I have a good friend who wanted me to ask this question for her (she does not want to post under her own AN screen name).
My friend has been a nurse for 15 years, much of it in outpatient settings; she has some hospital background, about a year, from years ago (and left that job due to the impossible workload with a 1:8 ratio on stepdown). Later she worked at a clinic for several years and did well, however, family obligations caused her to quit this job. Since then, she has had a difficult time finding employment, in part due to the economy and because many employers (e.g., outpt clinics) no longer hire RNs. Ultimately, she accepted a PRN position on a med/surg floor; unfortunately, she received a very poor orientation and hospital nursing had changed considerably in over a decade. All told, she was unable to just "jump into" the position as a PRN nurse should be able to and had a lot of OT due to after shift charting. Because she had few available shifts (e.g., 8 hours one week, 4 hours the next) she was never able to develop a routine and improve her speed. One day, the manager took her off the schedule and told her that she didn't need her anymore and said that although she was a good nurse, she was not a good fit for this floor.
My friend was never written up, no warnings were given, neither verbal nor written. She did not receive a termination letter nor did she send a resignation letter (probably should have, but she was too taken aback to think about that at the time). Due to a strict "HR only" reference policy, she has not been able to get in touch with her former manager for answers. HR told her she was eligible for rehire with the hospital.
It's been several months and my friend has not made it as far as an interview. Every application seems to ask "Have you ever been terminated?" and "Reason for leaving". My friend is not sure if this was a termination, but assumes it was; did honesty sabotage her? She would write "Would like to explain in an interview", but was never called for one.
Is her career in nursing over? Is honesty wrong? Is "would like to explain..." a bad answer? Should she omit this job (although it's a small town, and nurses know nurses), which she does not want to do; should she lie ("No") and later correct this in the interview? Or not correct it and hope no one ever finds out? (Not too long ago a Reader's Digest article - "What HR won't tell you" - stated that you should never admit to having been terminated because you would never be considered for a job. Is this true?!)
I would appreciate any insight from managers or HR staff. Thank you very much from my very discouraged friend.
