How soon can a nurse quit without it looking bad?

kellykelly · Jan 28, 2009

If you hate it that bad, start looking for something else and quit asap. Life is too short. I once had a job that I hated so bad, I called in and told them I'd never be back. Never cared that I wouldn't be hired there again as you couldn't pay me enough to go back anyway. Fortunately, I had stayed on in my previous job per diem and could afford to do that. I think I made it to three months at the new place and never have I been so miserable.

caliotter3 · Jan 28, 2009

I say the same thing kellykelly says, if you hate it that badly, and you know it doesn't have a remote chance to grow on you, then start or continue looking and get out of there as soon as you get something else. The longer you stay, the increased chances of inertia on your part, and the longer period of time for your supervisors to develop a negative opinion of you.

llg, PhD, RN · Jan 28, 2009

The worst thing you can do is to quit immediately after orientation -- take their education, but not give them any of your work to repay them for the resources they spent orienting you.

So, either quit before you have consumed many of their resources ... or stick it out until you have repaid at least most of their investment in your education. Usually a year is acceptable. That is long enough to give them some work back -- and also long enough so that it looks like you were not forced out due to incompetence. Had you been incompetent, they probably would have fired you earlier.

Also, it partially depends on your previous work record. If you have held onto jobs for more than a year in the past, leaving "early" doesn't look so bad. If you have a track record of leaving jobs in less than a year, it adds up -- and makes you look like someone who can not hold down a job.

jjensen · Jan 28, 2009

I did this with Hospice. I quit during the end of my orientation and felt awful, but knew deep down that this was best for me. I now have a job that I love and I discussed the Hospice experience with my new manager and she said that we nurses have to find our nitch...