Nurses..plz help me with a possibel life altering career choice!

[midnightrose8504]

hello fellow nurses,

i really need your help and advice about taking a job that may affect my livelihood. i am an rn that is sooo confused! please help, if you can!

back story: i have been working at a psychiatric group home for over a year as the nursing supervisor. the job wasn't great, the pay was lousy, and the hours sucked. but it was 5 minutes from home, i loved my patients, and my boss was a good friend of mine. i worked very hard at my job, was on call 24/7, but it still wasn't enough for the owner. they wanted me to work more for less and i became of tired of promises of raises and it getting better next month and next month. i got their state licenses for them, filled the facility with patients, and ran the nursing dept. but no thanks or raise or anything. so i found another job.

now, i am working at a hospital, psychiatric unit for 6 mths now, that is about 40 minutes from my home and the pay was double what i was making at the group home. but i have even worse working hours, i work 8-10 days straight with only 2 days off. but the hospital has great benefits, good insurance, decent pay, and good co-workers you can depend on. but the drive is long and the hours suck bad.

so, today, my old boss at the group home, calls and asks me what it would take to get me back. she has already offered me $25 per hr (more than i make now), m-f, become the don, insurance, and paid vacation. i told her everything would have to be in writing and it would have to start the day i do. but i fear that if i take this job back, even with the benefits, i will still be in the same boat i was in when i left. on call, stupid requests from the bosses, called in at all hours, lousy co-workers, and the owner still wanting more and more of me because they are "giving" me more.

i loved my patients and my boss, but the facility owner was too demanding and always wanting more than any one person can possibly give. but it was close to home, and they are willing to meet my demands. as with my current job at the hospital, i am the new person, and i get the crappy jobs and crappy hours with no say in how they work my schedule and i have been having to do 8-10 days straight with no time off and driving 40 minutes one way, 10 hour shifts per day.

sorry, it was so long, but i really need some advice and i am having trouble seeing past my options. do i go where i am at home and have authority but the owner treats me like crap? or do i stay at a hospital where i am nobody with no say in my career, just do what we say and let the tenured nurses set my schedule and when i can have time off or not. the tenured nurses set their schedule then i get what days are left. and yes, i have talked to my supervisor...she allows the nurses to set the schedules.

thank you all, and any advice would be great!!

frances, rn

[midnightrose8504]

SORRY FOR THE MISSPELL IN THE TITLE LINE...I WAS RUSHING! :hdvwl:

[kawaiikw]

I think happiness matters the most to me. I would choose the one that would make me feel happy after I leave work every day and carry a smile to go home to see my family. Of course it will be a blessing if everyone can find a job like that. But we can choose to have one that we can contribute to make it a happy place to work.

For your situation, I would talk to the old boss from the group home, tell him about your concerns, and see if he is willing to work with you to improve the work environment. For example, base on the background you provided, you have experience in supervising, can you work with the boss to hire new staff and let you be part of the interviewing process? If the boss is willing to work with you, the place could improve little by little and not only become a happy place for the patient, but also a happy place for the staff and workers too.

Hope you find my comments helpful. :)

[DeLana_RN, BSN, RN]

It sounds to me that your heart is with the group home, and the hours and pay the owner now offers is even better than what you get at the hospital. Well, you can certainly ask for more - like not having to be on call all the time (or is there no one else - currently employed, or whom they could hire - who could share this responsibility?)

I wish you the best with whatever decision you make, and please let us know how it turns out.

DeLana