Would I be able to get a contract at a facility I was terminated from?

[ThatBLURN, BSN, RN]

So I took several years off to care for my dad who had liver cancer, received a transplant that wound up having devastating complications, then, once they were finally able to surgically correct it, he started to have extreme pain and a very hard time walking with his right leg.  Apparently, the radioactive isotopes inserted through his femoral to minimize the cancer so he had more time on the transplant list pulled out some hitchhiker ca cells that landed in his lymph node.  It wasn’t long after that the cancer shot up to his lungs and took his life.  For 2.5 years I was his live in nurse (while also raising a baby).  I was terrified about returning to nursing because it had been so long and, despite my license being in good standing (the care I provided for him was able to be counted towards clinical care), I knew the learning curve was going to be rough.  I contacted all the refresher programs in the state and was told repeatedly that it really wasn’t necessary for me to waste my time and money.

Well, last year, after I had thoroughly pulled myself together from the grief, I applied to my specialty at the local hospital (the only game in this sleepy town).  I had met with the manager before and had great feelings about the place from when I accompanied my dad there.  Boy was I wrong.

First mistake: I signed up for night shift.  Didn’t think anything of it at the time because that’s what I had done in the past.  Well, that was before I had a 3 year old and had finally managed to kick my ex out of the house (he was milking the eviction moratorium in my state and would laugh at me when I told him to leave).  In order to switch back to a day schedule to be present with my kid and keep normal hours for her, I was robbing myself of nearly a whole day of sleep a week.

The other problem with night shift was that management had no clue about my diligence, ability to successfully prioritize, skilled at forming very genuine therapeutic relationships, and, overall an extremely hard worker I am.

Everything changed when I experienced lateral violence from a charge nurse I worked with frequently.  She would yell at me in front of most other employees over trivial things or situations that were out of my control (faulty phone).  I was also in a bad roll over accident a day after I had come from a hellish night at work and my sweet dog died in my arms.  I was a mess when this happened and I regret driving so much that night.  I feel so incredibly grateful that no one was seriously injured (though I do struggle with the lingering affects of a thoracic compression fracture which acts up if I don’t keep my core super strong).

Since I was still in my “introductory” period, they told me they were going to extend it.  During my meeting with my manager and her assistant, they downplayed it.  They stated that the major reason for extending it was because they weren’t able to check in with me as much as they normally would due to the holidays.  That was it.  At this point, I didn’t think much of it.

Then, I received a phone call from my manager saying that we needed to have a meeting with HR.  My guess is that they overlooked protocol and, when intro periods are extended, HR needs to be in the picture.  That meeting was completely different!  They accused me of all sorts of nonsense that I never did or stretched the truth to make it sound like I was being sketchy (I won’t get into details).  Of course I was not prepared at all for this and, stupidly, didn’t call upon my union rep who could have helped me save my job.  They came up with an action plan which included working with an educator on a “clinical toolkit” (the educator seemed kind of at a loss because I’m way more experienced to be getting much from the material she provided).  Over the next several months, I barely had a shift with patients either so it was nearly impossible to work on what they had asked me.  They had me sitting for SI patients constantly.  It became clear to me that they wanted me to fail.

I can understand why they weren’t pleased with me.  1) I called out a verbally abusive team leader who was a pet of theirs (they’re response was “that’s not the ___ we know” ?.). 2)charting took me longer than most because it had been so long since I had worked.  As far as patient care, I was proud of myself for being able to get back in that swing what felt like even better than before.  3) the car accident was probably concerning on many levels.  I welcomed a drug test, I was tested for alcohol in the ED and breathalyzed (negative) but they weren’t interested.  

There were some weird politics going on at the time too.  The union had been having the hardest time ever negotiating the new contract which had been expired for over a month because they couldn’t come to an agreement.  I worked with new grads and travelers… I stuck out in a big way.

Anyway, it’s a very large hospital system with clinics and the like spanning my entire county.  I would love to snag some travel gigs locally but I don’t know how that would work considering I was terminated.  There just really isn’t much left in the area and I own my dads old home in a beautiful part of the county that I am very attached to.  I’ve spent the last month licking my wounds and trying to regain my self-esteem.  I am a good nurse.  I am very devoted to holistic care and not only pay attention to the patient’s medical needs but who they are as a person.  I know this is a rare quality.  I’m so hoping I didn’t permanently burn bridges with this organization.  I’ve been told by so many that my old manager is a cold and cruel person but I never expected this.

[NedRN]

3 hours ago, ThatBLURN said:

Anyway, it’s a very large hospital system with clinics and the like spanning my entire county.  I would love to snag some travel gigs locally but I don’t know how that would work considering I was terminated.

This seems to be the only portion of your post related to your question. It appears you want to do a travel contract? It would be somewhat crazy for the hospital to allow that, even if they don't know who you are. Typically, local nurses are not allowed to do travel contracts - it contaminates the local labor pool. Heck, I'd even think the union would object.

Next pertinent point, as a local traveler, you would not be eligible for the usual tax free compensation. As this is a large part of a traveler's compensation, it would likely to pay better to be staff, especially at a unionized hospital.

Agencies usually have crappy benefits, specifically health insurance. This again points to working staff if you want health insurance and need it for your family.

Why not call HR and see what your rehire status is currently? There is a nursing shortage out there that is not getting better.

Can you not work in the next county in an unaffiliated hospital? That is really your best bet. Again staff is your best bet. The IRS rules can be simplified down to if you can commute from your home to your workplace, you are not eligible for tax free compensation treatment as a traveler. So unless it is big bucks compared to the staff position even after full taxation, it won't be worth it. And again, nearby hospitals are not going to allow local travelers.

[ThatBLURN, BSN, RN]

I’ve been told by many agencies that local travel work is doable.  I was offered remote telehealth last week.  Don’t care much about taxation, just need a job.

As for the relevance of what I posted, it was clearly a very emotional experience and I thought this was an appropriate and harmless place to share.

[Idaho_nurse]

Of course the agencies are going to tell you that, but large hospital systems will rarely allow local travelers for the reasons already stated.  50 miles distance is what determines being local or not with my agency.  I was able to work a local travel contract ONCE but this was a LTC/Skilled nursing home, and they allowed it only because they were so short staffed that they were getting complaints of high patient ratio's per nurse and possible issues of neglect.  

As for doing a contract with an employer you were terminated from?  it all depends upon your termination status and if they checked the box stating you were eligible for rehire, which you can just call them and ask.  

 

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

I'm sorry you've gone through all of that.

Another consideration is--did you ever find a new job after the one you described? The travel nurse vetting process can be a bit intense. Many hospitals want you to have worked a certain number of hours or years in your specialty over the past two to three years, and they 3-5 letters of reference from charge nurses and your direct supervisor from within the last year.