resigning

Nurses Safety

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I am wishing to resign from my current facility. I have been there for two years now and have come to find I am getting a bit burned out. I drive a great distance and my hours are very long. Giving a two weeks notice is appropriate, however I have heard employees are usually treated poorly during those last two weeks. I wish to bow out with grace. Any experienced information would greatly help.

Originally posted by Hellllllo Nurse

I had an experience identical to the one described by erroridiot in her first paragraph above.

erroridiot- great advice in your post!

Thank you.

I am sorry that happened to you (and me).

It is nice to know that I am not the only person having this experience. I would not wish this type of circumstance on anyone. Some damage can't be repaired.

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Harrumpf...HCA......... make money the object, damn the torpedoes, screw the staff.. Having been there done that with HCA can safely say, I would NEVER work for another one of their facilities... Do NOT tell the real reason you leave, do NOT do an exit interview... they are vindictive as hell...FYI>>>>>>>>>>>

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I have always given palatable excuses and avoided mentioning staffing issues, etc. when resigning, out of fear of retribution. On one hand, I feel like a coward. On the other hand, I have noticed over the years, that the nursing community is small enough, even in the well-populated area in which I work. I can't believe how many times coworkers from one job have ended up being coworkers at another, years later. So far, I haven't had this happen with any of my former bosses, but I'm not taking any chances! Alot of people switch jobs frequently in nursing. So, you never know when you may be working with them again! I always keep that in mind when I'm not sure what to do or say in a difficult situation.

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I am experiencing this now and I DO work or a HCA facility. I put in for vacation over 3 months ago for a vacaton in 2 weeks, well the schedule came out this weekand I didnt get it. I was told too much staff is taking tme off, truth is they have a few contracts ending and they know im going to Las vegas to look a housing in hopes of moving, anyway I was refused this even though ive been core staff for 9 years and have PTO I am not being allowed to use it so ll probably resign on monday and figure out somethign in the interim but hate losing 9 yrs of benefits . A big problem I see is that they just dont appreciate their staff, im core, making less then a traveler and yes treated this way then they wonder why I had 113 hours, well because no one else wants to work in a place where they arent aprciated at all. Sorry for the long post, newbie here and kinda felt good to vent and see that im not alone in this.

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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

It's a shame that they can treat people this way. Re the PTO there should be some clause that will allow you to "sell the hours" BEFORE you submit the resignation.

My best bet has been...."after...Xmany....years I find I need to move on. I have gained much from my employment here, and appreciate all the facility has done for me."

So don't burn bridges, give ammunition or flame.

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When I resigned from my last job, I just stated in my letter that I was resigning for personal reasons. I also requested in writing that I be paid for my leftover vacation time. No problem on either count, but then I had a really good relationship with my NM. We both cried when I left, even though I knew I was doing the right thing.

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Speedbunny,

I read with great interest your post regarding HCA. I do not know if you are aware that after 9 years, you are fully vested with HCA and can roll over your retirement benefits into a IRA or some other retirement account you have started. It is the law they have to pay you for your vacation time in full. You will lose any sick time accrued. Of course, they will make your life a living hell. They do grade NM on how well the retain staff. I know a NM who cried and begged a nurse to stay because 5 had left in less then 2 months. Did she ever get a clue as to why nurses left? NO! She just filled spaces with mandatory overtime or float people who only did their job poorly. HCA has a really bad reputation here and from what I gather it is fast heading to all areas they have facilities. Good luck on LV.

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Seems the disrespect of nurses and other staff, lack of awareness that hospitals exist for the purpose of providing NURSING care comes down from the top.

If not for ethical nurses, physicians, and others they would literally be getting away with murder every day!

Here are links to the tip of the iceburg of curruption at HCA:

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2003/June/03_civ_386.htm

LARGEST HEALTH CARE FRAUD CASE IN U.S. HISTORY SETTLED

HCA INVESTIGATION NETS RECORD TOTAL OF $1.7 BILLION

WASHINGTON, D.C. - HCA Inc. (formerly known as Columbia/HCA and HCA - The Healthcare Company) has agreed to pay the United States $631 million in civil penalties and damages arising from false claims the government alleged it submitted to Medicare and other federal health programs, the Justice Department announced today.

---------------

http://www.laweekly.com/ink/03/08/news-ireland.php

While TV gushed last week over the Republicans' new Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, intervening in a traffic accident, portraying the former heart surgeon as a "Good Samaritan," in truth the GOP has simply replaced a racist with a corporate crook.

Frist was born rich, and got richer-thanks to massive criminal fraud by the family business.

