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Discussion

is 0.4 FTE worth it?

I am a new grad who was offered a 0.4 FTE at a nice hospital. They will orient me at 0.8. Is is worth it because ideally I'd like to work 0.8. Will I easily pick up shifts or will I be able to get my foot in the door so I can easily switch to more FTE on that unit when it opens up?

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    • Featured Replies

    Do you have any other job offers? How is the job market in your area?

    If the hospital is willing to give you a proper orientation and you have the option to pick up shifts, then take the job. You will gain skills, contacts, not to mention money.

    If a FTE opens up on your unit, you are a known employee and that places you in a better place to get hired full-time.

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    • Experts

    I'm 0.5 FTE, but my husband is primary breadwinner and carries the health insurance. I still pick up shifts equivalent to 0.7 or 0.8 each week. I never get overtime, but it also makes me the first choice to pick up shifts. If I'm "competing" for a shift with a full-timer, my manager will give the shift to me, per policy. It works perfectly for me. I can work more if I want to...or not if I don't want to.

    I think you should go for it, especially in this economy.

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    • Experts

    If you are interested in the hospital and the type of work, then I'd say "yes, take the job." You'll be oriented at .8, which will give some time for more hours to become available. If they don't, and you are stuck working .4 for a while, there is a chance that you can pick up some extra shifts.

    ... And if you do a good job and get along with people, you can improve your chances at getting the hours you want.

    Unless you've got a better offer on the table, take the one you have. It will give you good experience also a chance at better hours. If the better hours never show up ... you can use your experience to get a better job elsewhere. If asked, you can say, "I really like my current employer and the type of work I do, but I am finding it harder than expected to live on the few number of hours I am getting. I thought I would be able to make it work financially and/or pick up extra hours, but that is proving to be harder than I thought." That's not a bad story to tell the next job you interview for. And you may be fortunate and have this job work out with more hours.

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    there are so omany variables. If you do not have another offer I recommend taking this, learning what you can, and hopefully it will blossom into what you need. Once off orientation they may let you float to other areas and pick up more shifts.

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    FYI y'all, some hospitals simply use .4FTE or even .1FTE as a "place filler" in the labor budget for all PRN or "relief" slots. Just because the official position is classed as a .4 does not usually mean that it will be limited to 16 hrs per week. If the OP turns out to be a good fit with the unit & makes sure that the manager knows she is available, there is a very good chance that there would be more hours.

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