Advice on how to QUIT professionally

Kristy,

I empathize with you, as I just left a bad situation. In writing my letter of resignation, I chose to keep it on a professional level, and to refrain from burning any bridges. I do understand the urge to defend yourself and to vent about the way things are at your employers. I am a new grad also, and really cannot afford to receive a bad reference from my former employer. I resigned in a way that left me eligible for rehire (like I would want to go back to that situation), but you never know what is going to happen down the road. If you mention names and incidents in your letter of resignation, it may or may not be taken seriously and investigated. If it is not taken seriously, it may backfire on you. At this point, do what is best for you and your future. Good luck!!!

I am sorry you have had such a bad time, sounds like getting out is the best course of action.

As far as resignation goes, although I am not yet a nurse, I have many years of management experience. A brief letter declaring your intention to resign and giving an effective date for that to occur is all that is needed. You are not required to give a specific reason why. Professionally, you do not want to detail everything that has occured in a letter. This speaks to your professionalism. Journaling everything bad that has happened in a resignation letter is not only unneccesary, but appears "sour grapes" on your part. Although I know this is not how you wish to be portrayed and your reasons are valid, as simple statement such as "I have choosen to tender my resignation with the facility effective xx/xx/xx due to personal and professional decisions." is to the point and professional. If there is an exit interview process, you can voice your concerns during that time.

Hope this helps, good luck!

Actually, I think you have TWO letters to write. One to address the accusations against you, along the lines of...

"I would like to address certain comments brought to my attention. I take my responsibility as a nurse very seriously and am very careful to in a consciencious (bah sp???) manner. I was shocked and concerned that I was percieved by as not accomplishing . Blah blah" Without getting defensive, standing by your professional nursing practice, no blaming, etc.

The second letter is your resignation which comes maybe 2-3 days after the first, depending on the response from the first (of which you should keep a copy - you CC your boss, the manager and anyone else who should see it and send those copies YOURSELF). The resignation is very professional as well, as stated by the poster above, and might go something like this..... "Dear , Please accept this letter as my formal written resignation from employment with . My last day of work will be on . I want to express my appreciate for the opportunity to work for . I gained valuable knowledge and experience and I know I will take these early lessons with me throughout my nursing career. I have been honored to work with some extremely knowledgable and professional co-workers (no names here, even if it is only the housekeeper!). I sincerely regret that I am unable to continue employment at . Sincerely, .

Yeah it's a bunch of mush and the resignation letter doesn't mention thing one about the problems there, but your goal is to leave on good terms, not vent. CC the resignation to the same folks you CC the other letter to, and they'll know why you left LOL.

This is just MHO, but maybe it'll help. Good luck!

I'm so sorry your job has been such a trial, but I'm glad you're getting out. You worked too hard for your license to lose it because others can't or won't do their jobs.

I agree with the poster who said you should tender of a letter of resignation that is business-like and to the point. No reasons whatsoever.

If you have an exit interview, that is the time to give reasons.

Here are several other bits of advice:

Make sure you have another job before you leave this one. You don't want these folks to be able to blackball you in the job market.

When a prospective employer asks why you are leaving after such a short time, fall back on a non-committal, "I wanted to find a position that had better learning opportunities and was a better fit." Keep your head up, but don't blame.

Even before you go, make sure you have meticulous documentation (names of employees, dates, incidents) of the problems you have encountered. Write out everything you can remember. This will serve a number of purposes. It will help you to CYA if anything ever comes back to haunt you. It should let you discharge a lot of negative energy. And if you ever read about an investigation of this place in the news, you might have some helpful information for them to look into.

I wish you the very best. Hope your second job is much better.

Thanks so much everyone.

I feel so much better, and have concrete examples of how to do this.

I love AllNurses.com!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks again everybody!

KristyBRN

I am sorry you have had such a bad time, sounds like getting out is the best course of action.

As far as resignation goes, although I am not yet a nurse, I have many years of management experience. A brief letter declaring your intention to resign and giving an effective date for that to occur is all that is needed. You are not required to give a specific reason why. Professionally, you do not want to detail everything that has occured in a letter. This speaks to your professionalism. Journaling everything bad that has happened in a resignation letter is not only unneccesary, but appears "sour grapes" on your part. Although I know this is not how you wish to be portrayed and your reasons are valid, as simple statement such as "I have choosen to tender my resignation with the facility effective xx/xx/xx due to personal and professional decisions." is to the point and professional. If there is an exit interview process, you can voice your concerns during that time.

Hope this helps, good luck!

I absolutely agree with this suggestion.. Rule #1 of leaving a company is that they are not interested, as cold as that sounds, in your reasons for leaving.

You don't need to give them a reason, just like if they fired you, in many states that are "right to work" they don't have to give you a reason either.

In the end, all you owe them, is a 2 week notice.

No matter how badly you want to tell them exactly what you think, resist the temptation! It will hurt you and probably accomplish nothing positive. "Never burn your bridges" is very good advice.

If it will help, write the letter you want to write, then delete it! I've done that kind of thing sometimes. I can help get it off your chest but then can't blow up on you.

Have another job lined up. Since you're a new grad, it shouldn't be hard to find a reason for changing jobs, particularly if you don't go to a similar facility. If you're applying at one that has something different, you can say that you are interested in working with XYZ; different type of patient, different type of unit, different shift, slightly different role, etc. You can use a variation of "I thought that was what I wanted to do but found out it's really not my cup of tea" if you're applying for something different. You can expect to be asked why you're leaving your job, or why you're interested in theirs, so be prepared with a good answer.

Do work out your notice. That seems to be more and more rare these days. It can be difficult to do, but stick it out. Once you accept something else and resign, you may find a ton lifted off your shoulders- but sometimes in that last countdown you get the "I-just-want-outta-here-itis!" No-showing at the end can leave a lasting bad impression, and you don't know who from that facility may be the person you want to make a good impression on five or ten years from now!

The best of luck to you in finding something much more liveable!

I just resigned from my job and wrote a long letter detailing all that was wrong with the place but not mentioning any names specifically. I also advised that I had kept a copy of the letter which I would forward to the inspecting bodies should anything negative happen towards me for telling the truth!

I resigned today, and I did so with the short and sweet professional letter. I also wrote the long detailed one, but kept that for my own records. The DON was very nice, told me should wouldnt give out any details, and when I asked what she would say if asked if she would rehire me, she said she would say yes. She felt I needed a little more experience and a different floor, that the one I was on was not a good fit. So, no burnt bridges, left on a good note. The only sad part was I went to say goodbye to my patients, (the coherent ones, of course,) and my MS patient cried. I feel bad, but I think I would have felt worse if I just left and did not say goodbye.

Again, thanks for the advice everyone.

KristyBRN

Kristy,

I empathize with you, as I just left a bad situation. In writing my letter of resignation, I chose to keep it on a professional level, and to refrain from burning any bridges. I do understand the urge to defend yourself and to vent about the way things are at your employers. I am a new grad also, and really cannot afford to receive a bad reference from my former employer. I resigned in a way that left me eligible for rehire (like I would want to go back to that situation), but you never know what is going to happen down the road. If you mention names and incidents in your letter of resignation, it may or may not be taken seriously and investigated. If it is not taken seriously, it may backfire on you. At this point, do what is best for you and your future. Good luck!!!

Good point!