My ex-employer is ruining my life! How can I get past this?

Hi y'all I am in desperate need of advice. I have never had to deal with anything like this before...

About a month ago I was fired from my first nursing job. I rather not go into exact details in case there's someone I might know reading this. Basically I was given to any patients that I felt unsafe with (about 30+ more than I was told when I took the job and should have had! This was on a skilled floor not AL) we were always short-handed which I know is common in nursing. I did not feel this was a good situation and I expressed it to my unit manager who was new to the facility and me. She gave me the attitude that well you have 12 hrs how is that possibly not enough time and felt I should be able to handle this. They refused to hire FT employees and instead relied on PRN individuals and when asked they said it "wasnt in the budget" even though there were about 5 open spots on my shift. I had worked about 6 mo before this and never had a problem with anything and had a average # of pts I was responsible for (also a diff unit manager). So they knew I was unhappy and so were the other nurses though I dont know if they expressed this concern as I did. Also I was eligible for insurance benefits which I think had a slight factor. Fast forward a bit and I was called in one day and the DON let me know I was being dismissed. Reasons given were due to ONE incident of progress notes not being made on time (and of course we were short that night). I thought it was a weak excuse but chalked it up to nursing being tough. I was and am still devastated and just want to put this behind me and get a new job! I have had 4 interviews with different establishments who were very interested in me until they call my previous employer. 1 where they didn't even ask me any other questions after I said I had been fired... I had 2 places basically act like I was hired and it was a done deal they just needed to verify my employment and check references. Suddenly they are no longer interested and "exploring other options". I don't know what my old work can say about me? I am up front and honest about being terminated and have tried different approaches to explaining to interviewers.... So here are my ?'s


What can my previous employer say about me? How much detail can they go into? I have nothing to hide but I'm sure it can sound bad if worded in different ways!

How much detail should I give prospective new jobs? I didn't hurt anyone and I don't feel it reflects on my nursing skills. I have learned from this experience and say that when I explain it all.

How long do I have to keep this on my resume? I would rather just not even list this as a previous employer but I have heard that is a bad idea.

Sorry this is so long! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
My understanding is that a previous employer's HR is only supposed to verify your dates of employment and indicate whether they would rehire you. If you're listed as a "Do Not Rehire" that may be what is hurting your chances. I suggest you or--even better--a friend call their HR to "verify" your employment and find out what they are saying about you.Also, remember that nursing is a small world--someone at the place you're applying to may know one of your coworkers (who is not in HR) and ask about you that way.
Agree with the above.
Your previous employer can say anything they want about you. Most choose not to say anything except to confirm emoloyment dates as they are afraid of a law suit from you. If they are not afraid then they can say anything thing they want.
I am in a very similar situation myself right now. I labored many hours on whether or not to include my last brief, only 2 months, first job experience on my resume. I concluded that it would be best to because of the reasons mentioned by MERIWHEN. I too have begun to think that my ex-employer or the fact that I only held the position for 2 months is holding me back from hearing from new employers. When filling out the applications I state that I do not want my previous employer to be contacted and simply write that the reason for leaving was that the position was not a good fit or that the managerial style was not a good fit. I've been at a loss as to what to do. I can't find F/T employment right now. What I did do is take a P/T position with a pediatric homecare agency and have just begun working for them. I figured that if I can work there for a few months while looking for a F/T nursing home / hospice position I could then put them down as May 2011 - Present and then maybe even exclude the previous 2 month expereince. I've thought about having a friend call them for emp. verification and see what else might be said about me but have not found someone with nerve enough to do it for me. My ex-emps were very nasty, revengeful, petty nurse (nags) who didn't like the fact that I stood up to their tyrant managerial ways. To me scolding, yelling, belittling, intimidation, punishing, and micro-managing IS NOT the way to get the best productivity from your employees. It was a noghtmare and I couldn't get out of their fast enough.My best advice to you is to take ANYTHING that might come your way and hold the position for as long as you can while searching for your dream job, or at least one that is close to it. This way you have current employment to show on your resume, you won't have to explain much or at all what happened at the other job (maybe just simply state that a more suited position came your way as your reason for leaving), and you could become a more favorable applicant for the position that you truly want.I wish you lots of luck in your search. It's truly a difficult time right now finding F/T employment in most regions of the U.S.
I haven't dealt with this from a nursing standpoint yet, but I had things similar happened when in AP positions. Sometimes it isn't even what is said but how it is said.Case in point; I left one job becuase a tech was trying to bring me down becuase I wouldn't kiss her feet. Well come to find out a DON, the nurse manager of the unit, and a few others had been going out to dinner and had become friends. She has used her personal friendship with these people to try and ruin my professional life. I foudn this out after I left and she still spreads nasty things about me (this appears common in my life).I wouldn't worry and jsut take a job to get the one that bothers you off your record.If I wrote all the places in health care I have worked it would be 3 pages covering 4 years. I had a time where I changed jobs frequently becuase it wasn't the right place for me.Just take it easy and enjoy life. People suck as a whole, but if you let them control you, you will only ruin your chances.
Hello there! It sounds like you were working in the LTC industry. I worked in many different roles in many different nursing facilities in a county in Northern Indiana. One position was as ADON and I was responsible for interviewing applicants and completing their reference checks. I am not surprised you're getting that type of response from other facilities because that industry is a "close knitted network." I say this because I was able to get "off the record and undocumented" feedback from other facilities: especially if I knew the individual I was speaking to. Managers in LTC in that area did that for each other. I know that isn't the information that you want but the truth is, nursing and nurses "network." I would do what one of the other writers suggested and just try to get a job doing anything....homecare could be very satisfying work for you. I would also try to get a long list of personal and professional references (and letters) to take with you when you interview.Best wishes,Rhonda
Sounds almost exactly the same as me. I was fired for questioning their practices but on paper they cited another extremely petty issue. I have seen other nurses go without even a scolding after multiple infractions that actually involved residents or potential harm (mine did not and had nothing to do with my nursing skills!). I have tried many approaches to explaining to potential employers from full disclosure to minimal mentioning I was fired. None worked! They all are not interested after hearing this or speaking to my employer. I worked there 10 months so I have to list them on my resume. Ugh I wish I knew what to do.