaps I wasn't a hard enough worker, etc.

But the funny thing is that I had quit my previous job of almost 3 years to change jobs and work at this clinic, because it was closer to home. And in that huge facility, I had earned a reputation for being an extremely hard-working, ethical and competent worker. In fact, when I resigned, the administrator called me at home and told me how disapointed she was to learn I had left and asked me what might she do to get me to go back to work there. She told me I was "an uncommon and exceptionally professional nurse."

And in less than 3 weeks, the new place denied seeing any of that exceptional work ethic or potential in me. So they told me they were "giving me another week and would see how it went," and at the end of the shift, that was it for me. They can have the office politics, the gossip mongering, the no-job security inducing watching your back all the time.

Bottom line: when a facility has huge turnover: run.

happy2learn · Jun 4, 2010

I went to such and such hospital, applied, interviewed, and was told that they wanted to hire me but wanted to talk with my previous manager before making a final decision. Not thinking anything of it, I said that it was fine to speak with her. After they spoke to her, they would not offer me the position. I contacted my previous manager and asked her what happened and she told me " It is none of your business what I say about you to other people!" SERIOUSLY!!!

In my state, it is illegal for the previous employer to say anything about you except when you were hired, when you left the company, and things along that line. They are not allowed to say anything personal or related to your job performance, unless you put this person down as a reference.

Erin, RN · Jun 4, 2010

Plenty easy, I imagine! Showing up late to work regularly, calling in last minute on a regular basis, inability to critically think, inability to get your tasks done in a reasonable amount of time, inability to be flexible, unprofessional language or behavior, causing harm to patients in any way, multiple patient complaints, ignoring policy and procedure, stealing meds or supplies, and unfortunately like other people have mentioned, it's a career where some people seem to get fired just because they don't fit in right with their peers at that particular job .... although I imagine that's not the official reason they'd give you when they let you go.

I'd suggest working in such a way that if you do get fired, the reason you were fired won't keep you from getting new jobs. i.e. Which employer would want to hire someone who was fired for being a no call no show a couple of times? Which nurses want to work with someone who is habitually tardy, which means they have to stay late on a regular basis until that person arrives? Who'd want to hire someone who's been caught stealing from their place of employment? ........ However, if you're fired for something like making a decision that was in the best interest of your patient's health and safety and just didn't groove well with admin, you could defend that one.

Just put forth your highest quality of work as a nurse and maintain your professionalism. You'll be fine!

fitRNpic · Jun 4, 2010

In my state, it is illegal for the previous employer to say anything about you except when you were hired, when you left the company, and things along that line. They are not allowed to say anything personal or related to your job performance, unless you put this person down as a reference.

In a way this is my fault. I had too much trust in my previous manager being that she recommended me to apply to this other hospital to get more experience in a lower level nursery/NICU. I didn't think that since she recommended me to apply to this other hospital, that she would say anything bad about me (why would she recommend me to apply for a position there). So, I told the hospital manager that it was ok for her to speak to my previous manager when she asked me. I never thought that she would say anything bad about me for one because I hadn't done anything wrong while working for her, what could she possibly say. And two, why would she tell me to apply somewhere and then turn around and ruin the opportunity for me. Needless to say, that is exactly what she did. And she didn't just ruin the opportunity for me at this particular hospital, but also any opportunity at the other 2-3 hospitals in this area. I have been forced to seek employment at places that are well over an hour or two away from me. Then, I can't seem to get employed at any of these facilities because they worry about me living so far away and commuting. Every interview I have had at these hospitals, they say something about me commuting and living so far away. Even when I tell them that it's not a big deal and I don't mind the commute, I feel that this is still held against me. I am currently commuting almost 2 hours one way for pediatric home health positions!! I can't get employment anywhere near me, she has ruined all opportunities for me in this area. So, I am seeking employment in other states and the military. I had finally convinced my husband that we have to relocate in order for me to find long term employment and hopefully some stability. What really stinks though is that our whole family lives in this area. This is the reason why we moved back to the area. Now we will have to move away again in order for me to get a job. It is illegal what she has done, but I can't prove that she did it!