I have an offer to enter into a Critical Care Nurse Residency Program that will give me seven months of training for critical care. However, I will need to sign a contract to stay at this particular place of employment for three years. And if I decide to leave before the three years I will have to pay a penalty of $8,000.00 for early termination of contract.
So, I would like to know other nurses opinions about this before I make the decision because I do not see it as being a very good deal.
Remember that the $8,000.00 is NOT for a signing bonus!
I think the realities of shifting supply v. demand in this recession will make this sort of thing more common. The cost of training newbie RNs is so huge.
If I were in charge of some hospital's HR department, I certainly wouldn't want to sink over 10k into training some new grad to just have the employee up and quit on a whim or passing prospect of something else.
I know that I have applied for seven jobs in Wisconsin as a new grad and I have had five interviews. So if the nursing shortage is coming to an end it has a long way to go here in Wisconsin.
I would really question what have been the problems that have caused other recruits to change their minds about this facility that led to this drastic of a policy. The fact that the recruiter withheld this infomation initially is disconcerting.
I wonder if there is a cultural problem in this unit that forces them to hold people hostage with this enormous financial threat.
I know that I have applied for seven jobs in Wisconsin as a new grad and I have had five interviews. So if the nursing shortage is coming to an end it has a long way to go here in Wisconsin.
These things vary so much regionally. Like I said, I sure wouldn't want to sign a contract like this. But I'd also consider the circumstances.
I wouldn't do it. No way would I commit for 3 years for a job I don't know if I'll like.
7 months is around the minimum any ICU should be orienting their nurses for. Don't let them talk you into thinking this is anything exceptional or special.
The lengthy contract and high termination fee suggests to me that they're having a hard time with retention.
Depends on where you are in WI. In my area, there are NOT many job openings, and we're cutting staff left and right.
I can understand paying back a signing bonus (I had to work 18 months to "earn" mine), but NOT to pay back the cost of training. That's the risk they run. That to me speaks volumes to the fact that they can't keep staff, so I'd have to then wonder WHY NOT.
The reason that they began and still have the residency is because the hospital is in a small town and they have a difficult time getting registered nurses to work there.
Also, I did not know that there was an $8,000.00 penalty until I had the interview because the nurse recruiter did not tell me.
I think you answered your own question right there. Things aren't right at this facility. Look at the warning signs and don't let them take advantage of you. And let the recruiter know you want all pertinent details before interviewing in the future. This is a big factor to leave out. And if the hospital didn't share this with the recruiter that an even bigger red flag on behalf of the hospital.
Don't pay someone to train you. Orienting you is part of a new job and crucial especially for a new nurse.
Specializes in Cardiothoracic Transplant Telemetry.
I think that if I was to work for one year I could find an ICU job with excellent training with no problem in at least one part of the state. I mean they are offering sign on bonuses for experienced RNs in some parts of the state.
And this is why they are asking you to sign a contract. A good ICU training program costs a hospital TENS of THOUSANDS of dollars per nurse. This is a major investment for hospitals, especially small ones. Many new grads over the years have done anything they could to get a job in a ICU somewhere, got a year or so of training and then used the experience that their first hospital paid for to get a more desireable and lucrative job elsewhere. This leaves the hospital that put out the time and effort to train a new ICU nurse out in the cold having to start over again. Requiring nurses new to the specialty to sign a contract promising to pay back a PORTION of their training if they leave before the hospital would have seen some benefit from their investment is only fair.
Areas that have a large nursing shortage have a large number of opportunities to enter specialties right out of school. This leads to people thinking that hospitals should be happy to have anyone who is willing to work for them, regardless of their long term plans. Areas like ICU, ED, OB etc are specialties that require a great deal of additional training after nursing school to be able to function independently.
When I graduated from nursing school 4 years ago I signed a 18 month contract for my new grad program in Cardiac Progressive care in a unit that cared for patients pre and post heart and lung transplant. Had I left my program early I would have had to pay a pro-rated amount from $5000. Had I continued at my hospital and moved to ICU, I would have been asked to sign another contract for an additional 2 years for that training. I didn't begrudge this time at all. I paid for the education that I received in school, had I left the hospital before they could have received some true return for their investment, then I would have expected to pay for the training that I received.
It is not fair to compare signing a contract to indentured servitude, because you are still being paid for your services.
I don't mean to sound harsh, and it can be scary to sign a document with such a financial incentive to stay somewhere where you are not sure that you will be happy. Think of it as signing a loan document for your additional training, where the hospital will pay the loan if you stay with them for long enough. Believe me, they are paying far more than they will ask you to repay.
I think you answered your own question right there. Things aren't right at this facility. Look at the warning signs and don't let them take advantage of you. And let the recruiter know you want all pertinent details before interviewing in the future. This is a big factor to leave out. And if the hospital didn't share this with the recruiter that an even bigger red flag on behalf of the hospital. I
Dont' pay someone to train you. Orienting you is part of a new job and crucial especially for a new nurse.
My thoughts exactly! I cannot believe that the nurse recruiter was not aware of the $8,000.00 penalty. Plus, since I have discovered the penalty and think about it, I am leaning towards not working there at all.
One the one hand, ICUs usually won't hire anyone directly to their unit unless they have two years experience in med-surg, one year experience in ICU, or have undergone an ICU training program.
Soooo...do you want to get into ICU and how bad do you want it? Are you willing to work in med-surg where you feel less constrained then TRY to get an ICU position? So, two years med-surg plus one year ICU still adds up to three years.
Some are saying to be careful when they are asking for this kind of commitment. I say be VERY careful if an ICU unit is willing to hire you without prior experience and training.
Specializes in Cardiothoracic Transplant Telemetry.
I say dont do it. Just my opinion. Unless this is the only ICU job available anywhere near you I would pass on it. What if you are terminated? What if you get sick or have to go on disability? For $800 I might think about it if I really wanted the job but $8000 is nothing to sneeze at. Thats a car. Thats a huge chunk of my student loans. Nah, I cant see it. The only way youre getting that kind of money out of me is if you gave me something to begin with, like a sign on bonus. But me pay YOU only because you trained me to staff YOUR unit!!!!! Me thinks not!
You are thinking about this backwards. They giving you training that you will take advantage of for the rest of your career. If you want to work in this specialty it is every bit as valuable as your student loans.
There is an old complaint from those that are just out of school-- They won't hire you because you don't have experience; you don't have experience because no one will hire you. These hospitals are the ones that are willing to go out on the limb to train a new grad, starting them on the road to their entire career. What is wrong with them looking for some assurance that the new grad will stick around for them to get some return on their investment? The person can leave the day after their training is complete if they don't like the environment, but they will be asked to pay back a portion of the training that they have received. Sounds fair to me.
krazykev
145 Posts
I know that I have applied for seven jobs in Wisconsin as a new grad and I have had five interviews. So if the nursing shortage is coming to an end it has a long way to go here in Wisconsin.