Job commitments

Editorial Team / Admin · Apr 13, 2014

This is partly the result of how people view employment these days- it used to be that people would work for the same employer for many years, if not their entire work life. Now, many new grads are looking to get that coveted one year of experience and move on to "greener pastures". Many managers are getting frustrated with taking the time and spending the money to train a new grad how to be a nurse (contrary to what some believe, nursing school does not actually prepare you to work as a nurse) only to have them quit shortly thereafter and have to start all over again.

So is it unreasonable? Not really, but that's hard to tell based off of what you've posted here. What are the terms of the contract? Is there a requirement to pay the facility money back if breaking the contract? The best thing you could probably do is have an employment lawyer take a look at the contract before signing anything.

MissyNik · Apr 14, 2014

If they want new grads to be that committed, then they should be just as equally committed and diligent to hiring them.............IJS!

Hpy_Vly_RNBSN · Apr 14, 2014

DC, Southern MD and Northern Virginia are all requiring 18-36 month commitments. (yes 36 months for a Novant hospital in NOVA) I took a job with a 24 month contract in DC and at first I was really upset about committing that much of my life to one place I look at it now as its a guaranteed experience and a shot at my dream job when it's done. You also have the option to buy out of your contract too. It's pretty expensive but if you only want a year save up and buy out.

calivianya, BSN, RN · Apr 14, 2014

A lot of those aren't really enforceable IMO. There are plenty of people where I work that have wiggled out of theirs without paying a dime, but still, take into account that there is a possibility you will have to pay your contract back if you leave. Look at the dollar value on each one and carefully consider before you sign whether you would likely be able to pay it off if you left early or not. My personal opinion is that anything over $10,000 is too much - mine was $12,000 for 24 months... so even if I stay a whole year I still have $6,000 to pay.

The cost of breaking a contract is really something I wish I'd thought about more closely before taking this job. I have enough money saved now to break the contract if I want, but it is awfully hard to think about pouring that much saved money down the drain, instead of funneling it into further education, a house, or something else that will pay me back in the long term. Money you spend on breaking a contract is just gone. Try not to get yourself into a situation where you could owe an unreasonable amount of money if you leave.

elkpark · Apr 14, 2014

... so even if I stay a whole year I still have $6,000 to pay.

There's the problem. "Even" if you stay a "whole" year, like staying a year in a job is a big deal. Us old fogeys (including the people doing the hiring in hospitals) can remember when staying less that two years in a job was considered "job hopping" that would create big problems for you in finding future employment. Many younger, newer nurses now seem to feel that being expected to stay in a job for one year is somehow unreasonable. There is much higher employment turnover among new nurses now than there has ever been before (according to the many nursing administration folks I've had conversations with about this topic in recent years), and this is one of the main reasons why a) so many employers don't want to hire new grads, and b) so many places are requiring contracts specifying a minimum length of employment.

calivianya, BSN, RN · Apr 14, 2014

There's the problem. "Even" if you stay a "whole" year, like staying a year in a job is a big deal. Us old fogeys (including the people doing the hiring in hospitals) can remember when staying less that two years in a job was considered "job hopping" that would create big problems for you in finding future employment. Many younger, newer nurses now seem to feel that being expected to stay in a job for one year is somehow unreasonable. There is much higher employment turnover among new nurses now than there has ever been before (according to the many nursing administration folks I've had conversations with about this topic in recent years), and this is one of the main reasons why a) so many employers don't want to hire new grads, and b) so many places are requiring contracts specifying a minimum length of employment.

I get that only staying a year is job hopping. I have stayed at all of my previous jobs for at least 3-4 years, with the exception of the CNA job I took in nursing school, which I didn't keep because I took the NCLEX and became an RN. The thing is, maybe if desirable hospitals in places people actually wanted to work hired new grads, there would be less job hopping. If I hadn't had to move 400 miles away and leave all my family, friends, and boyfriend to find a job, if I had gotten hired in the city that I lived in, this wouldn't even be an issue. I'd be there for years.

This is a vicious cycle that can be hard to break - desirable employers won't hire new grads, new grads have to work in really undesirable locations, new grads leave quickly... and why wouldn't they? I really think life is too short to dedicate my life to something I really don't like in a location I really hate. That opinion only strengthens the more I work in nursing and see what can happen to my patients. I don't get why everyone else is allowed to find jobs that allow fulfillment but nurses. We are expected to sacrifice our time and happiness on relatively low-paid jobs with increasingly less help and no support from management, and if we decide to leave our toxic work environments, we are the problem. Of course. It's never the fact that our employers expect us to do more work in less time with less help, or that they see us as nothing more than the biggest expense in the hospital.

Maybe if nurses were actually considered valuable assets instead of an expense, and were treated accordingly, new grads wouldn't be so quick to job hop. There is a ton of research out there about how happy employees that are treated well are more productive and stay with a company longer... so how about instead of employers and recruiters complaining about new grads leaving constantly, they give them incentives to stay besides a large debt if they leave? I don't know about you, but I am more likely to respond well to a reward than I am to a big stick hanging over my head. IMO, it's about time hospitals and other facilities figured that out.

trishmsn · Apr 15, 2014

? I really think life is too short to dedicate my life to something I really don't like in a location I really hate. That opinion only strengthens the more I work in nursing and see what can happen to my patients. I don't get why everyone else is allowed to find jobs that allow fulfillment but nurses. We are expected to sacrifice our time and happiness on relatively low-paid jobs with increasingly less help and no support from management, and if we decide to leave our toxic work environments, we are the problem. ................. I don't know about you, but I am more likely to respond well to a reward than I am to a big stick hanging over my head. IMO, it's about time hospitals and other facilities figured that out.

