Duke 2 Year Contract

[felineRN]

First and foremost, let me state I am NOT a new grad. I was just given a job offer from Duke's health system. However, the hiring manager is requiring a 2 year minimum contract. I think this is a bit excessive. I don't have plans to jump ship, however, I would really prefer not to be locked into a contractual agreement. As I am sure most of you know, sometimes you don't always gel with the culture/management of a unit.

My question is: Is this standard? (They are not giving me a sign on bonus etc...) Am I unable to transfer prior to two years time? I have asked nurse recruitment and they stated I would not be penalized, but would not receive a written reference from my manager.

If there is anyone who has experience with this I would love to hear from you. You can also PM me if you prefer.

Thanks!

[aet1517]

Honestly, a feel like Duke has a relatively high turnover. Not so much because it's a harsh environment but simply because a lot of people get ICU or other specific experience and head back to school. Or, a lot move back home since a lot of their hires are from out of state (at least that's my feeling, honestly not sure if it's true).

If you're unit is very specific and has a lot of unit-specific training, they might just want to protect their investment; it takes a lot of work to train a nurse to a specific unit (even if you're experienced).

In my experience, if someone wasn't a right fit for the unit and it was discovered on orientation, other arrangements were made within the hospital system first. I think you would have a chance to voice your opinion if you felt it wasn't the right fit for you after you started. I'm sure you would lose your recommendation from that initial hiring manager but you would have a position somewhere.

[elizabell]

People break their 2-year contracts all the time. Unfortunately, from what I've seen, you're blacklisted from getting hired in another department if you break your contract. (Or, maybe that's just my manager being passive aggressive...?). Your manager has to be cooperative for you to get a transfer to another unit. And my manager (and most of the managers I know of) would NEVER cooperate with transferring you to another unit until your 2 years are up. They barely cooperate when your contract is finished. Unless they think you're a problem nurse and then they're just happy to get you off their floor. Per policy, you can't get a reference from your manager if you break your contract. My friends who have left Duke to go to other hospitals before their 2 years are finished have had to use other coworkers as references. Some charge nurses will secretly give you a reference.