Penalty for leaving

[mysnurse]

Hi All,

I recently accepted a position at an ADN school and thus far have been very disappointed at this school. I have recieved little to no orientation. I have nonexistent prep time for lecture and a difficult commute to work. Considering all of these factors plus the fact that the director is difficult to work with I have decided that I do not want to be there long term. I really would like to give notice NOW. My question is, I signed a contract for the semester and do know how resigning will affect me. I fear that if I resign even with lets say a 30 day notice that I will be blackballed in the education community. Thoughts, suggestions please.

Basically, what is the penalty if you resign and leave your contract early?

[nurse2033, MSN, RN]

Sorry it isn't working out but you did sign a contract. What about the students? It would create a lot of upheaval to change instructors in the middle of a class. Does your contract specify any penalties for breaking it? The commute sucks but you knew about that beforehand. Prep time for class is done on your own, you should have known it would be a lot of work. I say suck it up and leave when your contract is up. Good luck.

[lansgrl123]

Hi All,

I recently accepted a position at an ADN school and thus far have been very disappointed at this school. I have recieved little to no orientation. I have nonexistent prep time for lecture and a difficult commute to work. Considering all of these factors plus the fact that the director is difficult to work with I have decided that I do not want to be there long term. I really would like to give notice NOW. My question is, I signed a contract for the semester and do know how resigning will affect me. I fear that if I resign even with lets say a 30 day notice that I will be blackballed in the education community. Thoughts, suggestions please.

Basically, what is the penalty if you resign and leave your contract early?

I'd suck it up and get through it...one day at a time. I worked for a woman who became a tyrant and I wanted to walk away more than I wanted to breathe but I knew it would haunt me. Welcome to academia

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

If you leave, your students could be left without a class, and their progress toward graduation could be stopped. That would be a terrible thing.

You signed a contract. Sometimes a person can get out of one due to unexpected, extreme illness, or other things that happen unexpectly that make it impossible to continue. For you, though, I'd say you're stuck til the endpoint of the contract. They can take legal action if you resign or just leave.

Have you talked to the director about your concerns?

[shmassrn]

I agree with the previous posts. I would stay to fulfill the contract. It may seem like an unbearable amount of time now, but you will be better off if you finish what you started. Nursing is a small enough world, academia even more so. Good luck!

[delawaremalenurse]

Hi All,

I recently accepted a position at an ADN school and thus far have been very disappointed at this school. I have recieved little to no orientation. I have nonexistent prep time for lecture and a difficult commute to work. Considering all of these factors plus the fact that the director is difficult to work with I have decided that I do not want to be there long term. I really would like to give notice NOW. My question is, I signed a contract for the semester and do know how resigning will affect me. I fear that if I resign even with lets say a 30 day notice that I will be blackballed in the education community. Thoughts, suggestions please.

Basically, what is the penalty if you resign and leave your contract early?

I would look up the required amount of notification, per policy, in your facility and turn in what is required. I would also recommend turning in your notification, per policy, as it fits within your contract so that you are completing the terms of your contract. That way you can tell future employers that you decided not to renew your contract...not the other way around.

[elkpark]

Leaving in the middle of a semester is pretty much the worst thing you can do in academia -- you would be significantly damaging your future prospects. And nursing education is an even smaller "club" than nursing in general -- people in other nursing programs in your region will know, in the future, that you did this.

[BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN]

I know this thread is old (by academic standards) and the OP's semester is over. But this is an ongoing issue, unfortunately. I can't even imagine doing this to any institution, no matter how bad it is. You are not only putting your career at risk, but you are bringing down innocent students. I've seen it happen (either the instructor lef, or was asked to leave mid semester) and it screws up the students so badly.

And remember this: the world of academia is so small, it's almost incestuous. Educators just keep popping up in the same circles. If you think it won't affect your future employment, think again.