I, for one, am not really clear on WHY you chose nursing, considering that you seem to have a low opinion of the merits of the profession?

Additionally, there is a reason that work is called "work" and not "fun times". The reward that comes from ANY job is mostly in the form of a paycheck. Only schoolchildren have anyone worrying about their fulfillment, self-esteem, and response to awards....

Nonetheless · Apr 19, 2014

There's the problem. "Even" if you stay a "whole" year, like staying a year in a job is a big deal. Us old fogeys (including the people doing the hiring in hospitals) can remember when staying less that two years in a job was considered "job hopping" that would create big problems for you in finding future employment. Many younger, newer nurses now seem to feel that being expected to stay in a job for one year is somehow unreasonable. There is much higher employment turnover among new nurses now than there has ever been before (according to the many nursing administration folks I've had conversations with about this topic in recent years), and this is one of the main reasons why a) so many employers don't want to hire new grads, and b) so many places are requiring contracts specifying a minimum length of employment.[/quote
Now days, if you are a nurse looking for a job, and you say "I have been working 10 years in med Surg", you are going to be much less appealing than someone who says "I have worked 2 years in med/Surg, 3 years in the ICU, and 5 years on the OR". The person who "job hopped" has more skills and a more diverse background than the person who didn't. It's unfair but it is true.

Nonetheless · Apr 19, 2014

Yes, they are paying to train you. But what if it is an awful place to work? What if there's a lot of lateral violence, gossiping, and bullying in the hospital? Then you are punished for leaving?

Generally, these places may have poor retention rates which is why they create such a contract. I know that most nurses will NOT job hunt after a year if they are happy with their job.

Although I may have to sign such a contract to simply be employed, they irritate me, and I will right away start saving up to leave, because to me it says that they have a retention problem and that it may not be the best place to work.

EDIT; and if I love my job, I plan to stay for AT LEAST 3-5 years. NOT OUT OF FORCE, but out of my own free will and happiness!!!

And they don't always train you well. My friend had to sign a 1-year contract for a part-time job with home health and they gave her ONE DAY of training, and paid her LESS THAN HALF of what a nurse makes in the hospital ($15/hr vs $35/he at the hospital).

Ruby Vee, BSN · Apr 20, 2014

A lot of those aren't really enforceable IMO. There are plenty of people where I work that have wiggled out of theirs without paying a dime, but still, take into account that there is a possibility you will have to pay your contract back if you leave. Look at the dollar value on each one and carefully consider before you sign whether you would likely be able to pay it off if you left early or not. My personal opinion is that anything over $10,000 is too much - mine was $12,000 for 24 months... so even if I stay a whole year I still have $6,000 to pay.
The cost of breaking a contract is really something I wish I'd thought about more closely before taking this job. I have enough money saved now to break the contract if I want, but it is awfully hard to think about pouring that much saved money down the drain, instead of funneling it into further education, a house, or something else that will pay me back in the long term. Money you spend on breaking a contract is just gone. Try not to get yourself into a situation where you could owe an unreasonable amount of money if you leave.

Even if you stay a WHOLE YEAR? Why would you take a job NOT planning to stay at least a year, and preferably two? This is the type of attitude that has managers reluctant to hire new grads, and tye type of attitude that brought about the employment contracts in the first place.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Apr 20, 2014

I get that only staying a year is job hopping. I have stayed at all of my previous jobs for at least 3-4 years, with the exception of the CNA job I took in nursing school, which I didn't keep because I took the NCLEX and became an RN. The thing is, maybe if desirable hospitals in places people actually wanted to work hired new grads, there would be less job hopping. If I hadn't had to move 400 miles away and leave all my family, friends, and boyfriend to find a job, if I had gotten hired in the city that I lived in, this wouldn't even be an issue. I'd be there for years.
This is a vicious cycle that can be hard to break - desirable employers won't hire new grads, new grads have to work in really undesirable locations, new grads leave quickly... and why wouldn't they? I really think life is too short to dedicate my life to something I really don't like in a location I really hate. That opinion only strengthens the more I work in nursing and see what can happen to my patients. I don't get why everyone else is allowed to find jobs that allow fulfillment but nurses. We are expected to sacrifice our time and happiness on relatively low-paid jobs with increasingly less help and no support from management, and if we decide to leave our toxic work environments, we are the problem. Of course. It's never the fact that our employers expect us to do more work in less time with less help, or that they see us as nothing more than the biggest expense in the hospital.
Maybe if nurses were actually considered valuable assets instead of an expense, and were treated accordingly, new grads wouldn't be so quick to job hop. There is a ton of research out there about how happy employees that are treated well are more productive and stay with a company longer... so how about instead of employers and recruiters complaining about new grads leaving constantly, they give them incentives to stay besides a large debt if they leave? I don't know about you, but I am more likely to respond well to a reward than I am to a big stick hanging over my head. IMO, it's about time hospitals and other facilities figured that out.

So your job hopping is because "desirable" employers won't hire new grads? "Desirable" employers are burned out on hiring new grads because new grads job hop. If you don't want to dedicate your life to something you really don't like in a location you really hate, don't take a job there. If you DO take a job, expect to stay two years. It really isn't that long.

If you're looking for fulfillment, nursing is a wonderful way to get it. But your attitude has to change in order to allow that. Happiness (and fulfillment) lay in wanting what you have. That's an attitudinal adjustment more than anything else.