Hello, I need some help! I'm a new graduate nurse that started working on a very busy medical-surgical unit in April. In order for me to accept the job, I was required to sign a 2 year contract that states if I didn't stay with the company for 2 years, I'd have to pay them $10,000 in 60 days. I was never given any type of bonus pay--I was only offered the job. I've only been working for the company for 6 months, and I couldn't take it any more. They treated me like a slave and paid me like one too! Sometimes I would not be able to take a lunch break. Every shift I felt like I was risking my patient's lives and my nursing license because I didn't have enough time to provide all of their care! I never would have signed the contract if the manager told me the truth about the unit! She told me the nurse-patient ratio was 1:4. She didn't tell me we rarely have CNA's on our floor. Only after 7 weeks of orientation on my unit, I was consistently assigned 5 and sometimes 6 patients--with no CNA! I was told by my preceptor (who trains people on our unit) to omit critical nursing assessments/tasks because we don't have time (of course they all chart they did those things, but I refuse to follow their advise). Everyone else was too busy to help me too, even the charge nurses. There were many shifts that I was assigned 5-6 patients and all the other experienced nurses were assigned 3-4 patients! On those same days, I was also assigned the most challenging patients together. It was completely unfair for the patients and for me! Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that HCA organization truly values money $$ over patient safety and care!
I don't know what to do. I'm waiting to hear back from a lawyer on some legal advise. I don't feel like it is fair for me to pay them $10,000 for their poor staffing issues and unfair treatment! Apparently the debt is going to collections. Do you have any ideas on what to do?!
