Hi All, I am experiencing a great dilema. Here is my story. After getting my license, I was fortunate enough to get a job in Maternity. When I was hierd, the nurse manager told me that she needed me for L&D, which I was very excited about. However, when I got there, they told me they were trying something different and that I was going to precept in pp and nursery. So I was not too happy about this change but rolled with it anyway. Then to make thing's worse, I had to share my preceptor with another new grad. PP seemed worse then some of the med-surge floors, with increase c-sections. After only a few weeks on the floor, I was resonsible for 3 to 5 patients, not including the babies, and was always asked to take another from the back every day. The floor was so physically demanding, that I exacerbated my bad back. I realize that all floors are like that, but I also had a very discouraging person asking me all the time, if I had regretted my decision of coming to L&D. This person was also my L&D instructor. I would always say no, until one day, when I has having a very bad day, I said yes, today I do. So after great deliberation, I resigned and went into Early Intervention. Which I thought was going to be a great move. The pay was 32$/hour. However, I found out differently. First of all it was fee for service, which really stonk! I was promised 25-30 hours, and was lucky to get 15. One day I worked from 8 am to 7 pm, and only got paid for 3 hours. There was no paid orientation and mandatory non-paid meetings every week. And to top it all off, I had to wait 4 weeks for my first pay check, and only recieved half of what they owed me! And not to mentioned having to go into countless low-income housing projects. Now I am finding that I can not get a job out side of the hospital setting because of lack of experience. The whole thing is very upsetting, and I don't know what to do next. I have been doing some flu vaccination clinics, but now they are being cancelled because of the shortage. I really miss my L&D job. But, I don't feel pyhsically able to handle it some times. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have a job interview next week with a day care setting. Working there would probably be less physically stressful, but what about experience for later on? I am soo very confused about what to do. I think my dilema is that no place else around here seems to want to hire new grads in L&D, so do I go crawling back to my old NM, and beg for my job back? They did invest 5 weeks of trainning into me. I am afraid of the response that I will get. Maybe working the night shift would be better?
sorry if is overbearing of me since you are convinced is legal, but a couple questions: are you considered an independent contractor, then? second question: who schedules your shifts? ... just because you signed a contract does not mean it is a legal contract. i hope i am not belaboring a point, but people get screwed by employers all the time.
No I was not an independent contractor, I worked for the company. And it was not so much shift work, but scheduling appointments with clients. At first I went out on appointments with other people, then on screening's. The whole bunch is made up of different disciplines, such as social workers, PT, OT, teacher's, 1-2 nurses, ect... But everyone did exactly the same job, unless you needed a consult. First most get referred to us by social services, then you schedule the first appointment for a screening, then you go back and do an assessment, using the Michigan Assess Tool, and if they qualify for services you make appointments to go out and see the children once or twice/week or month. What really stunk was going out to do a screening, and the person was not home, wrong address, or just would not plain answer the door, then you did not get paid for that hour or two, and was left hanging around. I found that I was doing alot of driving and running around for nothing! I was spending more in gas then getting paid for. They offered no paid holidays, orientation, or anything. And before I accepted the position they did not tell me that I would have to wait 4 weeks for a pay check! I loved the kids, but hated some of the environments, and the roaches were the worse part of all. Now I am left with no job I feel like every place I go, someone is lying to me, just to get me in. I really should call them to see were the other half of my pay check is!
any way you can look for another opportunity---even one that requires you work elsewhere a year first? I just don't like the picture you paint of this place, what with lousy ratios, etc. Really, it may be worth it to move on! (((HUGE HUGS)))
Thank You, I did just that. I moved on to another lousy position, but then I started to think that I made a mistake leaving the hospital. But looking back, I don't think I did. But now, I am a little scared to back into the hospital setting. All I ever wanted before was just to be a L&D nurse, and always hated med-surge. But now I feel like if you don't have the med-surge experience, no other place will even look at you. I guess I may have to bite the bullet. The whole thing has just made me soo upset, that I qusetion the fact if L&D is at all for me? Or if my niche is some where else? Thanks to all for your support :)
if it were me, i would get all my paperwork together--everything i signed originally-- and call legal aid. what they did sucks. and if they misled you, especially in print about what to expect, well... also, in some cases, what has been said verbally is considered legally binding. you cannot be the only person they messed with. of course, you are already under enough stress just trying to get by right now. without doing a bunch of legal stuff. i am sorry. i wish i was an atty-- id try to kick their butts for you.
if it were me, i would get all my paperwork together--everything i signed originally-- and call legal aid. what they did sucks. and if they misled you, especially in print about what to expect, well... also, in some cases, what has been said verbally is considered legally binding. you cannot be the only person they messed with. of course, you are already under enough stress just trying to get by right now. without doing a bunch of legal stuff. i am sorry. i wish i was an atty-- id try to kick their butts for you.
Thanks anyway :) I really just want the rest of the hours that they owe me, so I can move on with my life. I did not sign anything stating the facts. I am going to fill out the exit interview and tell them exactly what I think about their company. :angryfire
Are you stuck in your area? I think that if you could move you would find a better place to work. My experience has been with babies, but 13-15 is ridiculous. We have a different group of nurses for L&D and pp, we don't have a normal newborn nursery. We do take new grads for L&D, but many of them have worked in the dept as CNA's or Student Nurse Interns, and are familiar with the work.
Good luck. I hope that you can find a better environment, and an improved orientation.
I think my dilema is that no place else around here seems to want to hire new grads in L&D, so do I go crawling back to my old NM, and beg for my job back? They did invest 5 weeks of trainning into me. I am afraid of the response that I will get. Maybe working the night shift would be better?
RN123456789
90 Posts
No I was not an independent contractor, I worked for the company. And it was not so much shift work, but scheduling appointments with clients. At first I went out on appointments with other people, then on screening's. The whole bunch is made up of different disciplines, such as social workers, PT, OT, teacher's, 1-2 nurses, ect... But everyone did exactly the same job, unless you needed a consult. First most get referred to us by social services, then you schedule the first appointment for a screening, then you go back and do an assessment, using the Michigan Assess Tool, and if they qualify for services you make appointments to go out and see the children once or twice/week or month. What really stunk was going out to do a screening, and the person was not home, wrong address, or just would not plain answer the door, then you did not get paid for that hour or two, and was left hanging around. I found that I was doing alot of driving and running around for nothing! I was spending more in gas then getting paid for. They offered no paid holidays, orientation, or anything. And before I accepted the position they did not tell me that I would have to wait 4 weeks for a pay check! I loved the kids, but hated some of the environments, and the roaches were the worse part of all. Now I am left with no job
I feel like every place I go, someone is lying to me, just to get me in. I really should call them to see were the other half of my pay check is!