Advice needed about assignment cancelled

I've been an RN in ICU with specialty in CVI for 17 years and recently took my first assignment in a combined MI/SICU unit at a hospital in florida. From the first night I worked until yesterday there seems to have been something weird happening every shift I worked. After the first week everytime I left the unit to go on break or get food when I returned it never failed the other staff found something wrong with my gtts, patient, pumps etc. but when I left everything was fine. Now I have been accused of being off unit for long periods, don't give good reports,don't seem to know whats going on with my patients etc etc. But up until now I was never told anything was wrong with my care. I had a problem with a nurse 2 weeks before that and she was very rude in the middle of shift change in front of alot of people, very unprofessional, then I was upset about an assignment last week and later apologized to the RN in charge but was told, nevermind I'll do it myself. Today when I reported to work I was told not to do my shift and they would be in touch tomorrow. Boy was I floored. One of the other nurses came in the room and simply lied about things she found in my room but of course they did'nt even hear me when I tried to say that it was not true. NEVER have I had anything like this happen before. Anybody have any advice? What happens to me if they cancel my assignment?

Sounds like they were just looking for reasons to cancel you. Maybe they just didn't need you as a traveler anymore, but unfortunately, I have hear of this happening before...

If they cancel you because they just don't need you anymore, they have to pay financial penalties to your travel company. BUT, if they cancel you because they say your nursing care was inadequate, or because of something they say you did wrong, then they don't have to pay the penalties. It's a horrible, horrible thing for a hospital to do to a traveler, but it's not the first time I have heard of this happening.

Since you have already been canceled, all you can do now is speak with your recruiter/clinical representative from your company. Hopefully if you have a good recruiter & a good company, they will back you up on this, especially if there is not way of proving that you actually did anything wrong. If you have a good recruiter, they should be able to find you another assignment very quickly (within a week), and as long as you're not in some remote rural area, they should be able to find you another assignment relatively close to your current one. If they can't or won't back you up, or can't find you another assignment, contact several different travel companies right away to get to work on finding you something new.

Also, please complete a review of this hospital & share the name of it here so other travelers can avoid having the same thing happen to them. Hospitals that do this to travelers should be boycotted by travelers!!! Once this situation is over, please also fill out a review of your travel company as well, as to how they have handled this situation.

P.S. If you would like the name of a good recruiter with a good company (RN Network), PM me for my recruiter's contact info. I have never been in your situation, but I trust my recruiter enough to know that if I ever was in your situation, he would have my back.

I hate to say it, but I've seen it too. The first couple of weeks, most of the staff nurses evaluate a new traveler. If there are hiccups the first few weeks, it can be a rough assignment. And, sometimes, the staff nurses can start to look for excuses to cancel a nurse.

But, one thing that I learned in working as a traveler for 8 years is that if you have a pulse and a nursing license, you can pretty much get a job. If things have been that ugly so quickly in the assignment, perhaps it's a good thing if they let you go. It would be a miserable 8 weeks for the rest of the contract. And, you should be able to find a new gig pretty quickly.

Keep us posted on what happens.

Hallelujah!! I have just also been cancelled in a contract; and thought I was the only RN ever to have had this happen. I have travelled for 7 years with nary a hitch, and then this happens.
Thank you so much for your input. My company is also RNNetwork, and they are behind me 100%.

Geez....I am looking to start traveling, and this SCARES me!!! Do a lot of hospitals cancel travelers? I have been working a contract at a small county hospital an hour from home for a year, and have had a wonderful experience. They just offered me a 26 week extension. But I lived at home and knew if things got bad, I could find something else. It scares me to think that I could get a couple thousand miles from home and have the facility cancel me. What is the agency's responsibility? Wow! This is something to consider before I jump in I guess.

My sympathies! I hope your agency stands square behind you!:eek:

Helenthecat wrote:Geez....I am looking to start traveling, and this SCARES me!!! Do a lot of hospitals cancel travelers?

It really doesn't happen that often. But, when it does, it's usually not a big hardship. Getting another job as a traveler can happen very quickly. When I first moved to the East Coast in 2000, I got a staff nurse job at Rhode Island Hospital. I moved there on Thurday, started my job on that Monday, on Tuesday the nurses voted to go on strike, and I had my pink slip on Friday. Talk about scary.

But, as soon as I heard that the nurses were going on strike, that Monday, I called my old recruiter up. I had a job at a hospital 15 minutes away within the week. I really can happen that fast.

So, even if you do get canceled, don't worry, you have a pulse and a nursing license, your skills are in demand, and you can find a job pretty easily.

I agree they were gunning for you. Let it go don't let it define who you are. I used o be staff andwoud see the trouble makers/bad nurses go aftr travelers all the time. Be gld your license wasn't jepordized by those nurses.And I don't think you should tolerate bad tx.we are skilled RNs we are a hot commodity we can hit the ground running.. there own staff is in orientaton FOREVER!! We are adaptable but we don't have to adapt to bad behavior or tx.