What do you think?

HeySis, BSN, RN · Nov 24, 2016

When I was in nursing school two years ago I posted on here with a different account

I'm pretty sure you are not suppose to make two accounts as the terms of using the site.... but onwards.

Right out of nursing school I got a job in a small hospital back in my hometown. The hospital didn't have a good reputation at all. I was a new grad working in the ER. It was overwhelming and I felt disrespected by my coworkers, unwelcomed, and that the chain of command was disfunctional. One day at work my preceptor said some really-things to me and I finished the shift never went back. So I worked there approx 2 months.

So you left your first job without notice and never showed up for your next shift. I think that the fact you say you accepted a job at someplace you believed to have a poor reputation and felt overwhelmed speaks volumes here. The ER can be a very hard and demanding place, These nurses have to know how to prioritize and run their A**es off to get through a busy shift. It can be hard on new nurses not to mistake the driven, competence of seasoned ER nurses with callous dislike. Not every emotion shows, it's can't.

But even if you found the staff and the unit not to your liking... to walk away and not come back says more about you then it does them.

I then got hired at a large hospital a level 2 trauma hospital as a cardiac telemetry nurse. It was very hectic and face paced. I noticed the CNAs were very manipulative and lazy.I was there for appox 6 months I thought moving to a large booming city would be a good career move and I got into NP school shortly aftermoving to the BIG city.

You do not say on what terms you left this job, did you give proper notice?

In the legitimately big city the unit I was on was non tele. The patients primarily needed/ wanted pain and nausea medicine and charting was much more micromanged. Things there didnt go as I had hoped but I stayed employed there for a year. I thought I left on good terms.

Again complaints about your employees/workplace.

But what didn't go as you had hoped?

What feed back did you get from your supervisors and co-workers over the year?

How much notice did you give?

I went back to my previous hospital with the lazy CNAS. The unit had changed and I was 6-1 at nights with close to 30 beds and 2 CNAs and codes were a daily thing. I felt bullied and spoke up about it. The behavior didn't change. I was failing one of my classes in NP school and took a leave of absence. My personal life was also suffering and one night when census was low and my preceptor started in on me. I politely said I was going home.

I hope you did not have your own patient load (even if it was just one patient) and just walk out, that would be considered abandonment and could land you in front of your BON.

I had already texted my manager but got no response one hour previous to experiencing some negative attitude. I clocked out and went home. The wheels of justice turned for a few days. I had interviews at other places lined up and thought the hospital would side with me since lateral violence is a hot topic. NOPE. I was fired.

It is not up to your manager to come in on her day off and respond to your "experiencing some negative attitude". That is something you should have emailed her about, requested to have a sit down with her and then finished your shift.

Lateral violence may be a hot topic, but it doesn't give you the right to come and go as you please, to leave co-workers in a lurch and to leave patients without a proper report off. (which you may not have done.)

Since you had already worked at this hospital once with unsatisfactory results, I would have thought that before taking employment there again you would have sought out your supervisor, spoken with him/her about any issues you had and worked on resolving them.

One week later I am on the pay clock for a home health private duty comapny learning a couple new skill sets and patient age group. The pay is better, but no PTO, and the commute is very long.

Every job has it's good and bad. This one does too. Home Health has advantages of flexibility that for some are worth the lack of PTO and comment. Only you can decide that.

MY old manager in the big city wont give me a recomendation I discovered...why I really don't know and my last manager fired me, so how do I go about getting back into hospital work if I wanted too?

You say the job "didn't go as hoped" in the big city, it might be reasonable to believe that your employer thought your work didn't go as hoped either. Consider yourself lucky that she told you she would not give you a reference. Then at least you will not use her and be surprised later that the reference was bad.

5 jobs in two year? Does that make me a bad hire? I kinda think yes, but nursing in hospitals is a GRIND. Everyone says be honest about your work HX, but I think it best to not mention anything about the hospital I was fired from. What do you guys think? I hope to hear from some of yall. This is rather troublesome since I have to find clinical placement soon for NP clinicals, and its the holidays.Hope some one can relate and exchange posts with me.

