Have you ever returned to an old job?

[SilverBells, BSN]

Has anyone ever taken a new job--and decided they wanted their old job back? 

I just recently took a new position and am thinking of returning to my old one.  The reason being that I found out I'll basically be on-call 24/7.  There's only one week a month that I'm officially on-call, but the other weeks, I'm assigned as "RN support," which basically means back-up to the LPN supervisors.   I get all of the other weeks as back up because there are no other RN supervisors.   

When I took the job, I had been told on-call one week a month, not everyday of the year.   Because of it, I won't really ever be able to enjoy anything outside of work.   For example, I'll have to give up my gym membership because I won't be able to go, just in case someone calls.  

Anyone else ever experience this?

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

I had a 24/7 type job for about 6 years. I ultimately left it for better pay but in reality I had more time to do things than I thought. Most of the support I provided to my ancillary staff was done by phone which I could do while engaging in my son's after school activities, going to the gym, taking an evening class etc. The trick is training staff to handle almost all basic emergencies and to call if they have a question or need some clarification. Train your staff well and trust them.

If I remember from past posts you were at times spending close to 20 hours a day at your old position. When I had the job above I spent about 35 to 45 hours a week never leaving the facility after 5 pm. So I had plenty of time to go out to eat, spend time with family, go to the Gym etc...

You need to start by having a series of inservices that assess the skills of your staff then train them until they are proficient. The only time I went back to a facility after I left was for a death. Other-wise a patient either went to/came back from  the hospital which the staff could take care of  with just a call to me to see if I wanted anything specific done. Your staff can call the physician to report lab values and take orders. 

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Yes, I worked at one place for 11 years, thought I wanted something different so left it. Was absolutely miserable - difficult boss, boring job. So I went back to old job after 6 months and have been there 5 years now so 16+ years total

[jonnysangel777, LPN, LVN]

I have never been back to an old job. Most of those jobs have either continued going down hill, with high turnover, or have stayed the same with no improvement. Sadly every single one of those jobs always have a job posting on Indeed. I have reapplied to a couple to check them out and see if they improved but sadly nothing had changed.

Had a friend who applied to one of them for a DSD position after her interview questions they asked if she had any questions and she responded with, "why does your facility have such a high turn over of staff because if I am going to be your DSD that is important to know so that I can change that". They refused to answer and she never heard from them after that. The same friend reapplied to an old job, one we had both worked at and they were actually going to pay her less than when she first worked there and they were in just as bad as a place as when she was first employed. 

It's a bit sad to see no improvement even with the pandemic being over. 

I did finally find a job I love and it has been great! Found my passion for nursing again.