Just curious. I have been seeking a new job over the past week or so because the job I am currently in requires me to work 14-17 hours a day, plus take on call some nights after that. I can't reconcile myself to doing this, both for my patients and myself. However, I have worked at this job for only about fifteen months, and I was at my previous job for just about the same amount of time, due to my hours being changed and not being conducive to my family needs at the time. I have been an RN for over 20 years and have a lot of varied experience under my belt, so that should surely help in my search for a better position.
As I have been seeking work, I have been feeling kind of ashamed at having been at these positions for such a relatively short period of time, so I have been reading some resumes' of other RNs in my area on Indeed.com just to see how I compare. What I have been finding is that the vast majority of them seem to have job hopped. I'm talking about working six months here, eight months there, etc. Some of these nurses have four or five employers listed just in the past five years!
I'm just wondering if I am too worried about my recent track record in terms of longevity in a position, and if potential employers would be more willing to overlook it due to my years of varied experience and the fact that so many other applicants have job hopped way more than I have.
Do you think that job hopping has become the norm for a large number of nurses? Do you see this in your workplace? I'm just curious.
Going from one extended care case to another, and from one agency to another, is par for the course in home health. But what takes the cake with some of my recent employers of late, is having the employer tell the client that I, their employee, am too old to do the job. This happened when the client asked for a schedule change because they already liked how I was doing the job! Sabotage by the employer is not easy to stomach.
Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.
Yeah... all I want to do at this point is be an illustrator for children's books and magazines and such. But like you say, gotta pay the bills.
I'm doing home health right now and I actually love it. However I am overworked and have a special needs child at home who really needs me here more than I am. The stress is piling up and the pressure to jump ship is there every day. Can't seem to find anything else that's halfway decent though so I'm sticking around.
People's lives change, they move, they have children, aged parents, other responsibilities.
The newest and greatest cultures on a unit are so far removed from what a long term nurse is used to. Administration who would rather hire anyone other than to support nurses who have been on a unit for any length of time. Even more who make the working environment so uncomfortable just this shy of unsafe that nurses who know better feel that there's little choice. But that's ok, as in fact a nurse with longevity costs them a whole lotta money--and they can get 2 of you and mold em to their own image.
And nurses who believe that something else--anything else--would be better. And quickly find out that it is not necessarily the unit, the facility, the system--it is that nursing has changed.
Loyalty is a thing of the long past. The only goal and objective of adminstration is the bottom line. Period. Oh, that and that ya'll won't make an error that causes them risk--cause experienced nurses know better than to stay past the time that it is in a patient's best interest--and they are banking on that.
One of the great things about nursing is all of the options and career paths one can take.
I became a nurse for a lot of reasons, but one of them was for the multitude of options and never having to be bored or stagnant in my job or my learning. I like to learn and experience new things. I love the ICU, but as a new nurse I can honestly say I have no desire to stay in the ICU or any other specialty for 20 years. I want to experience a lot of different specialties. I don't ever want to stay in something long enough where it's just the same thing like clockwork and I'm not learning anything new. So, that's the reason I see myself becoming a "job hopper."
Well, I had planned on staying with my current company indefinitely, because 1) I was trained to do a specific skill that is in high demand (dialysis) and 2) because the company is huge and I could transfer within the company to virtually any city in the country. However, going into it, I had no idea that it would require me to potentially work 24 hrs. out of a 24 hr. period, and I cannot just bite the bullet and accept this. It is not safe for patients, first and foremost, and it is certainly not safe for my license, because if I were to make a critical mistake due to fatigue (and it would be fairly easy to make a critical mistake when running a dialysis treatment), I know that my company would not stand with me and accept any responsibility for working me such unacceptable hours. They would get out their team of top notch healthcare lawyers and effectively throw me under the bus, and then hire another peon to take my place.
Fortunately, this has a happy ending, because within a week of starting to look, I had several companies interested in me and I have actually accepted a position that has nothing to do with dialysis and has a set, NORMAL, schedule, thank God!
My plan is to now stay for at least 4-5 years, as I am still determined not to continue to be a job hopper. I yearn for the permanency of a nursing job that "clicks" and where I can see myself five, or even ten, years from now, and this one seems to fit the bill.
One of the great things about nursing is all of the options and career paths one can take.
I became a nurse for a lot of reasons, but one of them was for the multitude of options and never having to be bored or stagnant in my job or my learning. I like to learn and experience new things. I love the ICU, but as a new nurse I can honestly say I have no desire to stay in the ICU or any other specialty for 20 years. I want to experience a lot of different specialties. I don't ever want to stay in something long enough where it's just the same thing like clockwork and I'm not learning anything new. So, that's the reason I see myself becoming a "job hopper."