Honestly it does make you a bad hire.

You may believe my comments to be harsh or unkind... truly I am not meaning them that way, but they are bluntly honest. I have worked as a manger and as an administrator, and that is how I would look at your situation. Would it be considered judgmental... probably, but that's what we do when we hire, we make the best judgment call we can wth the information given.

I understand that things have been rough in your personal life, and I'm sorry and wish you the best of luck.

But employers can't let your personal life interfere with having a good working, team player that delivers outstanding care and is able to get along.

I don't think you'll just be able to leave out all of this work history, it's going to leave glaring blank spots that, as an employer, I would ask about. Be aware if you are asked and you lie, either out right or by omission, that will bite you later. You can be fired for not being forthcoming when directly asked.

Do you have any friends that were past co-workers that you keep in contact with? They may be able to give you insight into how you are perceived by your co-workers that may be helpful to you.

And I would stick with this job for a long time and become a stellar example of all things a great nurse should be. Then you'll be able to chalk up the past to learning experiences and show that you knew how to stick with one team, work out problems as they come up, and perform to the best of your abilities. You'll even get a good reference that is recent, that may override the past.

sevensonnets · Nov 24, 2016

Excellent response, HeySis!

petertheparrot · Nov 24, 2016

Thank you for all of the feedback.I was just trying to get the information out there and see what type of responses I would get. Thank you again. I would like to point out that when I walked out census was low we were staffed 4-1 and 5-1 and had a free charge and my "preceptor" could have take my pts or divided them up amongst the lazy free charge, her, and the other nurses. It was a re-occuring problem with this nurse and prescedent had been set in a previous situation...but I would like to be real clear that I would never just leave sick pts to fend for themselves. Also I don't but into this slave mentality I am seeing in the workplace and on the internet. I deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, I also shouldn't be worked into an early grave. You don't screw people out of the opportunity to feed, clothe, and provide shelter for themselves, and then turn around and think to yourself what a wonderful person you are, or maybe you do. I am in my middle aged years now. In two years I dont think I will be able to run the floors like I could a few weeks ago and certainly not like a semi fit 20 something year old. So I am on my 5th job in 2 years. Yeah that does look bad... For now the plan is to get through a couple more semesters of NP school and start clinicals. How do you think my work history will affect my ability to find clinical placement? Again thank you so much for yalls opinions. Hope to hear more from yall.

crazin01 · Nov 24, 2016

Heysis said it very well. And having that input from a manager/past manager is so beneficial. Unfortunately, the employer looks at the bottom line, press-ganey scores & finances. Not so much staff retention/satisfaction. I also think the saying "the grass is always greener" fits this situation well, that is until you get to that other side of the road. Some cliquey behavior, lazy staff, poor ratios are pretty much a given in an acute hospital setting. As stated by another poster, welcome to nursing!

I honestly know nothing of NP school, or going about finding appropriate clinical sites. However, if you are still located in your hometown, where the small hospital is located it may be difficult to find a geographically hospital facility in that area. You said you thought you left the big city hospital on good terms, so maybe that would be an option for clinicals, possibly even for multiple specialties.

I am confused about why your previous manager (at the city hospital) would not give you a good reference. As long as you gave appropriate notice & worked it, and hopefully had a good work history (minimal call-offs, no write-ups etc) I don't understand why he/she would not be a reference for you.

I am quite interested though, in the fact the small, hometown hospital even re-hired you, after you didn't go back, following your pre-ceptor's not nice comments. I don't know what was said, but agree with another PP who said that maybe it was not mean/malicious in nature, but simply appropriate feedback about your performance. I hate to assume, but without more info about what exactly was said, tone, body language, etc it's hard to gauge how it was meant.

It seems a lot of new grads (at least the younger ones) take any type of feedback as bullying and NETY. So, you came back to this hospital and were again with a pre-ceptor? I'm also somewhat surprised you received another orientation period, when you were only gone for a year. (unless simply a week to complete HR papers, OSHA, computer education, etc). I think this hospital terminated you, because after a very short 2nd employment with them, you once again left them in a bind. This time, you didn't even finish your shift & left; even worse than the first go-round with finishing the shift & not going back. They didn't want you to repeat your quitting without any notice (at least that's my opinion).

