My Story: Trying to move to the hospital

[Reds5588, BSN]

Background: I've worked for a hospital affiliated short stay rehabilitation unit (located in SNF, down the street from actual hospital) for two years now. I have received nothing but great reviews since starting. I accepted the position as a new grad because it was the only offer I recieved... I didn't have enough experience for acute units; so they said.....

my husband graduated nursing school 6 months after me, I referred him to the health System and he got hired immediately to telemetry, and then transferred to the ICU.... talk about a low blow to my self esteem...

so we had a baby in November, I returned to the SNF on a per diem basis. I've been picking up 3 shifts a week, the only reason I'm even per diem is because I have to work around my husbands schedule due to childcare issues.

Current situation:

Two weeks ago I saw a full time ER position posted, 11am-11pm, the hours work great with our schedule, as long as we put the baby in daycare, and I've always wanted to try the ER.

i immediately got an interview (this position has been posted since February). The interview went really great and she was talking about how she'd work my schedule around my husbands and she already was thinking about who I would orient with... she said she knows my skills from rehab are satisfactory to start (I can put in IVs, Foley's, etc..)the only thing she seemed hung up on was that I used to be a tech in a maternity unit, And she kept saying how maternity and ER are completely different and trying to gauge if I was prepared for the different pace? She even brought up the maternity vs ER thing to my husband when she saw him later that night.

At at the end of the interview she said she had other interviews.

our health System has a mandatory two part interview process, so I had to go back the next week anyway.

She didn't seem quite as enthusiastic when I met her the second time, but we still got along well and I felt pretty confident, we were both laughing for a lot of it, except once again she emphasized that she had another interview that day and another on Monday. She said she'd let me know within a week because she understood I had time constraints for reserving a daycare spot for our infant. She even told me to contact her if I didn't hear anything.

fastforward to now, one week later and it's been radio silence. I sent her a nice, not pushy email asking if a decision will still be made this week (reminded her of the daycare situation) and she hasn't responded (been over 24 hours).

i guess in my heart I feel this is a rejection and I just feel so defeated. This was the only way we could have made it work. Now, I have to go back to the SNF while I watch my husbands career flourish. He offered to quit and go per diem so that I had a higher chance of finding a position but I think that's a lot of changes to take on at once.

this is a level 3 ER which frequently takes new grads, so I cannot figure out what I did wrong. I already work for the health system and I have a lot of connections. Yet I can't seem to get into an acute unit. Our childcare issues are that my husband works 7p-7a, we have no family willing to take the baby overnight (eliminating me being able to take a night shift position: unless they agreed to put us opposing days) and I can't really do 7a-7p because our older children don't start school until 8am, so who would take them if we were both working? Basically, they'd have to agree to schedule us on opposite days too.

where do I go from here?

sorry for grammar and spelling errors (typing on my phone)

[Sour Lemon]

So you applied where your husband already works? That sounds like it would be a huge turn-off for an employer. It would also be a pain trying to schedule a full time employee around someone else's schedule. If you get a good full time offer, it might not be so bad for your husband to go per diem for a bit. After you establish yourself, you can switch back.

[Reds5588, BSN]

We already work for the same health system, as we have for several years now. He works on the ICU and I applied for the ED, the unit managers cover for each other sometimes, which is how she knows my husband. In the interview the unit manager said "it shouldn't be a problem at all" to make our schedules around each other.... maybe she's had second thoughts since the interview. For what it's worth, I did say our schedules can conflict some days, but I just don't have enough babysitters for a schedules to conflict everyday.

[katyq82]

Aw this made me so sad to read! It might be worth considering having your husband go to per diem, you made the initial career sacrifice and it sounds like he is willing to do the same for you. Yes, it would be a change but it could be a good one. Without having been at the interview, it sounds like the hiring manager started having second thoughts about potential future scheduling problems. Its also very possible, like you mentioned, that she was concerned about your transition to the environment. At your next interview for an acute unit, you might want to stress that you thrive in a faster paced environment and give examples from the SNF that show you can handle the pace. The hiring manager might not think of the SNF as "fast paced" but you probably have a higher nurse to patient ratio and I'm sure there is some hustle involved. Trying highlighting that side of things. Another idea- would it be feasible for you to get a per diem position at the hospital to start with? Good luck!

[Persephone Paige, ADN]

It's not a popular opinion, but I'm gonna say it.

Do you think she's thinking, "mom, daycare, what if kids get sick?" And who usually has to call in? Mom...

We think employers no longer think this way, but they do.

I could be wrong.

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

Hard to say if this is another case of male nurses being hired before equally qualified females, paid more than females and promoted faster than their equally or even better qualified female counterparts or not. I'd like to say that doesn't happen but sadly in many places it does.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

It may not be that you did anything "wrong". It may just be you were not the most qualified or appealing candidate. The manager obviously had some misgivings and likely those grew under closer examination.

I bristle a bit when you talk about your husband "flourishing" while you are working SNF. Your career can still flourish at a SNF and sounds like it has been. I don't see how his going per diem would impact the decision to hire you or not, so I got lost on that one. Just keep pounding on that door. If you got one interview you can get another one and you will know more about what they are looking for and how to play up your time management skills to sound more like what they are needing to know about you.