Has anyone else experienced this? I just accepted a new position in an acute rehab facility. During the interview I was told that I would be replacing someone who wanted to work a different schedule within the company. I was also told that I would only rarely have to stay past my scheduled shift but that most days I would get out on time. I told the interviewer that I will work my five days each week but do NOT want to be called on my days off, as I am not interested in any overtime and she said she would make a note of it and wrote it down.
I am now a few days into orientation and I have learned from the other nurses in the facility that a.) I am replacing a nurse who got fed up with the working conditions and left the company without a two week notice, b.) I will end up having to stay over the end of my shift pretty much every time I work in order to get everything done, and c.) I received a phone call this morning at 6:30 where I was pressured to come in and work to cover a call off, even though I told the caller that I do not want more than five days a week and I am still on orientation to boot. She was not very happy when we hung up.
I feel duped and scared that I have gotten myself into something that I will regret. I do not appreciate being lied to and I think it was unethical to do so. Part of me wants to run before I get in any deeper and part of me feels like I need to stick it out, except that I'm worried that I will decide to do so only to find that I am constantly pressured into picking up overtime, being forced to stay over, and getting nagged to come in on my days off, in which case I will kick myself for not getting out right away. I am not afraid to say NO to the requests for overtime, but if this is an ongoing thing, it will make my life miserable anyway.
Thanks to all of you for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate your feedback.
I did receive an email a couple of days ago from a dialysis facility of one of the Big Two dialysis companies that is literally two minutes from my house (I have a year and a half of recent dialysis experience with that same company) and it is a dream schedule: MWF 5:30-5:30 with no weekends. I would jump on this opportunity in a New York minute except that my work ethic tells me that since I committed to the rehab position, I have to try to stay and make it work. This dialysis company was not bad at all to work for, and I regret leaving. If I had it to do over again, I would not have given up my position with them, and now they are contacting me with this position that I could almost walk to!
It's really hard to commit to the rehab facility after being lied to, that is the problem, plus I actually did tell the dialysis manager when I replied to her email that I had accepted a position at this facility and had already worked a few days. If I contact her today and ask if she is still interested in me for the dialysis position, will she not think that I am a flip flopper and disloyal? If not, I could be tempted into pursuing the dialysis job.
Take the dialysis job, you will likely kick yourself if you don't. This place you are working at sounds lousy. What decent employer calls and guilts an orientee to work their day off when you are already putting in 5 days a week plus some?
I also agree that they sounded desperate in hiring, which is a bad sign. Your list of "wants" wasnt unreasonable, but employers always want to be the ones to say what will and won't happen. They were counting on you accepting the job and being scared to leave it right away, so they didn't think twice about lying because you would have never accepted. It's insulting these places think nurses are so dumb!
If the dialysis job is serious about hiring you, I'd run. You are clearly in your 90 day period with the job you are at and that period is not only for your employer to decide if you are a good fit for them, but also if they are a good fit for you. I say run for the hills.
PS...the rehab is counting on you to feel guilty when they call you on your days off. While its uncomfortable to say no, you are in your right to do so. You are not a slave at their beckon call. Staffing is their problem, not yours. That's why they have DONs and ADONs. The ADON can go work the shortage, that's why they are paid bigger bucks. What would happen if you just didn't answer your phone on your day off?
I respectfully disagree. I have been a nurse for many years and after too many years of allowing myself to be manipulated and made to feel guilty if I did not do everything in my power to solve my employer's staffing problems, I have finally grown a backbone. I do not want to work more than five days a week and I do not want any overtime, period. My obligation is my scheduled shifts only, for which I show up on time and work hard, and yes, I am a team player, often helping the aides with patient care that "isn't my job" if it means that patients will get better and more timely care. They aides act like this is a big deal and really appreciate it, so it must not be the norm. I would rather do my job for 40 hours and do it well than pick up overtime left and right and drag around all burned out and resentful and doing the minimum that I can get away with.
If an employer cannot keep staff and are consistently short staffed because of it, how is this my problem to fix? The more nurses give in to this kind of manipulation, the less willing a facility is going to be to admit that they can't keep staff because they don't treat employees right and be forced to do something about it. I have worked at facilities in the past that didn't "get it" until they were forced to hire agency staff. When it hits them in the pocketbook is generally when they are finally ready to do something about it, and agency nurses cost much more than paying existing employees overtime.
There are nurses in the rehab facility where I just started who work 16 hours, go home for eight hours, then turn around and come back for 16 more hours. The faciilty does not care, they just want a warm body with a nursing license. I should have never accepted a job in a place with this kind of culture. I can already tell that some of the staff will resent it if I do not want to work seven days a week and leave them short staffed and just assume that because they are willing to spend their lives at work, everyone else should be too. Again, how is this facility's staffing shortage my fault?
Been there did that. Believe me. Trust your first instincts, your gut. Look out for yourself, do what is comfortable for you and what you can safely handle. Nurses have the right to say no to assignments. The stress will become overwhelming after a while and will wear on you. Nursing homes or their administration; are notorious for leaving nurses out to dry. They will NOT support you if you make a critical mistake. They will say you should have said something or not taken the job. They are there to protect the company. Protect your license and livelihood!
