I started a new job on a postpartum floor about 6 weeks ago at a hospital about an hour away from me. The manager had asked me during the interview if I was willing to sign a contract, or agree to staying there for 12-18 months after orientation (since they have had several instances of nurses leaving quickly I guess). I told her that yes I am willing to do that, but when they gave me the job offer they didn't ask me to sign a contract. I have been trying to get I to this specialty for a long time and was super excited to get this job offer.
Here's the thing, I will be off orientation and starting on my own this week on nights (orientation was on days), and now I received a job offer from a hospital 15 minutes away from home, with better benefits, appointed position (which I hear is almost impossible to get at this hospital without having experience in the specialty or starting per diem first). I am torn!! Morally I feel like I have to stay at the further away job and put in some time there since they already oriented me; but another part of me is tearing me up because I know an opportunity like this to come up at this new hospital is very very rare! I have spoken with several nursing friends who tell me I am crazy to pass up on this opportunity and to just say thanks, sorry and goodbye to the further away hospital.
Pros and cons
First hospital:
Starting on nocs, I will be in prime traffic and my commute will be 1.5 hrs to 1.75 hrs each way, and these are 12 hr shifts
The benefits are expensive and I can only use their hospital and doctors offices, unless I wanna pay 20% then I can use facilities in my city (I have 2 little kids fyi)
In general it's an older hospital and unit is small and old, don't have some conveniences etc
Second hospital close to home:
15 min away, noc shift 8 hrs.
I already work per diem at this hospital on another unit and like this hospital, and have floated to postpartum and liked what I saw, newer unit and etc, charting system I am used to and like much better than the other hospital.
Benefits are excellent and almost free, literally
Very difficult to secure a benefitted position on this unit, staff almost never leaves and opportunities very rarely come up
Please guys can I have some advice? What do I tell my other manager where I have been for 6 weeks if I will be leaving? Do I say I got a better job offer? Or just say commute is not working out? Benefits suck and are not good for my family? I feel so guilty! But I feel like I would be a fool to pass up on this new opportunity, who knows when it will come up again. Please share, thank you guys!
Sorry for my rambling, hopefully you can make some sense of my post
I am finishing up up my last two weeks at the job I am leaving and the commute is killing me!!....this mornings drive home was killer.. so glad I made the right choice!! Thanks everyone for your opinions
Well, you can always sign a contract (honestly, most of us sign some sort of contract when we begin a new job), but there's no way for them to enforce you working for a specific period of time unless there's a bonus or something involved. And even with a contract, they can't MAKE you work (the 13th Amendment outlaws slavery).
What a contract can do is specify the "or else" if you choose not to work. If you've only been compensated for your regular hours worked, there's nothing they can do. If you were given some other kind of compensation (signing bonus, tuition reimbursement, etc.), the contract can force to either work out the length of your contract or repay the extra compensation.
The post I was questioning was one about employers making people sign contracts, not about employers making people work. I'm well aware that the point of the contract is the "or else" if you leave before the period specified in the contract, and that slavery had been outlawed.
Postpartum RN
253 Posts
I am finishing up up my last two weeks at the job I am leaving and the commute is killing me!!....this mornings drive home was killer..
so glad I made the right choice!! Thanks everyone for your opinions