Are any of you loyal?

Published

I am a 26 year old nursing student about to graduate with my AD in May. A nurse recruiter from a large hospital I'm interested in (Peds) just talked to my clinical group. The point that she kept stressing over and over and over was that things were not looking the best for new grads right now and we would have a much better shot at getting hired if we got experience somewhere else (even other than peds) then applied. I'm sorry but I see a serious problem with this. I am a very loyal person and I do not get frustrated with easily. I do no not plan on job hopping. I do not plan on staying with the job same forever, but I would love to see myself grow and build a relationship with the staff in one place over many years. Yes I want to work to kids but more importantly, I just want to work with people. Does anyone else feel the same way?

I am only as loyal as my employer is to me. When that relationship is no longer mutual, the relationship is over in my book.

I also do not believe in a two week notice, or any other kind of notice for that matter. The employer would never extend me the same courtesy (with very few exceptions) and I am grateful to live in an at-will state.

Yeah- I did too (and do now, but not working).....the lack of a 2-week notice can effect rehire status, which does come up on reference checks :)

But i hear what you're saying

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med Surg.

I recently got a sign on bonus. I had actually forgotten about it as it was two years coming. It doesn't change the fact that I am still actively seeking a new job. I'm getting too comfortable and too bored where I am plus the benefits really suck. So I guess you could say my loyalty is questionable at best.

It's a fact of life that new graduates in any field rarely stay with their first employer. I was always happy when I got a year out of a newly minted grad before they headed for their next big challenge. As a matter of fact, if a person stays with their first employer TOO long, it can adversely affect their chances of landing a job they really want. HR people and hiring managers want to see upward mobility and someone who stays too long at the same job makes them wonder why. So in a way, loyalty to an employer can cost you.

I know a lot of people still believe in the old saw about "if you take care of your job your job will take care of you." One of my inlaws was very fond of this one. He had spent over thirty years with a rather large oil field service company. I'll never forget they look on his face in the weeks and months after they dumped him with an cheap watch and a rather meager severence check.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Employers aren't like they used to be. Now it's all business and the bottom line. They don't care if you stay or go (usually; I had one corporate person call me personally when I resigned an MDS job...but I needed to go). We are disposable.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatrics.

xtxrn, thank you for that post. That's my top pet peeve in peds also; people taking the job because "I just love little kids".

Up Vote Up Vote ×

heck, how can anyone expect employers to be loyal to them, if they (the employers) can't even be loyal to their pts?

yet when i and others, have advocated for our pts, we inevitably end up being harrassed, bullied, blackballed, threatened and terminated.

this has happened from the most reputable facility, to the sleaziest one.

never trust your employer.

the only ones they are loyal to, is themselves.

so yes, i am loyal...to my pts, and that's the only thing that matters.

leslie

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

I decided to give my unit the middle finger once it turned its back on me. My loyalty to them is dead. I cant wait to get off of it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC, Med-SURG,STICU.

I am another person who is only as loyal to my employer as they are to me. I have seen how loyal most places are and I will watch out for myself. I go in, I do my best, and then I leave. If they expect more than I am being compensated for or they are treating me poorly I am out of there ASAP. I am always looking for a better job even if I like the place that I am working.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Sounds to me like the recruiter was only being realistic with her audience. I did not pick up on any philosophical bent in her remarks, but then I wasn't there.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU, ER, EP,.

Zero, zilch, notta, nothing, no loyalty. I will not give my soul to any job, career or "calling" as the noobs say. My family, personal worth and sanity outside those brick walls, will remain intact. I will not suffer, go nuts or think of work once I punch out. Twice, work has broken this rule and tried to break me. Once I left management and went back to staffing, this last time, after 16 years I left the ICU and went to the EP lab.

I can only be whole to give the best quality care for my patients when I am whole. Being loyal these days, means selling your soul and becoming something that you are not to survive. I am in the same institution, for the time being, but loyalty is NOTHING that will improve my patient care. It will only hinder it, my new nurse friend, I'm sorry to say, you fill find this to be true, sooner than I wish for you. Self survival and NOT compromising your morals is the priority. Loyalty to a facility is crap. Loyalty puts your patients last, even in the best of institutions.

When your integrity is on the line, it's time to be disloyal to the benefit of our patients. Nurses who work in nursing make this choice daily. The real nurses, change, leave and are disloyal. It brings you NOTHING, and hurts your patients for being a "yes" person.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Medical Surgical Orthopedic.
I am a 26 year old nursing student about to graduate with my AD in May. A nurse recruiter from a large hospital I'm interested in (Peds) just talked to my clinical group. The point that she kept stressing over and over and over was that things were not looking the best for new grads right now and we would have a much better shot at getting hired if we got experience somewhere else (even other than peds) then applied. I'm sorry but I see a serious problem with this. I am a very loyal person and I do not get frustrated with easily. I do no not plan on job hopping. I do not plan on staying with the job same forever, but I would love to see myself grow and build a relationship with the staff in one place over many years. Yes I want to work to kids but more importantly, I just want to work with people. Does anyone else feel the same way?

To an employer, you're more like a hooker than a wife. They're paying you for your services, not bonding with you eternally. Feel free to move on when it's all over, because I guarantee you they will do the same.;)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Professional Development Specialist.

Sure, I am loyal as can to the devoted employer!

But in reality, the message you were missing was NOT that they want someone with any experience. The message was they want Peds EXPERIENCE. She wasn't trying to tell you to go get a job and get 1-2 years experience and then come back. She was saying "I'm not hiring you because you don't have experience." Get used to that message because just about every interview you get will say the same thing. You are a new grad in the current nursing environment. For every new grad applying (and there are plenty) there is 10 experienced nurses willing to take a pay cut, move across country, and work 10,000 hours of overtime to support their family since their husband was laid off 2 years ago.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Professional Development Specialist.

And xtxrn that reality is the reason I won't do peds, even though I love kids with all my heart. One day in the ER with a 22 week preemie who was approaching 3 years old was enough. I couldn't stop thinking about the care of that child when caregivers could no longer carry him easily.

Very nice, honest, and well stated post. If I could give you more kudos I would!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion