Our hospital just gutted educational benefits

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I'm writing here seeking advice. I work for a large teaching Magnet facility which I really love. It used to (I'm sure still claims to) strongly encourage nursing education. I am an ADN RN who is in an RN to BSN program already.

Recently I wrote about our hospital changed the status of 0.9 FTE nurses (three twelve hour shifts) to part time. I'm a 1.0 nurse, I fit an extra four hours at some point in the week, so this did not affect me personally. Existing 0.9ers were grandfathered in to some full time benefits.

Well, I just got shafted today. All nurses are being reduced to 0.9 FTE status. This means:

  1. my health premiums will be higher and my benefits will be less.
  2. my vacation time will be reduced.
  3. my education reimbursement will be reduced from $4,000 a year to $1,000 a year.

My manager recommended taking fewer classes to have less out of pocket expense but one grand pays for one college class. Or less. It's insane.

Essentially, they pulled the rug out from under any ADN nurse who wants to become a BSN. Despite being a Magnet facility that harps on and on about how they encourage all their nurses should become BSNs and how BSNs produce better outcomes.

What would you do? Find a new job? Take years to graduate? March to Human Resources and demand to be grandfathered? (As a side note, my manager asked me to become 1.0 to help out the unit. Then they immediately told me they "just found out" 1.0 people will not be grandfathered if they go back to 0.9. So I got screwed back then, as well.)

Can I complain about this to Magnet or the ANCC? (That probably wouldn't accomplish anything at all, right?)

Do you think they'll just start axing the ADN nurses next? I'm not putting anything past them anymore.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

I don't think that "demanding" anything at this point will help you at all. Nor will moving to another facility. Or filing a complaint with Magnet/ANCC. There are way too many new and not-so-new grads out there waiting to take your place at less money and with fewer demands. My facility just cut education benefits and eligibility for benefits as well. Another current thread mentions how her facility is using new grad RN's just off orientation to orient the really new grads.

This is our new reality, at least for now. Until mistakes start accruing as a result of understaffing, under-training, and overuse of unlicensed personnel, and the public becomes more aware, not one damn thing will change.

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Specializes in Hospice.

I don't know that you can effectively complain , but you certainly can leave to a facility that has better bennies. I think its pretty grotesque that they are making all nurses pay more for their benefits. they are the front line of hospital care and i can guarantee you they are not doing that to MD's or administration. leaving cost them money.......and if it gets you more ideal conditions.....it's a win for you. I will tell you that our facility made a lot of changes and i think they wanted many of us to quit.(in fact i think they counted on it) just keep that in mind , that it may not be a grand exit where they are 'mourning' your leaving.

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Specializes in Public Health.

I know it's not optimal, but the other option is that you can take out student loans to help pay for your BSN. At least they'd be deferred until you finish.

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Specializes in Infusion Nursing, Home Health Infusion.

Unless you have a union contract they can do what they want and your complaint will really have no effect at all. I would focus on changing how I see the situation and this is something you have complete control over. You shoud not let their reduction in tuition reimbursement change your goal to achieve your BSN. Just find another way to pay. You did not need the money of the hospital to achieve your RN and you certainly do not need them to attain your BSN. Hospitals have been nickled and dimed to death recently and they are just retruning the favor and trying to limit costs every way they can. IMO they should not do this at the expense of direct care givers because unhappy overworked stressed caregivers build up resentment and struggle to keep standards high. They need to take care of their employees but the truth is we often get the shaft!

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Healthcare employers are not required to offer any benefits like education funding (heck, they're not even required to offer paid sick leave or vacation time!) When hospitals are doing well, or when they really need to compete for qualified staff (e.g., in the case of an actual nursing shortage), they offer generous benefit packages. When times are tough, like they are now, and there is a glut of available staff in the market, they cut back. I understand it's disappointing to the people who get caught in the change, but it's not surprising.

I also don't understand the large number of nurses here who post about how hospitals should pay for nurses to further their education. Why is that not the responsibility of the individual professional?

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Organizational actions such as the ones described by the OP - unilateral without consideration of how it will affect nursing staff educational goals - are in direct conflict with the Magnet philosophy. Magnet organizations are required to have staff participation/input into decisions that directly affect their nursing practice. Just a wild guess here, but I am assuming that their Practice Council &/or Education Council was not consulted on the changes.

