Can a hospital retract their job offer

[nadomel]

I was offered a new grad night shift position in writing at a Hospital in Maryland. I did all my requirements even a physical. Dring the physical the nurse decided that she thought something was wrong with my neck and I had to go see a doc about it. I had to pay out of pocket cost to go and see a doc when I made it clear that I was fine ( . The results came back that I was fine. I purchased my uniform and was getting ready to start orientation this Monday. I got a call from the nursing recruiter saying that management decided not to offer this position any longer. My start date was one month for the position and now all other positions are gone. What can I do I am at a lost. There was no reasonable explanation given except we no longer offer this position. I still have my uniform which I payed for. I signed all the paperwork included how much I would be payed etc ( would that amount to a contract

[skfla]

I work in Fla and written offers are a big deal. I've made several hundred offers through the years. Retracting an offer opens you up to so many problems that we've only retracted one offer (w/o clear cause) in all that time. Florida is in an a work at will state. Maryland is a very liberal work environment, the ramifications for the employer are likely to be worse. They may not be on the hook for significant $$ but definitely anything they required you to do for employment at their facility. Possibly also loss of wages and relocation costs if you changed residences. If YOU FEEL VERY STRONGLY, talk to a couple of labor atty's. If there is something there, you'll know it pretty fast. And if you take that path, you may be doing future applicants a favor. Perhaps H.R. won't be so flip with their offers/retractions. BUT, you've got to know that the field is small and this type of info can get out. And the actual truth of the situation may not come out. So: You may just want to look for other work and count your blessings that you're not going to work at that facility. If you're new, and this management team has revealed their character so soon, are you sure you want to be learning the ins and outs of nursing in such as place?

[nadomel]

Thank you for your advice I really appreciate it. I am new to this every day I learn something new. I have family members that are nurses in Florida, Chicago, and NY and some of their opinions reflect what you say. I am not angry about it or bitter. I am still looking for a work, but in the mean time I can't sit and do nothing. I also had been reflecting on whether I would want to work for a company that does that. I had told my clinical instructor about it and she told me that I was entitled to a full explanation.

[saint781]

I just went through possibly one of the most humiliating experiences of my career and I thought I would share to get people's take on it.

Applied to a job at a local hospital it was for med/surg nights. Got an interview, went well, didnt hear anything for a week. Got an email from the manager that they wanted to hire me and I would hear back from HR with a pay range, start date, etc..

Next I was contacted by the companies recruiter who started asking me questions about my resume, I answered all of her questions and she told me an offer would be coming soon.

Then...they rescinded the offer! The reason? They said that there were "gaps" in my employment and I hadn't been forthcoming about that.

The "gap" was one year, where I worked for a bank becuuse the hospital I was at was shut down, talked about that in the interview, never lied about it, IT IS ON MY RESUME!

Hiring manager had my resume, did she even read it before offering me the job? I have some pretty extensive working experience prior to becoming a nurse and in all my years of working nobody ever rescinded a job from me, ever, and they certainly never did it over something like this.

Why would I lie about having worked as a nurse for 4 years, instead of 3? Why would that make any sense? The recruiter called me and we spoke on the phone for a little bit, it was like talking to a wall, nothing I said seemed to make a difference, im pretty sure she told the Nurse manager not to hire because of a percepion she misinterpreted. It seemed like their mind was made up.

Nothing I can do about this but move on, thankfully I did not quit my current job which I know you never ever do for this exact reason.

I'd love to hear people's take on this, it's really one of the more bizzarre things to ever happen to me.