The basis of the Frist family fortune is HCA Inc. (Hospital Corporation of America), the largest for-profit hospital chain in the country, which was founded by Frist's father and brother. And, just as Karl Rove was engineering the scuttling of Trent Lott and the elevation of Frist, the Bush Justice Department suddenly ended a near-decadelong federal investigation into how HCA for years had defrauded Medicaid, Medicare and Tricare (the federal program that covers the military and their families), giving the greedy health-care behemoth's executives a sweetheart settlement that kept them out of the can.

------------------------------

http://tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/6991/view/print

A Spoon Full Of Sugar

Is Bill Frist Bitter Medicine?

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Originally posted by grouchy

I have always given palatable excuses and avoided mentioning staffing issues, etc. when resigning, out of fear of retribution. On one hand, I feel like a coward. On the other hand, I have noticed over the years, that the nursing community is small enough, even in the well-populated area in which I work. I can't believe how many times coworkers from one job have ended up being coworkers at another, years later. So far, I haven't had this happen with any of my former bosses, but I'm not taking any chances! Alot of people switch jobs frequently in nursing. So, you never know when you may be working with them again! I always keep that in mind when I'm not sure what to do or say in a difficult situation.

I know what you mean about feeling like a coward. But after several instances when I told former employers what I REALLY thought, they became vindictive (as other posters have mentioned). We live and we learn.

Sad but this is how they control our professional voices...they have the power to ruin us within the community, including blacklists. They know we know this, and it keeps us from speaking out.:(

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Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.

My philosophy has always been "don't burn your bridges." As another poster said, you never know when you're going to run into someone again. Giving a nice letter of resignation and working out your notice doesn't mean that certain individuals won't still blackball you later- I had this happen to me, a nurse manager who hated my guts and interfered with my getting a job. That was several years after she'd been my boss and it wasn't an institutional thing, we were long gone from the hospital we'd both worked at. You can't stop someone from being vindictive, but you don't have to give them a reason.

I'm currently in management, myself, and I can tell you that I wouldn't be personally vindictive against someone I just didn't like, but if you didn't give decent notice, I sure wouldn't be willing to hire you back. It surprises me these days how many people just stop showing up, or "resign" with little or no notice, and don't think anything of it. (I understand personal and family emergencies, I'm not talking about those). If your employer declines to allow you to work out your notice, that's their issue, not yours; I've never had that happen to me.

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Originally posted by spacenurse

Seems the disrespect of nurses and other staff, lack of awareness that hospitals exist for the purpose of providing NURSING care comes down from the top.

If not for ethical nurses, physicians, and others they would literally be getting away with murder every day!

Here are links to the tip of the iceburg of curruption at HCA:

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2003/June/03_civ_386.htm

LARGEST HEALTH CARE FRAUD CASE IN U.S. HISTORY SETTLED

HCA INVESTIGATION NETS RECORD TOTAL OF $1.7 BILLION

WASHINGTON, D.C. - HCA Inc. (formerly known as Columbia/HCA and HCA - The Healthcare Company) has agreed to pay the United States $631 million in civil penalties and damages arising from false claims the government alleged it submitted to Medicare and other federal health programs, the Justice Department announced today.

---------------

http://www.laweekly.com/ink/03/08/news-ireland.php

While TV gushed last week over the Republicans' new Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, intervening in a traffic accident, portraying the former heart surgeon as a "Good Samaritan," in truth the GOP has simply replaced a racist with a corporate crook.

Frist was born rich, and got richer-thanks to massive criminal fraud by the family business.

The basis of the Frist family fortune is HCA Inc. (Hospital Corporation of America), the largest for-profit hospital chain in the country, which was founded by Frist's father and brother. And, just as Karl Rove was engineering the scuttling of Trent Lott and the elevation of Frist, the Bush Justice Department suddenly ended a near-decadelong federal investigation into how HCA for years had defrauded Medicaid, Medicare and Tricare (the federal program that covers the military and their families), giving the greedy health-care behemoth's executives a sweetheart settlement that kept them out of the can.

------------------------------

http://tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/6991/view/print

A Spoon Full Of Sugar

Is Bill Frist Bitter Medicine?

spacenurse:

I have posted in these forums several times about the worst experience of my nursing caeer- working in a nightmare med-surg unit in the most toxic environment I've ever encountered; An HCA hospital!

I freaked when I first heard about Frist being appointed Senate Majority Leader. I remember reading articles about what great health care reform we'd have with the famous Dr. Frist as the Senate Majority Leader!

Famous for corruption, famous for corporate greed and famous for lousy for-profit hospitals!

What a joke!

BTW- when I resigned from the hospital, I did tell my NM why. She was incredulous, but she did not believe me. I can't really blame her, though. The things that were going on in that hospital were too outrageous to be believed.

Since that job, I have never returned to the hospital setting, and won't.

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Hellllllo Nurse, So do you mean that things were going on that the nurse manager wasn't even aware of?

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