I just wanted to post this as it has me a bit shaken. I went to work Monday and found that all of the LPNs and some of the ancillary staff in the hospital where I work were laid off. It came as a big surprise to the LPNs - and to all of us. No one knew it was coming.
The hospital census has been down over the past year. Our yearly raises have been "postponed" until Spring, 2011, there have been staff cuts in several departments, including phlebotomy (sometimes 1 for a 16 floor hospital), lab and transport. A year ago, the retirement program was stopped. In addition, there is a hiring freeze in place.
I do not think I am amiss in quoting Hamlet, in that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark" - ominous.
Any thoughts? I have three job offers on the table, but I've been at this current place for three years and do not want to make an impulsive move without analyzing this current situation - and that included input from seasoned nurses that have seen more than I have at this point.
Take it from an old IT person who got laid off/outsoucred/rightsourced multiple times -- when they start cutting people, it's to save money. But -- and here's the rub -- getting rid of the "worker bees" never makes a company money in the long run (redundant middle management, that's another story). So they try to cut more people. Things don't improve. So they try to cut even more people...in IT this was horrible, but in nursing, it means higher patient loads, less time off, less benefits, and a cut throat "who's got a chair when the music stops" environment.
Yes, I've been considering that very thing - since LPNs are no longer there, my job may be more secure. I've also thought about starting at a new place and being the "low nurse on the totem pole".
Not sure yet - but there are other factors - like stat troponin levels and stat blood cultures being drawn 8 - 12 hours after the order... and this is an ongoing issue. That also factors in with my decision.
NerdToNurse ! Kemo Sabe! I, too, am a former IT industry person. The market went bust - as you well know - and then I pursued nursing. Thing is - that's why I'm being so watchful right now. I see a very similar pattern.
Let them lay you off then go collect Unemployment..... [/quote']
But by that time, will the OP still have multiple job offers available? I guess it's all a balancing act, trading one form of perceived security for another one...Neither of which is truly "secure."
NerdToNurse ! Kemo Sabe! I, too, am a former IT industry person. The market went bust - as you well know - and then I pursued nursing. Thing is - that's why I'm being so watchful right now. I see a very similar pattern.
Thanks!
RiverNurse
Another IT guy here. You're right about the cutting worker bees produces nothing.
Atleast changing careers means spending less on work clothes
I would consider how much senority you have. Would it be better to go someplace else where you will be the new nurse on the block and for how long or stay where it might be a more secure postition due to your senority?
I'm trying to get into a nursing program, and all I see and hear are gloom, doom, and kaboom.
I am very, very scared, and rightfully so, even when the once-thought-invincible jobs are not quite that.
I don't now if I can handle another layoff. I am a recent layoff from the ever-so-secure-but-plagued public sector. In hindsight (20/20), I should have worked for the DWP...but lunches at strip joints would not have been too groovy for me, and I don't know how to set up a fictitious dba to funnel public funds in a way that is difficult to trace for, say, 5-6 years...
I hope that you weigh the pros and cons of staying v. leaving carefully. As other poster(s) have said, it's hard to gauge when to jump off that sinking ship because, at times, there is a false sense of stability and hope while it's momentarily buoyant before pressure sucks the ship in. Rapidly. But, in this case, it may be a hospital's temporary maneuver to shrink the overhead a bit because they know that, right now, the workforce is saturated with plenty of willing workers, and it is their pickin' time and not our choosin'. When the economy picks up, they can always hire (back) workers.
Yes, I've been considering that very thing - since LPNs are no longer there, my job may be more secure. I've also thought about starting at a new place and being the "low nurse on the totem pole".
Not sure yet - but there are other factors - like stat troponin levels and stat blood cultures being drawn 8 - 12 hours after the order... and this is an ongoing issue. That also factors in with my decision.
Anyway, thanks - and keep the input rolling!
RiverNurse
STAT troponins and blood cultures 8-12 hours late? Yikes that place is unsafe and a lawsuit waiting to happen... I sure wouldn't want to be named in that suit. I would run, not walk to the nearest exit before the sun sets today.
That's how the nursing field is right now. Get out. This is a BIG hint for you...and you would be foolish to overlook 3 offers in the state our country's economy is in right now.
This happened to one of the hospitals in our area after the California Nursing Ratios was passed. All LVNs were laid off and have not been hired back. At my hospital there are a few LVNs left but they are not being replaced. If you want to work as an LVN here you have to work Home Health or SNF
Another past IT person here. I had a similar situation in two companies before.
The first one started laying off people massively from a few projects that didn't work out. I wasn't part of the client projects, I was in Research & Development, and I decided to stay. Mostly because I really liked the team and was very loyal to this company. Well, in half a year from there they simply fell apart, which sucks. They were very honest and open about the whole thing though.
The second company started laying off people, and I stayed (again) because economy was bad and I couldn't find another position of the same level. Also, because they promised more responsibility to me and I thought it is a good opportunity for a promotion. It continued for almost a year. First I had to do projects for myself, and projects for the guy that left, and they didn't find replacement. Then also projects for client teams that didn't have anyone (since they fired them). Then I got laid off, because I wasn't doing it all fast enough. The weird thing is that they hired and fired two people one after another to do my position later on. Couldn't find anybody with 24/7 motor going, I guess.
.thumb.gif.5406a59d44f5c666e8ff3ebac639497a.gif){kind=avatar}
nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN
1 Article; 2,043 Posts
How fast can you clean out your locker?
Take it from an old IT person who got laid off/outsoucred/rightsourced multiple times -- when they start cutting people, it's to save money. But -- and here's the rub -- getting rid of the "worker bees" never makes a company money in the long run (redundant middle management, that's another story). So they try to cut more people. Things don't improve. So they try to cut even more people...in IT this was horrible, but in nursing, it means higher patient loads, less time off, less benefits, and a cut throat "who's got a chair when the music stops" environment.
Run for the door. NOW.