Disheartened by friends' reaction about Residency

Nurses General Nursing

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Hello everybody,

I really would just like to vent. So I moved from CA to Florida beginning of the year because my husband is in the U.S. Navy. We have spent 3 years apart so I could finish nursing school, and moved as soon as I was done. I had missed new grad programs during my transition so I decided to work in long term care for a little bit (5 months). I decided to apply again to a residency program at a reputable hospital even though I was close to passing my 1 year post-grad. Weeks had passed and I no longer was expecting to get a call for an interview. So since my husband was deploying, I planned to come back to CA and work in LTC through an agency and save up money.

Well the same weekend my husband left for a deployment, I was invited to interview which went really well! I was offered the job which I thought about overnight and then accepted.

However, I initially hesitated due to low rate, they offered me same rate I was receiving at LTC which was supposedly non-negotioable. But I was able to raise a dollar due to CNA and medtech experience. Plus when I get my BSN I'll get another dollar.

However, the other major hesitation came from the 2 year contract. Overall I would have to commit to 3 years. My parents are happy for me, but my in-laws and friends were sad and disappointed about being away for that much longer. My friends especially thought of it as modern day enslavement, like an indentured servant.

My friends are not in the healthcare industry and I should have known that they weren't going to understand. As for my husband, I haven't been able to talk to him yet since he's deployed but I bet he could relate since I'm sure he got the same reaction when he joined the navy.

I see it as taking a step forward in growing as the nurse I always pictured myself to be.

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Specializes in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology RN.

First of all congratulations on your new job. I live in florida too and I am a new grad looking for work as well. It is hard to get a job in florida!

You have to do what is best for yourself and your career. And getting the training in a new grad program is going to set you up for success in your nursing career. All of them have 2-3 year contracts.

I know its hard for you to be away from your friends and family. And they may or may not understand. But you know what you had to do for yourself. Its a great thing! Again, congratulations. ?

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10 minutes ago, Nurse.Kelsey said:

First of all congratulations on your new job. I live in florida too and I am a new grad looking for work as well. It is hard to get a job in florida!

You have to do what is best for yourself and your career. And getting the training in a new grad program is going to set you up for success in your nursing career. All of them have 2-3 year contracts.

I know its hard for you to be away from your friends and family. And they may or may not understand. But you know what you had to do for yourself. Its a great thing! Again, congratulations. ?

Thank you! If I can do it you can too! Definitely keep trying at all the hospitals around you! I wish I had applied again sooner but got distracted with working and my BSN online. So just keep that in mind and stay focused. Keep your eyes open for new grad programs.

Yes, it's definitely a sacrifice but I figured no pain no gain! 3 years might even go by fast. It's gonna take some time to shake off my friends' reactions

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A lot of nurses have negative opinions about contracts, too. Signing one would definitely not be my first choice, but I'd consider it if I felt I had no better options.

Congrats on the new job and I hope the time flies for you. ?

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32 minutes ago, Sour Lemon said:

A lot of nurses have negative opinions about contracts, too. Signing one would definitely not be my first choice, but I'd consider it if I felt I had no better options.

Congrats on the new job and I hope the time flies for you. ?

Yeah I'm not ecstatic about the years either but I would definitely benefit from the training.

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I would NOT sign one of those contracts unless I had absolutely no choice. Have a lawyer look at it if you can. I have heard of fines up to $30,000 for leaving a job in under 3 years. Lord knows what will happen in 3 years. Do I want to become financially crippled for leaving a job because, God forbid, a family member gets sick and I need to take care of them? I think those contracts are demeaning and wrong. I stayed at my last job, despite being dissatisfied, for over 4 years. If I managed to stay 4 years at a job which I wasn't super happy with without a contract, what does that say about jobs that have contracts?

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2 hours ago, ~Shrek~ said:

I would NOT sign one of those contracts unless I had absolutely no choice. Have a lawyer look at it if you can. I have heard of fines up to $30,000 for leaving a job in under 3 years.

