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.
I don't know..... It seems to me that you very carefully spelled out the working conditions that you were willing to accept (very reasonable working conditions) and they just as carefully lied to you. I likely wouldn't stick it out - it wouldn't be worth the daily (hourly?) frustration. At this point, you can take the high road and indicate in your resignation letter exactly what you were promised vs. the reality of the position.
Seriously, do they think that nurses are stupid? That you would never figure out that you'd been lied to? And trying to call a new employee in to work while they're still on orientation? That place sounds scary.
Bad advice. Don't ever write a critical letter of resignation or put anything critical in writing. It will haunt you. You might want to come back to this employer. Never know what tomorrow holds.
Caller ID. Caller ID. And did I mention Caller ID?
Stupid, no probably not stupid. But scared little sheep who desperately need money? Yes. Who will never band together and be supportive of each other? Yes.
OP - what happened to you is wrong, of course, but not at all uncommon.
Don't answer your phone when work calls and they will soon learn to leave you alone. Do NOT be mouthy to them about calling or not respecting that you are still in O.
About OT - just learn to work faster or do the end - of - shift OT and get out. You'll get faster.
Don't believe all the scuttlebutt (gossip) you hear. Might or might not be so. Maybe some borderline is trying to scare you or make herself feel important. Just keep your ear to the ground and don't take sides. Learn your job, keep your own counsel.
That does sound very dishonest on that company's part. I guess sometimes when a company is desperate for workers, they'll do anything. I think you already have it figured out that you know it will end up biting you in the end if you don't get out of there soon. You don't want to get too involved in their BS, or end up making good friends that prevent you from leaving, when you end up very unhappy......I think you know what you need to do.......just do it!! and go on.
That stinks. I'm sure the nurses that walked off without notice fared just as poorly. I wonder what can be done about something like this.
I really wish I knew. When I left there I traveled for a little while. I stopped because the I was offered a job where I work now and I stayed. But you know how it is on bad days when you just want to see what's out there. I applied for a job as a home dialysis nurse. We talked on the phone every day for about a week, they were very excited to talk to me, blah blah blah. Then.......silence. I couldn't get ahold of anyone. No one would call me back. Finally I emailed HR to find out what was going on and they said I was not available for rehire and "kind regards".
I have known people who were fired by the company and then hired back. I"d really like to know how they did it. I may or may not travel again. I like my job very much, but life is funny. You never know what's going to happen. I might like to go back to the company for whatever reason. I don't blame the company so much. I blame my former manager who was an ego maniac and was retaliating against other nurses besides me. I feel like I was in his cross hairs and he got me good.
The icing on the cake is now I've been in dialysis so long that nobody else will hire me. They say I don't have enough experience. I'm kind of stuck. Thank the Gods that I like my job and don't plan on leaving ever, but if we got a new manager who was a battle axe with no common sense who drank the company Kool-Aid.....well. Then what would I do?
I told this to someone who could not believe I couldn't find a job. Her husband works in the HR department of a nice hospital close to where I live and she gave him my resume. Sure enough - "well your background is in one area and we need nurses with more well-rounded experience".
Which is cautionary tale about not working med-surg for a year or two when you get started, but that's another topic.
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.
Then just stay where you're at and literally get accustomed to it. I would like to point out in this age and time, no one is 'committed' to no one. The employer is certainly not committed to the employee. As harsh and raw as it sounds, this is a fact of life today. I would personally pursue my happiness and what works for me and my family. Bottom line you were lied to. You're complaining about it. You feel committed and unsure of what to do now.
I'd jump ship! Dream nursing jobs aren't easy to find and can make or break your whole career and passion and mindset with potential burnout etc. if the commute is great and you know the company is great I think you should go for it!!
I do have to put myself in their shoes. They don't want to be so short staffed that it becomes a danger, and are frantic to avoid it. OTOH it shouldn't be a common occurrence. For what it's worth, I usually jumped at the chance to do OT. The supervisor is in as much of aa jam as anybody else for time, and the first people they call are the ones that usually say yes. So I was always first on their unofficial list. After that I guess they go in alphabetical order. Maybe even saving the people they know won't come in for last.
I think you called it in the very last sentence-Suits & Heels have NO respect for our time-or US.
Westieluv, in my humble opinion, take the dream job and RUN! If this place lied to you before you were even officially hired, do you think they will stand behind you if something goes wrong on orientation? They will most likely continue to abuse you. Similar situation happened with me. You truly owe this company nothing except a respectfully written, detailed resignation letter. Good luck!
Westieluv, in my humble opinion, take the dream job and RUN! If this place lied to you before you were even officially hired, do you think they will stand behind you if something goes wrong on orientation? They will most likely continue to abuse you. Similar situation happened with me. You truly owe this company nothing except a respectfully written, detailed resignation letter. Good luck!
Thanks. I did resign a couple of days ago and have two interviews on Monday, one for the dialysis job that I described and another for another dialysis job, just in case. Life is too short to be miserable, not to mention that I am not willing to risk my nursing license by working somewhere with an unsafe culture where people call off and/or resign constantly.
Yes, I realize that I also resigned, but it started way before I came along and I was lied to about the working conditions, as were others, probably.
Thanks. I did resign a couple of days ago and have two interviews on Monday, one for the dialysis job that I described and another for another dialysis job, just in case. Life is too short to be miserable, not to mention that I am not willing to risk my nursing license by working somewhere with an unsafe culture where people call off and/or resign constantly.
Yes, I realize that I also resigned, but it started way before I came along and I was lied to about the working conditions, as were others, probably.
Thanks. I did resign a couple of days ago and have two interviews on Monday, one for the dialysis job that I described and another for another dialysis job, just in case. Life is too short to be miserable, not to mention that I am not willing to risk my nursing license by working somewhere with an unsafe culture where people call off and/or resign constantly.
Yes, I realize that I also resigned, but it started way before I came along and I was lied to about the working conditions, as were others, probably.
I agree good for you!! You probably did the right thing. Also, nurses should not have to accept unreasonable working conditions just because "that's the way it is/it's always been". We are professionals and we deserve a professional work environment. If a work environment is unsafe, then it needs to change. Nurse subjecting themselves to unsafe/unreasonable work environments allows employers to continue to exploit us.
I agree good for you!! You probably did the right thing. Also, nurses should not have to accept unreasonable working conditions just because "that's the way it is/it's always been". We are professionals and we deserve a professional work environment. If a work environment is unsafe, then it needs to change. Nurse subjecting themselves to unsafe/unreasonable work environments allows employers to continue to exploit us.
So much of this! At my first job in LTC/SAR I was told "this is how it is everywhere." I would not pass meds without checking them against the eMAR (there was no bar code so all you did was click that you administered the correct medication). I would not chart assessments that I didn't do. I would not pass meds in clusters then document them at the time they were actually due. I would not chart "treatments" (wound care and such) that I had not completed. They called me anal retentive. Because I wouldn't cut corners, I could never leave on time.
Even in hospital work, sometimes I get told "That's how it works, Buttercup." My current job is the first one where there wasn't at least one person who acted like adequate orientation is special treatment! (CEO at my LTAC which cared for critically ill pts - trached, vented, critical drips, wounds - said the company 'standard' was 3-4 shifts) I'm perfectly aware of what modern hospital work is like, that doesn't mean I have to be settle when there are major problems.
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maxov
39 Posts
Time to realize you are not a baby anymore.