breaking your RN New Grad contract early

[bobo619]

Has anyone out there ever left their New Grad contract early? I am in a contract that states if I leave before 3 years is up I will have to pay them $30,000. This is the most I have EVER heard of especially for a non residency program. No courses were provided just regular orientation (8 weeks). For those of you who left your contract early, were there letters demanding money that were sent out? Did they take you to court?

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

Most lawyers offer free consultation. Try that to get an accurate answer for your situation

[Sam J.]

Most lawyers offer free consultation.

And if you can't find that does, most bar associations provide referrals to a lawyer of the specialty you need for a small fee, maybe $20-40 for a half hour consultation.

[RNmrsB]

Hi there,

I know its 1 year later but I was searching the web for a solution to this very same problem but only as a last resort. I hardly meet my hours and decided to apply and got accepted at a another local hospital. I intend on working 2 jobs because of financial difficulties and would also like to have a plan b on days I get canceled at contracted hospital. The situation is I need to switch shifts. I Presented the situation to my boss, who told me this could not work...when I know in fact it can. The convo is pending for now but in case I am not permitted...I would have to resort to the contract. As stated in the contract, "The Training Program" costs 30,000 but does not list where that 30,000 goes. There is no residency so the only costs i can see are the 8 weeks of preceptorship which is about $12,000. Your thoughts? Or perhaps you already came up with a solution? Thank you in advance for your time!

[CB216]

I am curious to the outcome of your situation?

[~Shrek~]

I want to know the outcome too. A $30k fine for leaving is ridiculous. $30k or even $15k can ruin a person's life. No thank you. Only a contract for less than $5k sounds reasonable, because anything more could cause serious poverty.

[elkpark]

I want to know the outcome too. A $30k fine for leaving is ridiculous. $30k or even $15k can ruin a person's life. No thank you. Only a contract for less than $5k sounds reasonable, because anything more could cause serious poverty.

It doesn't really matter if it's "reasonable" or not; the point is, the person agreed to the conditions up front and signed the contract. The hospital could charge $100,000 for breaking the new grad residency contract, and the issue would not be whether the amount is "reasonable" or not, it would be whether the contract that the individual voluntarily signed is legally sound and binding.

[Curious1alwys, BSN, RN]

I believe I'd rather stay unemployed than sign a $30,000 contract. YIKES. Hope the OP didn't have to endure too much misery there.

[rene121]

im in the same situation! 30,000 dollar contract for 3 years... i have finished my first year and have offers for better hosptials and better pay and i want to leave.... what became of your situation??

[PMFB-RN, RN]

im in the same situation! 30,000 dollar contract for 3 years... i have finished my first year and have offers for better hosptials and better pay and i want to leave.... what became of your situation??

Of course you NOW have better offers. Now that you have absorbed a lot of expensive training and have a year of experience OF COURSE you have better offers. This is EXACTLY why they had you sign the contract in the first place. It's their pay back for the investment and chance they took on a new grad. Where was the other hospital with their offer of better pay when you were a new grad applying for the job that required a contract?

[PMFB-RN, RN]

I believe I'd rather stay unemployed than sign a $30,000 contract. YIKES. Hope the OP didn't have to endure too much misery there.

I hope you don't have to make that choice. However it is a choice made by an adult, we can assume an educated and intelligent (she graduated nursing school right?) adult. Signing a contract has consequences. If it didn't there would be no point in even having such a thing. To my mind the only relevant question is was the facility honest?

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

I take great issue with people here telling you they can't give you legal advice and then in the next sentence GIVING LEGAL ADVICE.

Consult with a lawyer, for a small fee. Not every contract is enforceable, and you need to find out if this one is.

[barcode120x, RN, NP]

This is not too pertinent to the OP but is in response to those questioning about who would sign a contract of that price. Not sure how it is in the other states, but in Southern California new grad positions are hard to come by, and most of my classmates from nursing school (recent fall 2014 graduate) had to sign contracts of some price ranging from 5-15k at various hospitals around here. I do remember my instructor during nursing school talk about contracts. He was saying the reason for contracts was because hospitals spend a lot of money hiring new grads yet once they get their 6 months to a year experience, they leave and go to the hospital that they initially wanted to stay at. The hospital ends up losing money and now need to find another RN and the cycle repeats. So why do some of us sign a contract despite the numbers on it? Because new grads need a job (most want hospital jobs for that matter). A lot of us are excited to get our license and to start working immediately and with the current job market here, some of us have no choice but have to pick a hospital outsider our boundaries and do it for however long the contract states or risk breaking it. Among my friends and older nursing friends, I don't know of anyone that actually broke their contract. Some did not like the hospital they were at but they stayed until their contract ended.