Assignment Nightmare

Specialties Travel

Published

I have almost completed my first assignment and it has been a nightmare. My housing is ghetto, in an extended stay hotel which is basically a room with a little kitchen area, no place to put anything and its ugly. There is section 8 living there and the fire alarm goes off(its deafening)about 4 times a week(usually when I am in shower or asleep). I don't get my mail, staff is unprofessional and rude, etc. I could go on and on. Plus it takes me 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to get to work. Agency also overpaid me which I didnt realize because I get direct deposit and pay stubs went to my moms house. So now I have to pay it back. I have had had ZERO input into my schedule. For some reason a secretary in th nursing office is in charge of me and she refuses to call me back. I was told I had to work every other weekend, and one EVE and one Day as far as Xmas and NY was concerned. I have worked almost every weekend and she put me on EVERY holiday. That is NOT in my contract and I would never agree to that. It was changed to an eve and a day by another member of administration and then this secretary changed it twice after so I had to canceel my plans. My agency did not back me up on this at all. I have brought up the housing issue SEVRAL times and nothing has been done. Agency never calls me back. Plus I was told insurance was PPO and it is an hmo. How can you have an HMO if you are traveling? Does that mean if I move I have to change my primary doc every 13 weeks? The ER I am working in is fine.. its just everything else! Am I overreacting?????:crying2:

Well I am making a little bit of headway. Finally got in touch with guy and he said he is working on the housing right now and will get back to me within the hour. So if that is fixed, it will be OK. A big problem is that the hospital I am working for is part of a system and has a separate department that deals with agency. I don't understand why the unit managers can't schedule their travelers but there is nothing I can do about it. I also got it written into my new contract that I work every OTHER weeknd.

He yelled at me when I said I feel I have a right to go over the schedule with secretary.

He basically said I am at their(hospital's) mercy. I know I am there to supplement the staff and that is fine but I still think I should get input. I am still human and still have a life. I don't think I am being unreasonable. So we will see what happens.

The recruiter yelled at you??? That is a huge red flag, no one has a right to act this way...

I usually write in a clause, that I am to mimick regular staff employees on treatment, i.e. If staff works every other weekend so do I etc... If staff does not float outside of the specialty, i.e. Adult Care to say Peds... then neither do I. If regular staff does not float every 4 hours then neither do I.

There really are very good and very reasonable assignments out there...

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One thing that I like is that I do not float outside ED and I only work in core, not even express or triage. Not that I mind working in ED periphery but this hospital doesn't let agency nurses do triage and express has its own staff and those nurses ONLY do express. Another hospital didnt let agency nurses hang blood. They all have their little idiosynchrocies, I guess. As for being yelled at, YES it was a huge red flag. He also said he would get back to me within an hour. That was like 4 hours ago. I feel like i am being jerked around. If all this didnt happen at the last minute I would have just gone somewhere else, but now there isnt enough time.:(

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TerraRN:

Is it possible to go with a different Agency that has contracts at that facility? You might need to have them put you up in a Hotel for the interim time.

You can tell the new Agency that you MUST have a responsive Recruiter.

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It is easy to find another agency. Check the local yellow pages or Sunday want ads. All urban areas have lots of agencies. I traveled for many years. Your agency is jerking you around! And I'll bet money your "recruiter" IS the one responsible for housing and contracts and everything else!

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Like I said, I have no choice but to do another assignment with them. I am staying at the same hospital which is fine. I really like the ED I am working in and the people are great(except for that secretary) but a lot of these problems have come to light recently and I dont have time to find a new agency. My contract ends in less than 2 weeks. I am only licensed in NY and NJ . I don't have time to find another agency or get another state license. I don't have anywhere to live, no furniture nothing. I am certainly looking into other agencies after this coming assignement ends but right now I have kind of screwed myself. I can't afford to be out of work. The housing is the biggest problem. Guy still hasn't gotten back to me. I am so miserable. At this point I am so apprehensive about this whole travel thing. I don't know who to trust.

Does the hospital use any agency? May want to see and if not in contract switch agencies work at same hospital

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I also would sure like to know what company you work for because I don't want anything to do with them. My company is great. My recruiter has been nothing but wonderful. Let me know if you are interested in any information.

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It has only gotten worse. My recruiter found me a better apt closer to hospital. I did not get the apt # until the DAY I moved in. Then he told me that he had arranged for furniture delivery at 9am when I wouldnt be getting keys till 10am because thats when the rental office opened and they would not give me keys before then. So I called and told him and he again YELLED at me and said I was making a big deal over nothing. Meanwhile I am sitting out in the cold at 8AM hoping to cathch furniture people so they don't leave, thus leaving me with no furniture. Also, after almost 6 months they still dont have my correct address on file and he keeps saying he will take care of it and he never did so now my w2 went to wrong address and I cannot do my taxes. ALSO, I told you they had overpaid me by $8 an hour only I didnt know because I get direct depost and pay stubs were going to wrong address so now I have to pay it back and he yelled at me even though it was his mistake. SO I said I wanted in writing exactly how much I owe since I paid taxes on the overpayment. I never got anything but they kept my pay from the last shift I worked. Plus recruiter never answers my emails or returns my calls. I am definitely looking to go elsewhere.This can't be normal, can it????:o

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This is definitely not normal, and sorry that you did not listen to us before you signed again with them. When things start out bad, they usually stay like that, or even go down hill.

I hope now that you will keep away from them. There are some very good agencies out there, but unfortunately some "scummy" ones as well. You need to do your homework on every single contract that you get.

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You are getting screwed. There is NO legal obligation to re-pay over payments. File a grievance with the local labor board and you WILL get the check they withheld. If this company has done this previously, you can also collect a fine up to $10,000.

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But their rationale is that my contract specified I would be getting paid one amount but they paid me another so in essence it is my fault. I didn't catch the error right away but they said because it was in my contract I shoul d have brough the overpayment to their attentionis this so?

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They may be right. Contracts are different than standard employment. What is obvious is that you have to move on. Just change agencies. They have not lived up to their part of the bargain.

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PLEASE, PLEASE tell us what agency you are using - it sounds like the agency from hell.

Thanks,

Kaimi

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