Breaking Nurse Residency Contract

Nurses Career Support

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I am looking for advice from any GN nurses that had signed a 2 year residency contract and then breached it. I will owe a fee if I break the contract but I may have a job offer in a specialty I really want to do. I am willing to pay the fee since this new job pays far better than my residency job. I would like to hear your experiences. Thank you

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Specializes in ICU.

I broke my contract and my hospital did not come after me. I got lucky. I know some people who did have to pay theirs back.

The new offer sounds like such a good deal that if you have the funds to pay off your contract, should your hospital really enforce it - I'd say do it!

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Thank you for sharing your experience. I will probably never be able to work at that facility or its affiliates because of the breach and I am willing to take accountability for my actions. I wish I knew then (at contract signing) what I know now. 2 years can be a huge commitment when you're miserable in your job. Thanks for your words of support.

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

I broke mine after 14 months in a 24 month contract. Best decision I ever made.

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I would be interested to know if a hospital would really take you to court over the fine or just threaten you until they get bored with it. How much is your penalty?

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Even if they do not "come after you", you may be very surprised to receive a 1099 for the remaining cost.... because, in effect, it would be considered as income - just as any other loan that is written off.

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$5000

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Specializes in ICU.
Even if they do not "come after you", you may be very surprised to receive a 1099 for the remaining cost.... because, in effect, it would be considered as income - just as any other loan that is written off.

I would be interested in seeing how that's legal. Could you explain it to me or link me to a resource? My hospital had classes from 0800-1200 for about 20 weeks, so a total of 80 hours of education and they wanted to say their residency was worth $12k total. I fail to see how 80 hours of education from the nurse educators, whose regular job is to educate nurses and who would have been at work at those times anyway, would be worth $12k. I haven't seen a 1099 come in the mail yet from that hospital, so I'm assuming I got away scot free, but now I'm a little paranoid.

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Yes, curious if anyone has had that experience too. 12 grand is a lot!

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I broke my contract eight months into a 24-month contract and was MUCH happier for doing so. I paid the money back ($3K) without waiting to see if they'd come after me, however....I figured, I made a promise and fair is fair. They hadn't given me a bonus or anything up front; the idea was that we had to pay them back for their investment in our training.

I make nearly $10/hour more in my new job anyway, and I have zero intentions of working for that hospital or even living in that state again, and I already had another job lined up - so I was less worried about the repercussions. I wrote a nice email, gave notice, and gritted my teeth to smile through my remaining shifts. It was worth it!

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I am very wary of new grad contracts. People don't pack up and leave a good paying middle class job in less than 2 years unless something is wrong. If they need to threaten their employees with a lawsuit or hefty fine for leaving then something is wrong. A 2 year contract tells me they have retention problems.

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So excited to leave med surg! I broke the contract, and paid the $5k. I am going to work day surgery and train to circulate! Really excited the pay and the hours are so much better as well. I have been pretty miserable and realize I am just not a med surg nurse. I am so grateful for the experience I gained but it's time to move on! í ½í¸ƒ

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