I've been in Onc 7 years total and I still learn something every shift. There is chemo cert, Ommayas, etc not to mention all the med surg overflow. I understand what you are saying but I don't think that just because you stay in the same job/specialty that you are stagnant.
The longest I stayed at a facility was 15 years. I left facilities for various reasons, my husband's career caused us to have two moves, the geographical area where I presently work just does not have the healthcare services or choices for nurses. The least amount of time I stayed in Home Health for 18 months, had to leave due to the patient load expectations and the documentation was horrendous. My last job was really starting to risk my license and I did not feel safe continuing to practice there. Through my varied experiences I have found that I learned different approaches to nursing, was exposed to a wide variety of managerial methods, learned how to work in multiple staffing methods. I learned a lot through all these experiences and I am still searching for what will meet my professional and personnal needs. I think the hardest thing for me when moving to a different acute facility has been that even though I bring my experience to them I still have to start at the basic staff nurse level, that gets old after a while. It does seem most facilities promote from within and discourage outsiders from coming in at a higher level than a staff nurse. It is almost like a nurse has to prove themselves before being considered for a higher level position, or it is the "good old boys/girls" mentality where you have to play the game to get ahead. I think you have to ask yourself how the move will benefit you professionally. If your job hops are showing progression in your career I think they are less harmful. If you are constantly taking a back step then the job hops may be a red flag to future employers. Good luck!!! I think all of us are looking for that golden nugget in nursing.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
I'm a bit of a job hopper. My first nursing job, I was there for 5 years. But in the past 5 years, I've had 3 different jobs. I've just accepted that I likely won't be at a job longer than 2-3 years max before moving on to something else. I get bored easily, and doing the same thing every day after I've mastered it makes me unhappy, so I am always looking for bigger, better, more challenges, something new. Yep, it's a character flaw, I know. But every job I've moved to has resulted in higher pay and more responsibilities. So I'm looking at CNO as my endgame, then I'll retire. :)
I think if pensions were the norm and not the exception, we would see less job hopping and more loyalty. As I have stated in other threads, as long as one doesn't burn bridges and always has a job lined up before quitting an old one, job hopping shouldn't be an issue.
As for myself, today marks my fifth anniversary of service at my organization. I haven't always worked as a tech, but I've had to transfer around in order to advance. If I get my dream job in the NICU as a new graduate, I will stay there forever...until I become a NNP, that is (and even then, I hope to stay in the same organization).
I do think earlier in one's career, it is best to stick to the same position for at least 1-2 years before moving around a bit to get the basics down.
I'm a bit of a job hopper. My first nursing job, I was there for 5 years. But in the past 5 years, I've had 3 different jobs. I've just accepted that I likely won't be at a job longer than 2-3 years max before moving on to something else. I get bored easily, and doing the same thing every day after I've mastered it makes me unhappy, so I am always looking for bigger, better, more challenges, something new. Yep, it's a character flaw, I know. But every job I've moved to has resulted in higher pay and more responsibilities. So I'm looking at CNO as my endgame, then I'll retire. :)
I don't think it's a character flaw at all. You like to be challenged, nothing wrong with that at all!
Fortunately, this has a happy ending, because within a week of starting to look, I had several companies interested in me and I have actually accepted a position that has nothing to do with dialysis and has a set, NORMAL, schedule, thank God!
We're (dialysis) gonna miss you!
As far as job-hopping nurses, I think employers have come to expect it as a real and expected cost of doing business in this current atmosphere over the last 15 or so years: An atmosphere where businesses change hands/ownership frequently.
It's about the bottom line. It used to be that RN retention over the long haul was better for business. Now, it seems (annecdotally speaking) that utilizing "plug-in's"--even over the short term--is financially outweighing the risks of not retaining long term RN employees. Employers seem to have little incentive to court the best and retain the best over the long term. And that's not just in the health care industry.
I've also realized that, as someone with a malcontent personality, I'll never be happy doing the same thing for too long, so I anticipate a few more job hops during my career.
This SO describes me. lol
I hadn't ever seen it in writing quite like that though.
If I were a knight, I'd be "Sir Pat, The Malcontent". lol
caliotter3
38,333 Posts
Going from one extended care case to another, and from one agency to another, is par for the course in home health. But what takes the cake with some of my recent employers of late, is having the employer tell the client that I, their employee, am too old to do the job. This happened when the client asked for a schedule change because they already liked how I was doing the job! Sabotage by the employer is not easy to stomach.