-A friend of mine did an employee referral for me to get a job at her hospital
-The referral was not for a specific position
-They emailed me last week and requested I do a personality test
-I did the personality test and passed (thanks to many of you)
-This week, I got a phone call from corporate and they did a mini interview with me via the phone
-At the very end of the phone call, the person said, "by the way, this is a night shift position"
-I was kind of caught off guard, since I never applied to a specific position, and voiced that night shift is not my first choice but explained I am still interested and do not want to pass up an opportunity in this economy
-He replied by saying this is the only new grad opening in the entire hospital
-He ended the phone call by saying he was going to forward my info over to the hospital HR and they would call me next week to set up an interview
Why I ask, "new grad/bad economy, bend over and take it?":
The way he replied by saying, this is the only new grad position in the entire hospital left me feeling like, "okay, I'm a new grad (and this economy sucks), I guess I have to bend over and take what ever they want to give me."
I'm writing to you all because I don't know how to go from here. Do I pretend that I'm all about the night shift and this is my first choice or do I go the open and honest route and express that while the night shift is not my first choice, I'm willing to give it a shot for at least a year (which is true)?
Typically, my philosophy on the employer-employee relationship is that the position should be a good fit for both the employer and the job seeker has the right to express their needs in an interview. However, since there are so little jobs available and new grads are treated like lepers, should I be willing to forfeit my rights and settle on the "bend over and take it" philosophy (and smile as I do so)?
I know there are a bunch of new grads who will say, "yes, I've been looking for a job for a long time don't be an idiot, bend over and take what they are offering and smile, don't forget to smile!" I honestly wouldn't blame anyone for saying this exact quote to me.
I should add, I know the night shift isn't a death sentence and many people really like it but I know myself and I am really sensitize to sleep deprivation and I really need sunlight to feel happy. In the winters, I deal with seasonal affected disorder and it scares me to think what little to no sunlight would do to me. This is my only concern with the night shift but I think it is a substantial one, considering it involves both my health and my happiness.
Insight and constructive criticism are welcome and I thank you all in advance.
Its one thing to express an opinion, but honestly, I think some of you could please show a little more compassion for us new grads. Quite honestly, some of the rather mean, negative comments that are expressed all over this board, and in the workplace about us new grads is enough to make me just shake my head. For those of you who are supportive of us new grads, thank you :) And for those people making generalizations, I wonder how you started out? Everyone was a "new grad" at one point. Someone obviously guided you. So perhaps you could do the same? Just the other night, one of the nurses was saying "well we train you new grads, and you leave", etc, etc. Blah, blah. I responded, "we don't all leave, and once upon a time you were new." Sheesh! It's like you can't win. What is wrong with people? Thankfully, the majority of the nurses I have encountered thus far have been kind and supportive. As a result, I tend to let the negative, mean spirited comments go in one ear, out the other. Noyesno, I wish you well in your career :) I'm sure you will also encounter some awesome nurses, as I have. Those are the ones I aspire to be. And I hope, as I continue to grow in my career, that I will never forget what it was like when I started out.
Its one thing to express an opinion, but honestly, I think some of you could please show a little more compassion for us new grads. Quite honestly, some of the rather mean, negative comments that are expressed all over this board, and in the workplace about us new grads is enough to make me just shake my head. For those of you who are supportive of us new grads, thank you :) And for those people making generalizations, I wonder how you started out? Everyone was a "new grad" at one point. Someone obviously guided you. So perhaps you could do the same? Just the other night, one of the nurses was saying "well we train you new grads, and you leave", etc, etc. Blah, blah. I responded, "we don't all leave, and once upon a time you were new." Sheesh! It's like you can't win. What is wrong with people? Thankfully, the majority of the nurses I have encountered thus far have been kind and supportive. As a result, I tend to let the negative, mean spirited comments go in one ear, out the other. Noyesno, I wish you well in your career :) I'm sure you will also encounter some awesome nurses, as I have. Those are the ones I aspire to be. And I hope, as I continue to grow in my career, that I will never forget what it was like when I started out.
You are awesome joanna73!
Thanks so much for your inspiration words. Best of luck to you. :)
However, I think that maybe some of the posters that are jumping on her need to read the entire thread before they continue to do that, as she has explained her original posting and seems to be much more reasonable about getting a job, taking what is available, etc. The thread has changed since it was originally started, I see no reason for some to come on and keep making their rude comments without reading what she has posted since the first post. Some of the comments being made simply aren't applicable any longer.
Seriously...it'd be one thing if she went away on pg. 2, but the last page of the thread had multiple "mea culpas" from her on it and the people replying don't even bother to read it before talking trash about her "attitude." Her attitude is way better than most newer posters on here including my own, lol.
I think that maybe some of the posters that are jumping on her need to read the entire thread before they continue to do that, as she has explained her original posting and seems to be much more reasonable about getting a job, taking what is available, etc. The thread has changed since it was originally started, I see no reason for some to come on and keep making their rude comments without reading what she has posted since the first post. Some of the comments being made simply aren't applicable any longer.
Whaaat??? Then why did you bring it up? I was responding to your comment "Those of us with a few years of experience under our belts know how the nursing culture works, but our nurselings don't and it is up to us to help them".