While that may be an extreme example, that definitely isn't the norm. I think that most places state in their HR policies what your fine will be if you leave early, usually around $1,000-$3,000 (the highest I've seen is $5,000). It stinks, but it can definitely be manageable if you plan for it. In addition, many places will prorate it based on how long you stay (i.e. if your contract is $2,000 for 2 years and you work for one year, you owe $1,000 instead of the full $2,000).

OP, you mention you're in CA--is the hospital unionized? If so, all of these caveats should be clearly laid out in the union contract, and union contracts are publicly available (meaning that you could google it now). If the hospital isn't unionized, you could ask HR for the policy.

I agree with @Sour Lemon--contracts stink, but if that's your best option, then that's your best option. In some regions, like @Nurse.Kelsey described in FL, all of the local hospitals have this expectation; your options are to accept the contract, or to move to a region that doesn't have them. I also feel like it's a bit extreme to compare them to 'modern slavery' or 'indentured servitude;' hospitals spend $50,000+ to orient new grads, and the $2,000 is a small incentive for you to not jump ship a couple of months after orientation.

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Does the contract allow you to switch units within the organization after a certain amount of time? That makes the contract less overwhelming. Another thing to remember is that if your husband receives official military orders to move, you are able to leave your contract without penalty as his spouse. So you may not really be stuck as long term as you think!

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56 minutes ago, adventure_rn said:

While that may be an extreme example, that definitely isn't the norm. I think that most places state in their HR policies what your fine will be if you leave early, usually around $1,000-$3,000 (the highest I've seen is $5,000). It stinks, but it can definitely be manageable if you plan for it. In addition, many places will prorate it based on how long you stay (i.e. if your contract is $2,000 for 2 years and you work for one year, you owe $1,000 instead of the full $2,000).

OP, you mention you're in CA--is the hospital unionized? If so, all of these caveats should be clearly laid out in the union contract, and union contracts are publicly available (meaning that you could google it now). If the hospital isn't unionized, you could ask HR for the policy.

I agree with @Sour Lemon--contracts stink, but if that's your best option, then that's your best option. In some regions, like @Nurse.Kelsey described in FL, all of the local hospitals have this expectation; your options are to accept the contract, or to move to a region that doesn't have them. I also feel like it's a bit extreme to compare them to 'modern slavery' or 'indentured servitude;' hospitals spend $50,000+ to orient new grads, and the $2,000 is a small incentive for you to not jump ship a couple of months after orientation.

I can't tell if it is my best option. All of the hospitals where I live in Florida have new grad programs. In my interview they said they don't hire anybody outside of the program with less than one year experience. If I don't accept this then I'll be going through uncertainty again and wasting time. Even if I don't accept this job and then get a year's work experience instead, is it going to be enough for them to want to hire me? or any of the hospitals? Idk, I could wait for another half year but I would be working in non-acute settings which is not great either.

Also, my long term goal is to get experience in Florida for the meantime and easily transition back in CA with those experience on my resume.

1 hour ago, FacultyRN said:

Does the contract allow you to switch units within the organization after a certain amount of time? That makes the contract less overwhelming. Another thing to remember is that if your husband receives official military orders to move, you are able to leave your contract without penalty as his spouse. So you may not really be stuck as long term as you think!

Yes, fortunately, I can explore other units. I only have to commit to 1 year on the unit I'm assigned to. But I can also float to other units as needed.

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No one has mentioned this, but check for a military clause in your contract. Generally your husband's orders will extend to you for purposes of employment and housing.

I think you made a good choice and who knows when he'll PCS. Keep on doing you, you're doing a great job killing it while having the added stress of your husband being overseas with limited communication.

Pay in FL is notoriously low. If you can pay your bills, save, and the culture is good, keep on keeping on. California people sometimes don't understand because they pay out so much in state taxes and cost of living.

Congratulations!

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Find better quality people to be friends with, yours sound useless and frankly, dumb.

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9 minutes ago, DeeAngel said:

Find better quality people to be friends with, yours sound useless and frankly, dumb.

LOL. Because they don't agree that someone with no experience or information to judge a hospital working environment, and who is not allowed to negotiate any of her own terms, should sign a 3-year contract to stay there come hell or high water? ?

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