Dear Cindy – Leaving the Horrible Supervisor

I have continued to work at a job for six years since we had a new RN/DON start. She does not believe in seniority, unless it works to her advantage. She does everything against the handbook. Almost everyone (in all departments) dislikes her. She has the control of the place, because the administrator (male) is crazy about her, and believes nothing about her that we say. We have no one else to turn to. The board knows nothing, and everyone is afraid to go to anyone for fear of losing their jobs.

The reason that I am writing, is to ask you what I should do or say to a prospective employer when interviewing for a new job. I took training in coding to get a new job and out of nursing, because of her. I have been an LPN now for 20 years, and since this experience, I do not want to stay in nursing any longer. She constantly harasses me, as well as others. I come in on time, do not call off, and do my nursing the best that I can (I would not do any less). I am pretty sure that she will put me down to any employer that should talk to her, because she does this every time someone leaves to work somewhere else.

Sincerely,

LPN

It is unfortunate that you have had such an experience, and more, that you have allowed this experience – and these people – to turn you away from your longtime career.

However, if you are serious about no longer wanting to work in nursing, then what to say to a prospective employer is relatively easy, since you are launching yourself on a different career. That is, all you need to say is after 20 years in nursing you decided you wanted to leave the bedside, so you studied coding, and now are applying for coding jobs. This is not an unusual path for someone to take. You don't have to go into the detail that it was a bad manager who made you want to leave the bedside.

It's rare that a nightmare of a boss will give a bad reference to someone who doesn't deserve it, because it can open that boss up to workplace repercussions and/or lawsuits. However, such people may give a so-so reference, which isn't really helpful in a competitive job search atmosphere. But even if she would do this, she may not "bother" to do so in your case, because you are starting a new career outside of her career realm. Nonetheless, you can take precautions by obtaining documentation that could disprove anything negative she might say and back up what a competent and dedicated employee you are, such as having copies of positive performance evaluations received from your years at the facility and asking for references from any nurse who may have supervised your work or acted as team leader. And if you have any thank-you letters from patients or family members, they can be added to your stock of ammunition.

Good luck!