Job commitments

Ruby Vee, BSN · Apr 20, 2014

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Now days, if you are a nurse looking for a job, and you say "I have been working 10 years in med Surg", you are going to be much less appealing than someone who says "I have worked 2 years in med/Surg, 3 years in the ICU, and 5 years on the OR". The person who "job hopped" has more skills and a more diverse background than the person who didn't. It's unfair but it is true.

I don't think that's true -- at least none of the hiring managers I know seem to think so. If we're looking for a Med/Surg nurse, a nurse that has spent 10 years in Med/Surg is FAR more desirable than someone who has been hopping all over the place. And if we're hiring into the ICU, the nurse who stayed at one job for 10 years is a far better prospect -- after we train her to work in the ICU, she might stay awhile!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Apr 20, 2014

Yes, they are paying to train you. But what if it is an awful place to work? What if there's a lot of lateral violence, gossiping, and bullying in the hospital? Then you are punished for leaving?
Generally, these places may have poor retention rates which is why they create such a contract. I know that most nurses will NOT job hunt after a year if they are happy with their job.
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I work in what is considered a very desirable academic teaching hospital. We've just started requiring contracts because new grads come to work in our ICU just to get enough 'ICU experience' to apply to anesthesia school. It used to be that they needed two years of ICU experience before even applying to anesthesia school, but now some are leaving after just one year. That's six months of orientation (longer if you need it) and six months or less of productivity before leaving. The poor retention isn't because it's a lousy place to work -- it's because our unit is considered GREAT experience for anesthesia school.

Lateral violence, gossiping and bullying are no more prevalent in nursing than they are in the general population. The best way to avoid them is not to go into a job expecting to find them. And to have a good attitude at work. Most of the complaints about "bullying" or "lateral violence" we see on AN seem to be nothing more than a new nurse who hasn't yet learned to get along with colleagues.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Apr 21, 2014

One hospital system in my part of the country has ceased all their formal new grad programs after analyzing the cost-benefit for the last 5 years. They looked at the high turnover of new grads who went through the programs and decided just to eliminate them. They reallocated the funding to support retention programs for their existing staff such as increased tuition reimbursement & retention bonuses.

I can see that it was a 'no brainer' in terms of a business decision, but as a nurse it makes me very sad.

hope3456, ASN, RN · Apr 21, 2014

One hospital system in my part of the country has ceased all their formal new grad programs after analyzing the cost-benefit for the last 5 years. They looked at the high turnover of new grads who went through the programs and decided just to eliminate them. They reallocated the funding to support retention programs for their existing staff such as increased tuition reimbursement & retention bonuses.
I can see that it was a 'no brainer' in terms of a business decision, but as a nurse it makes me very sad.

I see where you are coming from but what happens when they need more nurses?

elkpark · Apr 21, 2014

Now days, if you are a nurse looking for a job, and you say "I have been working 10 years in med Surg", you are going to be much less appealing than someone who says "I have worked 2 years in med/Surg, 3 years in the ICU, and 5 years on the OR". The person who "job hopped" has more skills and a more diverse background than the person who didn't. It's unfair but it is true.

But this thread is not about someone who has worked "2 years in med/Surg, 3 years in the ICU, and 5 years on the OR," and I don't know anyone who would consider that "job-hopping." We are talking about a new grad looking for her/his first job.

PolishGirlRN · Apr 21, 2014

So your job hopping is because "desirable" employers won't hire new grads? "Desirable" employers are burned out on hiring new grads because new grads job hop. If you don't want to dedicate your life to something you really don't like in a location you really hate, don't take a job there. If you DO take a job, expect to stay two years. It really isn't that long.

Top hospitals in my area refuse to hire new grads, and a new grad with an associate's degree? Forget about it. In order to work, I have to uproot my life and I will always view this as a temporary step rather than a permanent one. I will leave as soon as it's possible for me to get a job in my hometown. I don't think it's unreasonable to want to work where you live. I would sign a commitment here in no time but like the OP I balk at uprooting my life yet again and spending my first year as an RN in a place far from friends, family or any kind of support network.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Apr 22, 2014

One hospital system in my part of the country has ceased all their formal new grad programs after analyzing the cost-benefit for the last 5 years. They looked at the high turnover of new grads who went through the programs and decided just to eliminate them. They reallocated the funding to support retention programs for their existing staff such as increased tuition reimbursement & retention bonuses.
I can see that it was a 'no brainer' in terms of a business decision, but as a nurse it makes me very sad.

As a nurse, it makes me very happy. Those new grads are going to job hop regardless of how attractive the work place is -- they're all over AN extolling the virtues of job hopping and a me-first attitude. Hospitals have long spent money on recruitment at the expense of retention, and guess what? The new grads don't stay. I think it's in our best interest as nurses that they spend the money on retention instead, rewarding those of us who DO stay rather than trying to attract a steady stream of new grads.