DON took advantage of me

Nurse Beth is right. Our courts are overloaded. When you sign a contract that's not illegal (as in below the minimum wage), just unfavorable to you, they don't want to get involved. What you agreed to do, you must do. Some lessons may be painful, but you can still learn from them.

Keep that in mind in every area of your life from buying a home to wills. Go over all contracts carefully and seek advice if you feel it'd be useful. If that means consulting a lawyer, don't hesitate to bargain over the price. In the last decade or so the country has become glutted with lawyers needing work. And ask around to find out who is good. I'm no fan of lawyers, but in some situations a good lawyer can be priceless.

The same need for care is true in other areas. I'm a writer and am in the process of negotiating Chinese translations of some of my books. Many publishers have a less-than-favorable standard contract that tilts the table their way. Talk with them and that contract appears on the table. Resist and a more favorable contract will quickly appear. If they want your book, they're willing to deal.

I am in no position to know, but I suspect that hospitals often play that same game. They have one contract for new and naive nurses and another they use when they know that one won't work. That's where researching to discover what's reasonable and customary in your area is a good idea.

Don't worry. Learning from a bad experience when you are new may prove far better than learning much later when the stakes may be far higher.

I remember when I first started out, the same thing was happening to me. The pay discrepancy was better, but I got what seemed to be the harder work loads. This happened every time I moved from one state to another too. What is really sad to me is that nurses do it to nurses. There is sometimes no sense of fairness. It wasn't until I got more into the hospice environment that I found more autonomy and the ability to make a good wage. When you are working in a SNF it is easy to transition to hospice. Some hospices work inside these facilities. I found if I made a friend on the outside, I was usually welcomed to join their hospice group. Because of my BSN, I was able to manage a set of clients time and time again. With nurses who are really frustrated and sad, I would recommend going outside the traditional nursing. I am Health Coaching now and absolutely love it. Sometimes it is just a matter of peeking outside the box.