"Not sure what unit you will be hired into..."

Nurses General Nursing

Published

So this just happened to my best friend.

Jane has been looking to relocate back to her hometown after 3 years in the ICU at a major teaching hospital. She also has 3 years in a level 1 trauma ER.

She interviewed over the phone for a position that was POSTED AS ICU about a month ago. She was immediately asked for her references, which made her feel pretty confident that she would be hired. She told me that during the interview, she asked about how many slots were open, and was told "4".

Well, apparently, the Nurse Manager has written her half a dozen emails regarding her references not answering yet. Its been a week.

That isn't my main problem with this situation. It seems that the Nurse Manager has now changed the job description to....

You will relocate across the country, go through all of our "orientation" (she will not be specific on what that orientation entails) and then one of our educators will decide what unit you will be "eligible" for.

She also told Jane that there are "a dozen or more" nurses starting in a month and there is no way she could possibly give Jane an idea of which unit has openings.

Jane called me and told me all of this nonsense...and I advised her to tell the Nurse Manager to.....well.....file that job under....Uh....NO WAY.

This isn't the first time I have been hearing about this bait and switch in the past year. It's happened to me twice and I wasn't kind about telling the facility to take that job and....

Has this happened to anyone else lately? Is this the new trend in trying to cover the garbage shifts and positions that no one can fill? These positions are outright LIES and they want the highest qualified (3 yr ICU RN) for what....med surg???

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
On 7/6/2019 at 7:49 PM, subee said:

It's time nurses insisted on written contracts...

I have moved from state to state for jobs several times in my over-40-year nursing career. I have always been able to get something in writing before actually moving -- though I admit, it has been several years since I have done this. The last time I moved, I just got an e-mail -- but it was an e-mail telling me that I had the specific job I was moving for.

To get it in writing, I just ask the Director of the unit or the Nurse Recruiter to simply confirm the offer in writing before I quit my current job and make the move from out-of-state. I also mention that I will need confirmation of employment to secure an apartment lease. I've never had an employer refuse.

4 Votes
Specializes in Pediatrics, Pediatric Float, PICU, NICU.
2 minutes ago, llg said:

I have moved from state to state for jobs several times in my over-40-year nursing career. I have always been able to get something in writing before actually moving -- though I admit, it has been several years since I have done this. The last time I moved, I just got an e-mail -- but it was an e-mail telling me that I had the specific job I was moving for.

To get it in writing, I just ask the Director of the unit or the Nurse Recruiter to simply confirm the offer in writing before I quit my current job and make the move from out-of-state. I also mention that I will need confirmation of employment to secure an apartment lease. I've never had an employer refuse.

Ditto. I've made 3 cross-country moves in the last 6 years and always have had an email that included the offer letter with specifics. Only once have I had to ask for one, and I told them it was needed for my lease (which it was) so it was never an issue.

3 Votes
Specializes in ED.

So a couple answers but not doing quoting. I am on my phone.

First...I have a.....oh.....job. and I dont sit on the computer every day on this forum. Not that anybody here does...before I get the whole "I am so offended that you think I have no life" flamescapade. I work and have a family and this place just isn't that important for me to monitor every single post.

Jane isn't as offended as I am about her circumstances. i am pi$$ed off because I am just sick and tired of the whole taking advantage of nurses theme that has gotten so completely obscene.

There was 1 ICU. Not multiple. It was a general ICU with a small number of beds. So they knew.

Update on her situation.

She asked for clarification and got a stonewall. I was there when she was talking to the nurse manager and it was the biggest piece of BS I have heard in awhile.

Nothing specific. All generalities. I told her to ask about getting a letter that stated her unit of hire. They said that would be determined after she completed their "orientation. I mouthed. ."TO WHAT UNIT??"...meaning...what kind of orientation is soooooooooooooo general that the candidate could be placed into L&D or SICU or ER?

Never heard of an orientation that could do that.

But it all comes down to the original BS ad listing. "ICU NURSE POSITION".

They wanted a pool of experienced ICU nurses to choose from and place into various non fillable positions within their facility. This was my takeaway from her second conversation with them.

Why go after someone across the country? Why not have internal candidates...or are they actually trying to make her believe there are ZERO candidates in a tri state area of Harrisburg PA that dowsnt ha e a single nurse who wants a job??

I've seen this before where nobody inside the facility will take the so called positions posted because it's not real. Or the unit us so toxic, anybody who knows them would rather chew off an arm than be in that unit.

What my beef is....is the fact that this nurse manager posted ICU positions, knew jane was trying to move 3000 miles to be with family(clarified in the Interview) and then had the gall to start this "I dont know where you will end up".

What do you orient this new nurse into for 3 months....is there a special unit that is unknown to all of us...where there is no specialty and no expectations? Is she saying she wants Jane to prove she can be a basic nurse before deciding?

Then why advertise ICU POSITION?

I sat and listened as she spoke to this nurse manager on speakerphone. It was like pulling teeth to get this woman to just admit that the positions were not even open in ICU.....YET.

It was the POTENTIAL for an experienced ICU RN to get back into an ICU.....coming from an ICU.

