I am glad I read your note. I was feeling mighty lonely down here. I was working in a similar situation and was terminated without being given a reason also. My situation is almost identical to yours.  My heart goes out to you.  I can hear the hurt, the anger and the anguish you must be feeling.  I posted a note on Monster directed towards nurses because it is therapeutic for me to write.  I know there must be more nurses out there who have experienced what we have.  I wish I knew of an agency or some group that helps nurses in our position.  I allowed myself to become burned out because I was trying to do an impossible task.  I didn' t know my limitations.  I' m sure the same thing happened to you since your letter sounds so familiar to me. 

With this last job and my questionable termination,  I requested to see my personnel record which we employees have a right to do, but I am not getting a response from anyone.  I am frustrated that we nurses are treated so badly by employers and supervisors who have no clue what nurses do. We are the best multitaskers in any profession besides being mothers!

I don' t know if you have made this observation, but we nurses are often times supervised by non-medical personnel. This is one strike against us because they have no clue about our time management and other skills. Our assignments are unrealistic at times and then we have to be accountable for every bit of our interaction with the public.  We have licenses we must maintain with the required continuing education credits and so many other details to maintain our licenses and right to work within our profession. 

I recently was terminated from a position where there were four other nurses who accepted the same position as I did. The last nurse departed with a psychiatric condition.  I didn' t learn about this until it was close to the time I was terminated. I have written letters up the channel and hope that another nurse does not have to have the same mismanagement as me and my predecessors have experienced.

It is the silent ones who create the opportunity for the perpetuation of maltreatment of nurses.  They leave their jobs without really telling anyone how bad it is or about the managers who do not know how to manage. The next nurse who walks in the door has all that garbage to deal with and it just isn' t fair.

I' m sitting here unemployed, worried about my bills, not being able to find another job, being put out on the street and the game goes on and on. I hope that I have made a difference by writing letters and letting people in positions of power know what we little guys are experiencing.

The only justification in my mind and I hope you can see this too in retrospect is that it is a blessing to not have to continue to work with unethical people. There is another opportunity and another door that will open for us.  Now that you have been through "hell", you' ll  feel the heat before it actually consumes you the next time.

Good luck to you and your job hunting. I have tried to frame my experience and know that I would' ve been very unhappy going to work every day at a place that was unhealthy for me. I hope you can find some peace also.  It isn' t a good feeling to be rejected.  That is what firing is about. It is telling us that we aren' t good enough or that we did something bad. In my heart, I know I am a good person with good intentions towards everyone I come in contact with, especially providing services to the public.   I cried for about a week before I began to rally.

My suggestion to you if you are having difficulty sorting things out and are depressed, etc. is to seek out a therapist to speak to. I have had to do this in my past.  I found a wonderful, receptive understanding woman to talk to about my emotions and work situation.  It does help to clarify those self doubts and to put your thinking back on a healthier track.  I am sure you will be okay as I think I will be.  I just want to reach out and give you a hug. I wish there was some way to get in touch with you besides just this note on Monster.

I just want to say that if I can do anything for you and your situation and if I learn of anything new that might be available to we nurses who go beyond the call of duty and get burned out, I' ll let you know per Monster.

God bless you.  You will definitely be on my prayer list.