Obviously, the only recourse is to 'vote with your feet' by leaving an organization that has effectively disenfranchised their nursing staff to this degree. In the meantime, it would not surprise me at all if the nurses fought back by working to the clock - refusing to work any extra shifts at all, since they are all 'part time' now they have nothing to lose.

Unfortunately, Federal law does not stipulate exactly what is considered "full time" or "part time" - that is entirely up to the employer.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
Magnet organizations are required to have staff participation/input into decisions that directly affect their nursing practice. Just a wild guess here, but I am assuming that their Practice Council &/or Education Council was not consulted on the changes.

Wages, benefits, etc. are not considered "practice issues." There is no Magnet requirement that staff have input into administrative practices such as wages and benefits. However, Magnet hospitals are required to show support for nursing education -- and this change will make them look bad.

As for resigning ... I would hesitate to do that. If a Magnet hospital is reducing its educational support (and other things) ... then you can expect that other facilities in the same community will make similar cut-backs soon -- if they already haven't. By going elsewhere, you will be giving up your seniority and any benefits that seniority brings. You also seem to have an immediate supervisor who likes you -- THAT is a precious thing you might give up if you leave.

I would ride it out for a while and see how it plays out in your community before making any big decisions. It stinks, but don't make things worse for yourself by throwing a hissy fit or quitting a decent job for for one that is worse. Neither will help you.

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I think I'm going to ride it out, evaluate other BSN programs, and evaluate other ways of paying. Even if I take out a small Stafford loan it wouldn't bankrupt me I guess. Of course taking out a loan for no financial compensation whatsoever stings a LITTLE.

I asked my manager tonight about how our institution wanted us all to become BSNs but then pulled this. My manager's response, shaking her head a bit, was that our facility started hiring only BSNs as a way to eventually get rid of tuition benefits. Well, there ya go. I guess it helped them achieve Magnet status.

I also don't understand the large number of nurses here who post about how hospitals should pay for nurses to further their education. Why is that not the responsibility of the individual professional?

Because I don't give a rat's ass about the BSN. My ADN was academically brutal and more than adequate for me to hit the floor running in a difficult urban Level 1 trauma center intensive care unit. They've been campaigning for years on how great it would be for us ADNs to get our BSNs because it boosts their image and helped them attain Magnet. I finally followed their advice, only to have this happen.

I'm only doing the BSN to pursue possible advanced degrees, and the BSN is the easiest bachelor's I can obtain at this point.

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I would have a meeting with your manager or HR to discuss the changes and how they are effecting you. Or write a letter to your DON and ask why the hospital is no longer contributing to "life long education?"

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.
Healthcare employers are not required to offer any benefits like education funding (heck, they're not even required to offer paid sick leave or vacation time!) When hospitals are doing well, or when they really need to compete for qualified staff (e.g., in the case of an actual nursing shortage), they offer generous benefit packages. When times are tough, like they are now, and there is a glut of available staff in the market, they cut back. I understand it's disappointing to the people who get caught in the change, but it's not surprising.

I also don't understand the large number of nurses here who post about how hospitals should pay for nurses to further their education. Why is that not the responsibility of the individual professional?

^^ this ^^

And this: Hospitals are businesses. They have to make the budget balance- if they don't, they cease to exist.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
I Of course taking out a loan for no financial compensation whatsoever stings a LITTLE.

This may not make you feel any better ... but it might help some readers put things in perspective. Between lost wages and direct expenses, my PhD cost me about $200,000.00. My current pay is the same as the compensation for my MSN-prepared colleagues ... and I am now considering making some changes in my job that would cost me about 10% of my income.

Do I regret the investment I made in my education? Not a bit. The quality of the jobs that I am able to get now is much better and that gives me a much better overall professional satisfaction, personal satisfaction (I like knowing things.) and general quality of life. By managing my personal finances well, I am well-set for retirement and look forward to switching to part time employment in the years immediately before I actually retire.

Think of your educational costs as an investment in your future -- and not just as the cost of pleasing your employer. If you choose wisely, there can be a significant return on educational investments.

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