Sorry, it does seem like all the feedback is negative, but it is all truthful. Again, sorry I don't have input about your actual question, regarding NP clinical sites.

I think your best bet is to do as PP stated: stay in your current position at least 12 months, be a great employee, learn, network, etc. Especially if you must put NP school on hold for a little. Best wishes...

SmilingBluEyes · Nov 25, 2016

I see a lot about "them" and not much about you. Seems you are blaming everyone else for your own shortcomings. There seems to be room for improvement in your performance, attitude and behaviors. Until you do improve, expect problems in NP school and wherever you go. Your focus on any perceived "nursing shortage" is way off the mark.

I wish you well in the future.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Nov 25, 2016

I am confused about why your previous manager (at the city hospital) would not give you a good reference. As long as you gave appropriate notice & worked it, and hopefully had a good work history (minimal call-offs, no write-ups etc) I don't understand why he/she would not be a reference for you.

I speak as someone who once worked in middle management. I am still telephoned and/or emailed from former coworkers who seek references from me.

A clean personnel file and decent attendance history does not automatically entitle a former employee to a good reference. There are wonderful former employees who have been terminated due to issues beyond their control, such as extended illness that persisted beyond the limits of their short term disability, long term disability, FMLA, and personal leave of absence. Generally, these folks are eligible for rehire even though they were terminated. Their past work performance would also warrant good references.

On the other hand, some employees fly under the radar. They report to work early or on time. They were never written up or disciplined. On paper, they appear to be ideal workers. But under the surface, frequent issues with problematic workplace attitude and mediocre clinical judgment are present. So although a former employee might appear decent due to a lack of disciplinary action in the file, no former manager or supervisor is obligated to give him/her a glowing reference.

Always remember that derogatory references are perfectly legal as long as the person giving the reference provides factual information.

elkpark · Nov 25, 2016

I would like to point out that when I walked out census was low we were staffed 4-1 and 5-1 and had a free charge and my "preceptor" could have take my pts or divided them up amongst the lazy free charge, her, and the other nurses.

Doesn't matter -- there's no scenario in which it's appropriate or defensible for a nurse to "walk out" because one doesn't like the way one is being spoken to or treated at work. It's generally considered a firing offense, outside of really unusual circumstances.

I agree with some of the others here that I really hope you'll put your plans for graduate school on hold until you get your basic nursing employment situation worked out. There are already far too many people going into advanced practice nursing largely, or mostly, because they just want to get away from bedside nursing. The last thing nursing needs is a lot of advanced practice nurses who are in those roles because they couldn't hack generalist nursing. I wish that there weren't so many nursing graduate programs that will take anyone, regardless.

elkpark · Nov 25, 2016

I am confused about why your previous manager (at the city hospital) would not give you a good reference. As long as you gave appropriate notice & worked it, and hopefully had a good work history (minimal call-offs, no write-ups etc) I don't understand why he/she would not be a reference for you.

It's standard practice in academia and professional settings to simply advise an individual that you can't be reference for them if you feel you can't give them a good reference. Most people consider it bad behavior to agree to be a reference for someone when you know that you're going to (have to) say negative things about them if asked. We all know that there's a lot more to being a good, desirable employee than just showing up on time, not calling off sick, and not getting into enough trouble to get a formal write-up. I'm sure that the previous manager declined to serve as a reference because s/he felt that s/he couldn't say anything particularly positive about the OP as an employee.

Extra Pickles · Nov 25, 2016

I would like to point out that when I walked out census was low we were staffed 4-1 and 5-1 and had a free charge and my "preceptor" could have take my pts or divided them up amongst the lazy free charge, her, and the other nurses. It was a re-occuring problem with this nurse and prescedent had been set in a previous situation...but I would like to be real clear that I would never just leave sick pts to fend for themselves.

