5 Things Nurses Can Do After Getting Fired

Getting fired hits hard, professionally and personally. Let it define you and you stay stuck, afraid of the next rejection. But termination is not the end of your nursing career. Here is how to rebuild it.

1. Put it in perspective

After working that hard for a license, getting fired is tough to absorb. The fear of never working again, of losing the license, of repeating the mistake, all of it piles up. Before you can rebuild, you need a clear read on what actually happened and what comes next. Get your confidence back first, because if you can't convince yourself you can do the job, no employer will believe it either.

2. Find a support system

Depression is a common reaction to losing a job, and it often arrives with mood swings, anxiety, and anger. That is normal, but do not let it run you. There is no fixed timeline for these feelings, so it can take weeks or months to feel like yourself again. While you adjust, stay active in a nursing group, or join one if you have not already.

One two-year head nurse put it this way: after being terminated, the first person she reached out to was her clinical instructor from nursing school. She never got that job back, but the instructor helped her cope and find better work.

3. Seek a volunteer position

Landing a paid job right after a firing is hard. Apply for a volunteer position instead. It builds recent experience you can talk about in interviews, and it beats sitting at home replaying what went wrong. One 28-year-old nurse applied for volunteer work at a local clinic just to stop overthinking, and the same clinic hired him formally after two months.

4. Stay positive

Termination does not always mean you did something wrong. Employers let nurses go for budget reasons, for tenure, for being high on the pay scale. Whatever the cause, keep a clear head about your work.

5. Own it

Whatever the reason, take responsibility for it. Blame other people or the situation and you will end up badmouthing your old job instead of selling your strengths. If short staffing led you to miss or wrong a medication, the staffing was a factor, but the lapse is still yours to own.