I made the slitthroat gesture and Jane said..."rn manager, if you cannot tell me what unit I am orienting to, then I am withdrawing my application. Thank you for the opportunity to get to k owe your facility."

The rn manager hesitated...there was a moment she didn't say anything...and then she said...well...there are other units that have definite openings and they are these....med surg tele and pre op.

Jane asked one more time about the ICU position that had been posted and she finally said....that was filled.

She knew the game was over and she copped out to the "that one is filled but while I have you on the phone.. how about this other position with a crap schedule entirely out of your specialty that you've worked 6 years to get...?"

Had that happen with PRN positions for the ER....one that went all the eat to written offer. The offer came and the pay rate wasn't $44/hr as listed, it dropped to $29. I bombed that recruiter with calls and she refused to answer. I didn't sign. I blew it off because they never answered me as to how this was possible.

Next thing I know, 3 weeks later, I get a call from HR asking why I didn't show up for orientation that morning.

HCA in Richmond, VA. Just so you know who you're dealing with if you decide to go there.

It's actually on my Equifax job background report. Start and end date the same.

Nursing is becoming a scam now?

5 Votes

Deceptive job advertising is awful. Should not be allowed. As an ICU nurse, before CRNA school, many employers disguised step down as an ICU. It was annoying as I wanted only ICU so I could go to CRNA school.

3 Votes
Specializes in oncology, MS/tele/stepdown.

HCA does that with travelers in SW FL, or at least they did when I worked for them. They hired multiple ICU nurses who spent their entire contracts in stepdown, and then floated the stepdown travelers to all the MS floors.

3 Votes

Another glowing accolade or two for HCA.

2 Votes
Specializes in ED.

Exactly.

And by the way to the poster who can't figure out how a person isn't on here contributing to a conversation about something....that jane isn't here taking about this?

Thus is my problem about her situation. She also downt even know what the hello AN is. .this forum isn't exactly the center of the known universe.

I had a problem with the situation and I asked if anybody has been seeing this in addition to my own miserable experiences with deceptive facilities. That's it.

Thanks to those that actually saw the question for what it was....its about how to avoid these things by recognizing that potential isnt reality.

2 Votes

Titanium, I personally concur with your viewpoint. I just think you need to be a little more sensitive about how you express yourself so as to avoid all the needed effort and exasperation in explanations, etc.

3 Votes
Specializes in ED.
54 minutes ago, caliotter3 said:

Titanium, I personally concur with your viewpoint. I just think you need to be a little more sensitive about how you express yourself so as to avoid all the needed effort and exasperation in explanations, etc.

I understand what you're saying.

However. I have had several nurses on my unit read my original post and they could not understand what the living hell was so supposedly offensive that the point was completely lost for two whole pages.

The only thing we could figure out is that people want to find d something to be offended about or ...this hits close to home where the mere suggestion that an ICU or any other super specialized nurse might be seen by anybody as "more skilled" as a med surg nurse.

The knee jerk reaction as well as input from former med surg nurses who trained into trauma nursing....was that very thing. Med surg nurses are extremely defensive and attack when there is even the hint that maybe.....just maybe. ...they dont have the specialized skills that an ICU, trauma, OR, or other specialty has.

Truth is....they dont. It doesn't make them less valuable as one poster suggested that I somehow implied by forgetting.....a comma?

What happened to reading comprehension. seriously. I took the GRE where it is a requirement to read a statement carefully and understand the content before you answer.

Everyone I showed my original post to was like....what the hell is their problem? Who are these people that they got....med surg is a bunch of useless jerk o$$s who aren't worth spit?

Because if you see the comments...everything was about the hurt bits of med surg nurses.

I asked a direct question. there were many here that said very very bluntly....

That they would never. Ever. Not in a million years.....take a med surg position after specializing in ICU or ed.

One even said....how annoying it was to be fooled into taking a STEP DOWN position after it being passed off as icu.

Where is the flaming for them? So they feel that they are better somehow?

No. The flamers were the ones who come here and look for a reason to be offended.

I am an er nurse....and I dont apologize for telling things like they are. I dont tiptoe around making sure everybody's feel goods are all in their safe space.

My thought is...if you can't answer the question and you are standing around waiting for someone to say something that you can get all ruffled about...you need a hobby that doesn't involve in depth analysis. My beef with her situation wasn't even that hard to understand.

1 Votes

What you say in this last post, I definitely concur with, and explains why I am very circumspect about bothering with this site. People make what they want of what could be a good thing for all and run off those who don't appreciate being the knee jerk brunt of contrived misunderstanding (a comment not reserved for the contents of only this thread). I sincerely hope your friend can find a decent position.

Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.

People just have to assume they will be screwed. If everyone insisted on a written contract, this kind of crap wouldn't be happening to the extent that it is. HR would take RN's more seriously if they had to deliver the job in writing.

5 Votes

Just this morning a coworker told me how she was promised X amt per hour when hired by her previous employer. Her first paycheck came in at a whopping $8/hr less. They denied promising her the first amt. She demanded a written offer letter when she came to her new employer and got it. I intend to start taking this approach from now on.

2 Votes
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