The fact that your four or five patients could have been reassigned to other nurses doesn't make it fine that you politely told them you were going home. I wouldn't care how polite it was if I was the charge nurse who had to deal with your abandoning those patients, dumping them on me and the other nurses because you didn't like how someone spoke to you, I'd be sure to let your manager know it was time to fire your butt. If your manager didn't respond to your texts where you complained you wanted to go home that doesn't give you any right to pick up and leave. You walked off your shift without authorization, you should have been fired.

Also I don't but into this slave mentality I am seeing in the workplace and on the internet. I deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, I also shouldn't be worked into an early grave.

I get a feel from what you wrote that you were not an easy person to get along with and that you probably weren't much liked. That usually happens when someone isn't a team player or doesn't give everyone else the same respect that they demand for themselves. Does this sound like a possibility? I also didn't get anywhere in what you wrote that you were being worked into an early grave, that's a little too dramatic! Maybe you were too dramatic in general about what you thought you shouldn't have to do, or put up with? If you didn't expect the work to be fast-paced or sometimes overwhelming or that sometimes you'd work with difficult people then I think you didn't go into nursing with your eyes open. Five jobs in two years means that at least some if not most of the problems with those jobs were in you.

You don't screw people out of the opportunity to feed, clothe, and provide shelter for themselves, and then turn around and think to yourself what a wonderful person you are, or maybe you do.

How did this happen, you left jobs on your own so no one denied you an opportunity for making a living, you did that by walking off jobs! If your priority was food clothing and shelter than you should have handled issues with the job in a professional manner and not done anything to guarantee you'd be fired! How is it you were a bad employee and think it was someone else's fault that you were fired, or someone else's fault you walked out?

I am in my middle aged years now. In two years I dont think I will be able to run the floors like I could a few weeks ago and certainly not like a semi fit 20 something year old. So I am on my 5th job in 2 years. Yeah that does look bad... For now the plan is to get through a couple more semesters of NP school and start clinicals. How do you think my work history will affect my ability to find clinical placement?

so how is this the fault of five employers? I think since you are thinking this way you should have worked harder to make those jobs work so maybe you would be a good choice of applicant for a better job instead of a bad choice of applicant for any job. I think if you fail out of NP school or get kicked out of clinicals or denied a preceptor for your program and that makes you ineligible to graduate because you're impossible to work with I think you'll see why your history set you up for that, no one did that to you, you did it to yourself.

you wanted opinions, mine is that you should put NP school on hold until you can successfully keep a job and gain some experience. you don't have good nursing experience and you don't have good employment experience, and until you fix that you will only dig yourself into a deeper hole. Stay employed, become a good employee and a good nurse and then see how things fit together later for more schooling.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Nov 25, 2016

Thank you for all of the feedback.I was just trying to get the information out there and see what type of responses I would get. Thank you again. I would like to point out that when I walked out census was low we were staffed 4-1 and 5-1 and had a free charge and my "preceptor" could have take my pts or divided them up amongst the lazy free charge, her, and the other nurses.

As you have described the incident, this was patient abandonment, and you not only deserved to be fired, but could easily have been reported to the BON.

The behavior you yourself have described makes you a problem employee, and if I were a hiring manager and learned about these incidents, no way would I hire you. I could never in good conscience hire someone who would even consider walking out on a shift because he didn't appreciate the way someone talked to him. That is completely unprofessional, dangerous practice, and unacceptable on every level, no matter what someone said to him.

petertheparrot · Nov 25, 2016

I've noticed a lot of passive aggressive behavior in some of these comments and some codependency issues as well, but I do thank everyone for your comments and opinions. Think I am gonna just put in my hours and wait for NP school to stat back up in January.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Nov 25, 2016

I've noticed a lot of passive aggressive behavior in some of these comments and some codependency issues as well, but I do thank everyone for your comments and opinions. Think I am gonna just put in my hours and wait for NP school to stat back up in January.

It seems to me that you don't really understand what passive aggression and codependency are.

What do you think?

Is there really a nursing shortage