How to talk to my manager about transferring departments

kp2016 · Jun 24, 2019

I would start by reviewing the written HR policy on internal transfers. Be sure to check if you are actually required to notify your current manager or if that is just a preference of your manager and if your hospital has a policy that allows managers of short staffed units to block or delay the internal transfer of staff. Your statement that you are required to notify your manager makes me a little nervous as this can be a bad sign.

If your hospital allows managers to block transfers I would be very concerned. Have other nurses successfully transferred out of your unit and how did it go?

I would type up a very polite email. Start with Something positive about your experience on this unit and how much it has allowed you to develop as a nurse.

Move onto I intend (state this as a fact, don’t ask permission) to apply to the currently open positions on Unit New as this is an area I have long been interested in.

Close with a thank you for your support style sentence. I would probably send it by email. It allows her to read it and digest it before speaking to you. Understand you will almost certainly be called into the office to discuss this letter. Be sure to be ready to say positive things about your current unit and your desire to continue to grow and learn as an RN in Unit New.

Hopefully you will get the usual guilt trip and offer of some small lure to stay. Practice saying I really appreciate that but I really think that to continue to develop as a nurse I need to try Unit New. Then apply ASAP.

If you get the Hey, I’m sorry but Blah Blah Blah I can’t release you or you apply and can’t seem to even get an interview on other units in you hospital I would brush up my resume using charge nurses or NP as references and consider applying to other hospitals where your manager can’t hold you hostage.

Queen Tiye, RN · Jul 4, 2019

On 6/24/2019 at 3:31 AM, kp2016 said:
I would start by reviewing the written HR policy on internal transfers. Be sure to check if you are actually required to notify your current manager or if that is just a preference of your manager and if your hospital has a policy that allows managers of short staffed units to block or delay the internal transfer of staff. Your statement that you are required to notify your manager makes me a little nervous as this can be a bad sign.
If your hospital allows managers to block transfers I would be very concerned. Have other nurses successfully transferred out of your unit and how did it go?
I would type up a very polite email. Start with Something positive about your experience on this unit and how much it has allowed you to develop as a nurse.
Move onto I intend (state this as a fact, don’t ask permission) to apply to the currently open positions on Unit New as this is an area I have long been interested in.
Close with a thank you for your support style sentence. I would probably send it by email. It allows her to read it and digest it before speaking to you. Understand you will almost certainly be called into the office to discuss this letter. Be sure to be ready to say positive things about your current unit and your desire to continue to grow and learn as an RN in Unit New.
Hopefully you will get the usual guilt trip and offer of some small lure to stay. Practice saying I really appreciate that but I really think that to continue to develop as a nurse I need to try Unit New. Then apply ASAP.
If you get the Hey, I’m sorry but Blah Blah Blah I can’t release you or you apply and can’t seem to even get an interview on other units in you hospital I would brush up my resume using charge nurses or NP as references and consider applying to other hospitals where your manager can’t hold you hostage.

I agree but I favor a friendly, light-hearted, face to face conversation rather than a formal letter which can cause the manager to feel defensive or offended. Nurses change services all the time. You can let her know how great it was working with her and your current team and that you would like to try your hand at something new.

JKL33 · Jul 4, 2019

Hopefully it'll go well. I would probably speak to mgr in person focusing the conversation as described above. As mentioned, I would not tell unless policy stipulates that you do.

It's a little mind-boggling that this would ever be an issue; hospitals themselves have no compunctions about floating nurses all over, making sure they know they aren't valuable in any way within a particular specialty, and generally avoiding the situation of anyone staying anywhere long enough that their individual value (via expertise, experience, etc) is tangibly increased or improved in a way that would invoke any sort of loyalty into the situation. So ??‍♀️...