PLEASE think really hard about this... nurses leave jobs all the time, heck, PEOPLE in general leave jobs. Employers expect this. I am only writing because I have let a lot of amazing positions pass me up and missed opportunities to grow all for the sake of being "loyal". I can assure you that the employer has had this happen before and you won't be the last. Please reflect about what you really want and make a choice that serves you! Best of luck :)
Dont pick up the phone. I get called to come in almost everyday that Im not scheduled. I am part time and have another job. I let them know numerous times that I am not available for extra shifts but they pretty much told me they cant take me off the call list. Im currently pregnant and finally begged them not to call me and wake me on my days off. Finally and only bc i somewhat knew the guy who places the calls and he felt bad he stopped calling. Now I have the manager call me directly to ask. I simply ignore the call! They need to respect your off time and shouldnt use it against you.
Your a big girl you can say no thank you I prefer not to take overtime duty...they can "pressure" you all they want but if its just this that makes you wanna run, your in the wrong world!! your gonna get pressure no matter where you work! You will eventually get down a routine where your not working late every nite, I know you can do it, just keep telling yourself that!!
IN your dreams. I was hired for my current clinical spit and told four 10 hour days. Ha. Try 12 hours routinely. I am in overtime by Friday and that's with an entire day off elsewhere in the week.
You need to find a clinic or doctor's office. Where they close and set the phone on answering. Most other situations will have extra hours to think or believe otherwise is not realistic.
I am meeting with the dialysis manager next week...yippee!! So now...how do I walk into that interview and feel confident, as opposed to feeling like a loser for quitting my rehab job while still in orientation? She is aware of this, I didn't try to hide anything because I had to explain why I couldn't meet with her a couple of weeks ago when she first contacted me and before I knew what the rehab job would really be like.
It will be hard to hide it if I am feeling like a big job quittin' loser, so how do I overcome this and walk in there like I am a great dialysis nurse (I was when I did it before, or at least a competent one) who would be an asset to her and her facility? What if she asks me about leaving the rehab job? My thoughts are that I will just explain that I care about my license, I am an experienced enough nurse to know when things just aren't right/unsafe, and that I chose to walk rather than stay and accept the culture there. Does that sound okay, or like I'm a whiner who just wants an excuse to bad mouth the place?
I am meeting with the dialysis manager next week...yippee!! So now...how do I walk into that interview and feel confident, as opposed to feeling like a loser for quitting my rehab job while still in orientation? She is aware of this, I didn't try to hide anything because I had to explain why I couldn't meet with her a couple of weeks ago when she first contacted me and before I knew what the rehab job would really be like.
It will be hard to hide it if I am feeling like a big job quittin' loser, so how do I overcome this and walk in there like I am a great dialysis nurse (I was when I did it before, or at least a competent one) who would be an asset to her and her facility? What if she asks me about leaving the rehab job? My thoughts are that I will just explain that I care about my license, I am an experienced enough nurse to know when things just aren't right/unsafe, and that I chose to walk rather than stay and accept the culture there. Does that sound okay, or like I'm a whiner who just wants an excuse to bad mouth the place?
Any feedback is much appreciated!
You may require an RN license to believe this, BUT... You are NOT a "loser" for walking away from a god awful job!! I'm impressed you've stuck it out this long. Stop feeling bad- this is not your fault. Others have stated that bad companies have a reputation and this new one will probably beware of that.
I have left a job once and did the ethical thing and gave notice during the probationary period it bit me in the butt. I didn't have a new position waiting as promised. It was a costly error. I don't want that happen to you.
This is not a licensure issue, this is an ethical one and it is OK to leave a toxic environment. I would suggest you look at it from that perspective. It's also OK to let the interviewer know that it just wasn't a good fit and that your passion is in this specialty. You will be surprised at how often this happens... being true to yourself is not being a bad person. You have qualities that are hard to find these days and I think that will come through rather than your feelings of being a "loser"! Believe that.
OBwonKnewbie
88 Posts
Take the dialysis job, you will likely kick yourself if you don't. This place you are working at sounds lousy. What decent employer calls and guilts an orientee to work their day off when you are already putting in 5 days a week plus some?
I also agree that they sounded desperate in hiring, which is a bad sign. Your list of "wants" wasnt unreasonable, but employers always want to be the ones to say what will and won't happen. They were counting on you accepting the job and being scared to leave it right away, so they didn't think twice about lying because you would have never accepted. It's insulting these places think nurses are so dumb!
If the dialysis job is serious about hiring you, I'd run. You are clearly in your 90 day period with the job you are at and that period is not only for your employer to decide if you are a good fit for them, but also if they are a good fit for you. I say run for the hills.
PS...the rehab is counting on you to feel guilty when they call you on your days off. While its uncomfortable to say no, you are in your right to do so. You are not a slave at their beckon call. Staffing is their problem, not yours. That's why they have DONs and ADONs. The ADON can go work the shortage, that's why they are paid bigger bucks. What would happen if you just didn't answer your phone on your day off?