Job-hopping in nursing?

nowplayingEDRN · Nov 2, 2003

IMHO, and that is just what it is....my opinion, yes...unless you are affiliated with a travel agency, bouncing from job to job is going to make it very difficult for you to get hired, unless the facility is specifically looking for someone for a very short time. But I am not an athoritarian on the subject, just MHO......facilities do not want to invest all that time and money into an employee that is only going to stay for a couple of months and then move on uless they have a contractual agreement with an agency, in which instance, they made the investment by paying the agency to staff them for a short period of time. But what every you do and where ever you go, I wish you the best of luck.

chad75 · Nov 2, 2003

I am a self admitted job hopper, I usually stay for a little less then a year and move on, everytime I move on I increase my salary at least 10%. There are rarely greener pastures anymore just more money, if I am going to be required to deal with high patient/nurse ratios wherever I go, I'm going to get payed for it. That little 3% max raise most hospitals offer at your yearly just doesn't cut it.

I normally just go to prn status etc, or work agency. However I eventually get suckered in to working at some unit I'm working through agency for. I am not saying its good to be a job hopper but it has worked for me financially. Try not to burn your bridges always give at LEAST 2 weeks notice, at most places I offer to stay on and train my replacement :) . I'm a good nurse and could go back to any facility I've worked at.

In this day and age I feel the biggest salary increase somewhat new nurses can make is changing jobs, facilities have no loyalty towards me so there for I show no loyalty. You can usually find me where the money is. I might add that I dislike montony so my lifestyle suits me well, if your the type that likes to get in to a groove then by all means plant some roots and prepare to be disgusted as they are hiring new grads on at more then you are making with 10 years experience.

WyomingRN · Nov 2, 2003

Yes you can freelance your way around the country without going agency. You can get paid what you are worth. In fact, by becoming autonomous, you will actually become more of a professional. In essence you are/would be your own agency. Thousands are already doing it. Why line the pockets of an agency for doing the same thing that you can do on your own. The agency's make BIG MONEY off of the nurses they have employed They really don't pay that much more that what you make as a staff nurse for that hospital. Been there and done that. The agency I worked for charged the facility $65 an hour, but only paid us nurses $23. The owners had NO medical experience. The mileage they paid me was passed on to the facility also. They ran the agency out of their home (all you really need to be an agency is a phone), so their overhead was low. Doing an investigation, I found out that the agency was putting more into their pocket doing nothing, than I was working my tail off. Most agencies, just like facilities, don't care about their staff; all they care about is the money coming into their pocket. It didn't take me long to get tired of working my butt off on the floor, and let somebody sitting in an office making phone calls reap the rewards of my work. There is even a web site for nurse who want to be autonomous (http://www.independentrn.com).

And yes - you can make 10%-30% more by doing so. What I can't figure out is why more RNs aren't doing it. A few told me that it was because they would have no benefits. But that makes no sense. If your making 10-30% more, you can afford your own insurance that fits your needs. In your contract you can specify what days you are willing to provide your services or how many days a week. Or you can provide on-call services. I know an RN in California that works four contracts with different entities. A day a one a day at another. You can have more than one contract. You control your pay and you control your schedule. I have half the stress and nursing can actually be fun again.

Todd SPN · Nov 2, 2003

Originally posted by WyomingRN
Yes you can freelance your way around the country without They ran the agency out of their home (all you really need to be an agency is a phone), so their overhead was low. Doing an investigation, I found out that the agency was putting more into their pocket doing nothing, than I was working my tail off.

I like the idea of running my own show. When I was doing NAC work, I signed on with a homehealth outfit that was a one person show. Had to be licensed as an independent contractor, take care of my own taxes etc. The day before I was to be placed with a client I was informed that I was responsible for billing and collecting the pay and depositing the excess above my wages in the agency's bank account. I even had to supply my own invoices. They were only supplying me with a job so I quit figuring I could get my own job and keep all the money.

sjoe · Nov 2, 2003

"Will hospitals hire you off the street if you tell them ahead of time that you may want to only work 2-3 months before you move on."

No. Why on earth would they? If for no other reason than HR departments don't like doing this paperwork over and over if they can avoid it. But the real question is, "Why on earth would you tell them that in advance anyway??

"Will this hurt my chances of getting a job down the line?"

On average, RN turnover is now running 26%. No one really expects you to stay at one job for your entire working life. Short-term jobs--just leave them off your resume and work history.