It is applicable. The whole concept of "bend over and take it" is an issue in all new jobs, not just horrible cruel nurses eating their young and being unsupportive. The discussion goes beyond the economy and one job offer. It is the unspoken culture of the American workforce and we are simply giving it voice. All new people can expect this "reality shock" that you call rude comments. Are your comments nice??? Please. I am not poking her with a stick I was defending the culture of nursing as no different than that of any other workplace. I simply want her to know this is how it works. Embrace it.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
i actually think this whole discussion is an incredibly interesting look at how we nurses treat each other and i have to say reading through these posts its pretty horrible. we are so judgmental of each other and ready to jump on any one that doesn't tow the line. nurses eating their young indeed.
it is hard enough out there as a nurse with how other staff members, management, patients, and families treat us. how can we expect other people to give us respect when we can't even respect and show understanding and kindness to each other? the original poster wants to work days. why shouldn't she be able to at least try to find a position with day shift availability? why is that some sign of entitlement or lack of character as some posters suggest? how about its just a preference and a wish and it may or may not happen as a new grad. but lets let the op ease into her new career with all of its strengths, challenges, and limitations with support rather than harassment from her fellow nurses.
this may have already been done, but someone needs to do a study on why nurses can be so hard on each other bordering on disrespectful and what we can do to stop it. i come from a another career, one in politics, and i have to say there was less disrespect in politics and at least a sense of proper decorum in how we treated each other in politics. not so in nursing. it seems its open field day on each other in nursing and that is troubling to me.
considering the tone of the original post, i thought most of the replies have been relatively respectful and appropriate. if someone wants to work days, they're certainly entitled to look for a day position, but if all that's available is nights, then they have decisions to make. "bending over and taking it" is not a particularly classy way of indicating that one might have to take a shift that is not one's first choice. so, in this case it was the "young" who, rather than being "eaten" was disrespectful to others and rather lacking in decorum. i doubt that it was you meant, but if you're looking for example of nurses being hard on one another, disrespectful, or indecorous, look to the original post.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
i agree. some people need to give the op a break already. those of us with a few years of experience under our belts know how the nursing culture works, but our nurselings don't and it is up to us to help them, just the way that more experienced nurses helped us when we were new to this game.
while i certainly agree that it's up to us to help the less experienced nurses, there are ways to ask without generating so much (in my opinion) well deserved hostility. the op has apologized, but he needs to remember that as new people come to the thread and start reading, they read the original post and not the mid-thread apologies. i can hardly blame someone for responding to that original post without reading all 12 pages of replies. nor should the op.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
the conflicting mindsets being debated here have little, if anything, to do with nursing.
just my -- but i urge young adults new to the world of professional employment to remember that an employer, in any field, has a job opening. they need a person with x qualifications to do a. "a" requires certain education, training, personal traits, time requirements, etc. applicant either meshes with these prerequisites ... or not. this is the "good fit".
it is beyond my understanding how or why young adults have developed and/or been fed the idea that the process works in reverse. the "good fit" is not now, has never been, and never will be ... that the employer organization will alter the prerequisite requirements or the job description to suit the *preferences* of the applicant.
this is not "bending over and taking it" ... though you are free to view it that way if you wish. this is simply assimilating into the world of work.
a very good way of describing the concept of "good fit." i'm afraid that assimilating into the world of work is going to be very difficult for the current generation -- the young adults who have been fed the notion that they deserve a trophy just for showing up and that if they're unhappy with an interaction with a teacher or employer, their parents will step in to "set the offender straight." i'm not saying that all young adults have been raised to become entitled, self centered and unwilling to pay dues, but i've certainly witnessed it over and over in my sd and her circle of friends! although i realize that i have some culpability -- step mothers have much more responsibility than power, however -- i don't think we've done this generation any favors by trying to rearrange their worlds to suit them.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
well i appreciate your sarcasm- funny!!!, but i am allowed my the same as everyone else. perhaps i was a bit blunt, for that i apologize. i just get so tired of the slackers of the world who want the rest of us to cover every holiday, off shift and weekend so they can have a life. the posting hit kind of a current sensitive area for me. sorry, i will try to be more delicate from now on.
go ahead, demand whatever conditions you want, it is your life, go for it!!! i am behind you all the way and i know all your fellow nurses in this new job will support you 100%. why they may even let you choose your own schedule so that you will be happy!!! after all, we want all nurses, especially new ones, to be happy!
was that better???
this idea that the new nurses should be happy at the expense of everyone else is certainly prevalent among new nurses, and it's a particular hot spot of mine as well. or maybe it just hasn't occurred to young adults new to the world of work that someone has to cover nights, weekends and holidays and they have just as much responsibility to ensure complete coverage as anyone else.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
i am one of the ones that suggested that the op take a night job if that is what is available - as a new grad i worked nights and i still do a rotating schedule with lots of on-call (hardly fun or desirable). however, i think that maybe some of the posters that are jumping on her need to read the entire thread before they continue to do that, as she has explained her original posting and seems to be much more reasonable about getting a job, taking what is available, etc. the thread has changed since it was originally started, i see no reason for some to come on and keep making their rude comments without reading what she has posted since the first post. some of the comments being made simply aren't applicable any longer.
fortunately it is not a requirement that one read the entire thread before responding to a post. and while some of those "rude" comments may not be applicable any longer, it certainly exposes the op and others who may be following the thread to the wide range of opinions about the original post and may inspire both the op and others to think more carefully before starting such a thread. the op did say he used that particular expression to draw people into the thread, and he can hardly complain about how well it worked!
-- but i 
well i appreciate your sarcasm- funny!!!, but i am allowed my 
noyesno, MSN, APRN, NP
834 Posts
Group hug?