Difficulty with scheduling

No way of knowing without looking at your contract. Consult an attorney.

I want to say that I’ve read on here in the past that people left and were not forced to pay back the sign on bonus. I guess it depends on the wording of the contract you signed and the culture of the hospital in question. It’s possible the contract has verbiage that mentions needs of the unit which allows them to swap your shift without being in violation of the contract.

I would personally take the gamble. In my resignation letter as well as the standard thank you for employing me, I’ve learned a lot and really developed as a nurse.... I would include something along the lines of “its with regret that I must submit my resignation, I am unable to continue in a night shift position due to its toll on my family life. I was hired for a mid shift position which is a better fit for me. I have made a sincere effort to make night shift work after the mid shift was eliminated but after more than 12 months realize that I need to find a non night shift position.

Hope it works out for you. I personally think it’s BS that an employer can totally change the hours you signed up for and that’s somehow ok.

If you do end up applying for other jobs, you could also use that as a bargaining chip to persuade your manager to give you the mid-shift position.

For instance, instead of just giving your notice, you could go to the manager and say, "Night shift is taking a serious toll on me. I've been considering other jobs with more desirable schedules. I'd be happy to stay if you're able to give me the shift I was initially hired into, which you claim you've been attempting to do for the last year. Otherwise, I need to move on."

If they're short-staffed enough and serious about retention, they might be willing to work with you. However, there's also a chance that it won't work, especially if there are a bunch of other people in the same situation and giving you the mid-shift position could create drama with everyone else.

Granted, I wouldn't personally try that move until you have another job offer in hand that you're actually willing to take.

12 minutes ago, adventure_rn said:

If you do end up applying for other jobs, you could also use that as a bargaining chip to persuade your manager to give you the mid-shift position.

For instance, instead of just giving your notice, you could go to the manager and say, "Night shift is taking a serious toll on me. I've been considering other jobs with more desirable schedules. I'd be happy to stay if you're able to give me the shift I was initially hired into, which you claim you've been attempting to do for the last year. Otherwise, I need to move on."

If they're short-staffed enough and serious about retention, they might be willing to work with you. However, there's also a chance that it won't work, especially if there are a bunch of other people in the same situation and giving you the mid-shift position could create drama with everyone else.

Granted, I wouldn't personally try that move until you have another job offer in hand that you're actually willing to take.

...also keep in mind that using negotiating leverage like that can paint a managerial target on your back, given some of the personalities that populate nursing administration.

6 minutes ago, Jedrnurse said:

...also keep in mind that using negotiating leverage like that can paint a managerial target on your back, given some of the personalities that populate nursing administration.

Yeah, that's why I wouldn't recommend doing it without another actual offer in hand. If the manager does take it in a really negative way, then the OP would have an out.