Think I may have blew it.

[RNlvn]

Okay so I accepted a GN position on a rehab unit at a local hospital. I had to reschedule my orientation because my GN license is not of the board website as of yet however I received my ATT so my GN license shouldn't be that far behind . So the HR recruiter told me I could start as a LVN then switch to a GN when my license showed. Previously I asked HR through email (when I was still wondering when I was going to ever get my GN license ) was there any med-surg positions open. Then went they call today for the LVN to GN thing I asked about med-surg again. The HR lady said she'll get back to me. It was about 4pm so I called back and left a message. Then I get a call from another HR lady basically saying they (she and the unit manager) know I prefer med-surg and becoming concerned that if they trained me I am just going to leave in 6 months or less and that she prefer I stay for "some years" even though she can not make me sign a contract. Then she said that they can withdraw the offer for a job so I can be free to "interview" for med-surg position in which I am not guaranteed a job or I can stay in rehab. I'm thinking like WTH I would rather have a job. I'm just frustrated that theses days nurses don't have the freedom to move around without flank from HR. Truthfully at the time I interviewed I was unsure what I wanted to do where I wanted to go. Now my situation has changed and I really don't want to stay in the town however I would rather stay until I can find another job. I feel like if I start there I will be required to stay no matter what like an unwritten contract.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

If you didn't sign a contract, then no one can force you to stay if you don't want to. If you're in an at-will state, you don't even need to give them a reason should you decide to quit.

That being said, consider that as a new grad, hopping from this job after just a few months isn't the best looking thing on your resume. This job may not want to give you a reference; future employers will see you've jumped ship quickly and no matter what you tell them, they will wonder if you'll do the same to them--after all, new grads are pricey to train. I'm not going to tell you to stay because of that...but just to keep that in mind if you do decide to search for the med-surg job.

IMO, take this job and get the golden "first year" under your belt--then you'll have a lot more opportunities ahead of you because the new grad market still sucks right now. Of course, if you're truly miserable or do land the dream position, then leave earlier...but do so on the best terms possible.

Good luck whatever you decide.

[RNlvn]

Thank you I understand.

[elkpark]

Hospitals are getting v. jumpy because there is much more turnover and job-hopping among new grads now than there ever has been before. That's part of the reason so many hospitals are just starting to refuse to hire new grads. It's not about "not having the freedom to move around" -- it's about hospitals spending a lot of money to hire and orient new grads, only to have them quit in less than a year (before they even stop being a financial loss to the hospital).

It used to be that two years (on a particular job) was the minimum to avoid getting a reputation as a "job-hopper" and risking becoming unemployable. Now, lots of people will tell you it's one year, and lots of new grads don't even make it that long in a position (we have posts here from people who have run through two or three jobs in their first year and are looking for another). Hospitals are feeling really "used and abused," esp. by new grads.

If there's no written contract, they can't make you stay, as Meriwhen notes -- but, if you leave, you'll be contributing to that problem and making that hospital even more reluctant to hire the next new grad. I, too, would encourage you to commit to the current job for at least one full year. If you know you want to relocate, it would be more honest, professional, and responsible of you to go ahead and move and find a job in your new location, rather than taking this job when you know you intend to leave ASAP. I realize that's not a popular opinion on this board but, again, not thinking that way is part of what has created the employment difficulty for new grads to begin with.

Best wishes for whatever you decide!

[RNlvn]

thanks

[goodstudentnowRN]

If only I could be in your shoes, I would accept anything at this point.