Part time summer job threatened my nursing career.
I worked as a cook for the last decade before deciding to go back to school to become a nurse after taking care of my father with cancer for many years. I’m currently 29. I just finished pre health at my local college and got accepted into the bachelor of science in nursing program for September.
I’m currently off for the summer and need to pay my bills/rent as I don’t get osap payments throughout the summer until September begins again. I had my resume open and had gotten a job offer for a part time cooking position at a retirement home in town.
When I went to the interview they said it was 10-15 hours a week, part time and just a helping out type of position. I’d basically be there to help out the main cooks in whatever prep needed to be completed, stuff like that. The job sounded okay and I wasn’t getting any other offers at the time so I took the job.
I started the job and it quickly turned into something it wasn’t. It turned out to be a full time position 40-50 hours a week, 10-11 hour days. It also ended up being a leadership position where I was in charge of the menu and creating recipes for the residents to enjoy. I also had to run dinner service and instruct other staff. By my 4th shift, they had me training new staff members and the main cooks that trained me had left on vacation.
This shocked me because they never clarified this in the ad/job offer or said this in the interview. I was okay with a part time casual cooking job but i left the restaurant industry for a reason and it was because it’s not the best for my mental health, I had been doing it for too long and the hours are long while the pay is not so good.
I did a total of 6 shifts and worked there for just over one week. I decided the job was not for me as it just simply wasn’t what I signed up for and I also got a better job offer that allows me to enhance my interpersonal skills which is more beneficial in the long run for my nursing career. I decided to professionally resign from the position through phone call and email. Since I had only worked there for just over a week and a total of 6 shifts, I didn’t think a 2 week notice would be necessary, so I just handed in a resignation effective immediately.
The next day, I got a phone call from the general manager and an email asking if I would give a two week notice. They said if I wasn’t willing to give a two week notice I would be burning bridges with the company and it will impact my nursing career. They said quote “Knowing that you will seek placement opportunities and future employment to achieve your nursing goals, l would hate to see you burn any bridges by not at least providing the appropriate two week notice”. Over the phone they also stated that if I was not willing to give this two week notice, they would keep my name on file and make note that I will no longer be employable at the company.
This confused me as well because when I asked my pre placement coordinator about doing my placement there (when I initially got the job), she said I wouldn’t be able to do my placement there anyways since it would be a conflict of interest. My pre placement coordinator stated “Please note that students cannot be placed in an agency where they are currently or previously employed, as this is considered a conflict of interest.”. So basically I wouldn’t have been able to do my placement there anyways.
I am just worried because I didn’t think a cooking job would impact my nursing career like this. I feel so defeated because I’ve worked so hard to gain admission into the bachelors program and we have to do a placement second semester in a long term care home. I’m hoping I can just be placed into a different company but seeing these emails and having this job say these things cuts me to the core.
Am I in the wrong for not giving a two week notice when I only worked there for a week and was technically still under “training” hours?
Am I in the wrong for not being happy that the job was not what I had expected?
Will this seriously impact my nursing career?
Is it true that it’s a policy in Ontario that I can’t work at places I worked at/currently work at, as it is a conflict of interest? Or maybe I’m interpreting what my pre placement coordinator said?
I feel like I’m overthinking everything right now and I guess I just needed to vent about this.
Thanks for reading it for anyone who did.