Okay, so I just got a call from the local hospital that I interviewed with for a job as a contingent float nurse and they want to hire me!!! Yay!!! It pays $7/hr. more than I am making at this LTC facility and the shift differential adds another $1.50. I feel so blessed to have been offered the job, and since most of my experience is in Med/Surg hospital nursing, I will take it for sure.
Now, for the hard part. I have never been terribly assertive to begin with, and I am going to have to give my two weeks' notice to the facility where I'm working now. I'm not sure how to word it, or even how to submit it. Should I email the DON? Call the lady who does the schedule? Call the DON (my last choice, for obvious reasons)? Even though they have not treated me particularly well and have taken advantage of me on occasion (letting me know an hour before my shift started that I was going to have the entire floor by myself) and probably consider me nothing more than a cog in their machine, I am still grateful that they offered me employment when they did and I feel somewhat guilty about quitting.
Can anyone suggest a nice way to say that I'm quitting? Does it sound appropriate to thank them for the employment but that the majority of my experience lies in hospital nursing and that the hospital is much closer to my house, what with the cost of gas and all? Should I mention any of the things that bothered me about this facility and air any issues that I felt were not resolved, or just not mention any of that? In a way, I think it would come across like sour grapes, but OTOH, I think that they need to know why yet another nurse is quitting after only five months at their facility.
I'd add do NOT say 2 weeks anywhere in the notice. Some places will hold you to 14 days of employment-and at 3 days a week that's like 5 weeks calendar time.
Just say my last day to work is _____. I will be available to work my current schedule (with no overtime-if you want to say that). They just might try to make you work 2 straight weeks with NO days off otherwise.
Short and simple. Does your facility do an exit interview (basically, an interview when you leave to find out why)? If so, that would be the place to bring up your issues. You can also schedule a time to speak with the DON before your notice is up, but I would leave it out of the resignation.
Something as simple as
Dear DON, Date
Thank you for the past five months of employment. I feel that it has been a significant time of growth and development for my career. At this time, I have been offered another position that better suits my employment needs. This letter is my official two-week notice, effective immediately. My final date of employment will be (two weeks from addressed date). Again, I appreciate the opportunity to work of this facility. Please don't hesitiate to contact me if I can be of any assistance during this process.
Sincerely,
Name
I disagree that you should put a reason, especially taking another job with another facility. A reason is not required when quitting any job and in fact, I have worked for companies in the past that if you left for a major competitor, that alone could put you on the "do not rehire" list.
The OP just simply needs to thank them for the opportunity, stating her last day, wishing them well, blah, blah, blah.
However, DO NOT just put it on the DON's desk, because she can always deny even receiving it. Make sure you take it to her office personally, sit down, tell her that you are leaving in two weeks and say that you have brought your notice with you and hand it to her.
It is considered unprofessional to leave it on a desk or send it by e-mail...if you were fired you would be offended that someone did not do it in person, same thing with resigning from a job.
Thanks again to all of you for your good advice. I ended up emailing the DON and calling the lady who does the schedule who is in contact with the DON several times a day. It was probably the chicken's way out, but I wanted to give notice yesterday, and by the time my dh got home from work, it was too late to drive there (it's half an hour from my house) and talk to the DON face to face. I submitted my notice before any of the posts warning me not to mention anything about two weeks, so I did say that I would be done two weeks from yesterday's date, and I did clearly state when my last day to work would be and why. In my case, it will be a bit less than two weeks because I am only part-time and my last scheduled day within the next two weeks falls in about ten days. I didn't mention the name of the place that hired me, but I did state that it is more in line with my experience and much closer to my house. I then thanked them for the opportunity to work for them and for all that I learned while working for them. If they should try to hold me to a full two weeks, as in fourteen days, I would be shocked, both because I'm part-time and because they have a huge turnover rate and several people have quit with absolutely no notice in the short time that I've worked there and they didn't do anything about it.
Maybe I didn't do it exactly right, IDK, I'm just glad that it's done.
Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.
I can't imagine any facility mandating that you work 14 days. A 2 week notice is just that. In two week's time, you will be done whether you worked a 40 hour week or one shift a week. Good luck with your new position.
I am very close to leaving my current job. I will write: This letter is to notify you of my resignation. My last day of work will be________. Sincerely......
Thank you, CapeCodMermaid, I am looking forward to my new position because hospital nursing is what I know best and the idea of having five patients instead of 20-30 appeals to me, even if they will need more care individually.
I probably did say too much when I told them that the new job is more in keeping with my experience and that it is closer to my house, and I should have probably just done it bare bones, like the example that you posted here. But you know how it is, so many of us who were drawn to the nursing profession are, by nature, people pleasers who tend to downplay the bad treatment that we get from our employers and feel guilty for quitting, even if the reasons for doing so are very good. In my case, I will be getting a $7-8/hr. raise depending on what shift I choose to work (it's a contingent position, so I have options), I will be able to pick which shifts I want to work within reason (I'm required to do two holidays a year and two weekend shifts every six weeks), and I will shave 20 miles off of my round trip commute every time I go to work. Why wouldn't I take it, KWIM?
Anyway, thanks again for the good wishes, and the same back to you. :)
P_RN, ADN, RN
6,011 Posts
I'd add do NOT say 2 weeks anywhere in the notice. Some places will hold you to 14 days of employment-and at 3 days a week that's like 5 weeks calendar time.
Just say my last day to work is _____. I will be available to work my current schedule (with no overtime-if you want to say that). They just might try to make you work 2 straight weeks with NO days off otherwise.