Hey, y'all! I am compiling stories from folks who have broken predatory new graduate contracts, and have faced financial and career consequences as a result (I'm looking at you, HCA). The hospitals have held all the power in these dealings, and it's time we receive justice. Many of us have struggled and worked hard to provide excellent care for our patients under dire staffing and resources, only to receive backlash when we decide it's time to leave these unsafe conditions. I want to help tell our stories and prevent this disgusting practice to end. Here is my story:
I recently left a position at an HCA facility before my new grad contract was up (I had completed 3/4 of the two years), and I now owe them thousands of dollars. The unit I worked on was chronically understaffed, overworked, and underpaid. I continued to work hard and try to boost morale despite the daily strife. I volunteered to work in the COVID units back in April 2020 when little was known about the disease, and how to protect ourselves from it. Then my home unit was also turned into a PCU COVID unit, where I spent many of my shifts until I left in December 2020. My mental health had been deteriorating as a result of the stress and exhaustion. I had many conversations with my manager about the unacceptable conditions, and how it was affecting my mental health. No attempts were made to remedy the unit's situation. I told my manager I was accepting another position to take better care of myself. I am now being harassed by their collections agency, Benefit Recovery Group, to pay up the money I owe for the "Residency Program," (aka a three month orientation similar to what an experienced nurse would receive if they were changing unit specialties).
I don't believe I should be penalized for leaving unsafe working conditions after I had made multiple reports. I also cited my health as a reason for leaving, and it's only ironic that a hospital would come after an employee for prioritizing their health. Attempts at contacting HR and my previous manager have been futile. I am now frustrated, angry, and hungry for justice for myself and others who have been wronged by hospitals.
Please message me if you want to share your story. I will respect your need for anonymity if that is what your wish. Thank you for your time.
Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
1 hour ago, JKL33 said:
Again, I appreciate the breakdown of the relevant costs that you have provided. But the rest of what you got into toward the end of your post simply has nothing to do with the new grad or any individual nurse anywhere
No, but again, if a nurse only stays with the organization for 1 year, that’s more costs the organization has to put out. And isn’t reimbursed for. I’m not a fan of new grad contracts personally but the people who only look at the exact cost of an orientee’s 12 weeks or whatever they are given are ignoring the other costs of hiring. The “it’s only 12 weeks of salary” crowd aren’t seeing the big picture. No, that shouldn’t factor into contracts, but if it weren’t the revolving door that it is, those contracts wouldn’t be necessary. Even the “good” employers are using them because they are continually burned
Our bimonthly RN orientations for the hospital tends to be anywhere between 20 and 30 nurses. When you think about the additional costs of replacing that many nurses annually it adds up to well beyond chump change. Those are funds that could have gone to raises or bonuses for tenured staff, new equipment, etc.
That wouldn’t include the 2 weeks of nursing orientation before all RN hires set foot on their unit.
Wouldn't some amount of time learning about the mission, filling out tax forms, etc. be required for every employee? I think with all the push for the best in customer service there would be those talks about "everyone and their job is important for lasting customer happiness".
On my second teaching job I started when there wasn't "a scheduled orientation in the near future". I went to HR by myself to fill out the forms, was given a copy of the hospital handbook, went to the floor with the Dean being along for 3 hours and then she said "I gotta go". For the rest of the day I asked my students for help learning the bed controls and call light system, Kardex, med sheets etc. And that was that. I was there for 15 years. But what if I wasn't a self starter?
Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
5 minutes ago, londonflo said:
Wouldn't some amount of time learning about the mission, filling out tax forms, etc. be required for every employee? I think with all the push for the best in customer service there would be those talks about "everyone and their job is important for lasting customer happiness".
That stuff is all done day one. Our nursing orientation is 2 weeks of classroom training with IV pumps, monitoring equipment, documentation training, etc. It’s almost more of sim lab. Then they go to their unit for unit specific orientation.
Our bimonthly RN orientations for the hospital tends to be anywhere between 20 and 30 nurses.
I do think that one thing that hasn't really been nailed down is sort of a chick-or-egg situation of what came first.
Lots of people know of or heardof a new grad somewhere who wasn't mature and didn't approach the employment situation with any real degree of maturity. And tons more people have certainly heard company representatives portraying that scenario, although it is not verified and it isn't going to be because they control the narrative. They can say anything they want. For all employees know, they fired people and said that they left voluntarily (I'm not saying that is what happens, I'm saying you and I have no way to know the truth unless we are direct observers and know all the background information first hand).
I am not defending any new nurse who isn't approaching the employment situation with honest intention, as I've already said earlier in the thread. I think that on a much smaller level it is every bit as wrong as employers not being forthright in approaching the employment situation.
But what really came first? I don't know. My direct observation has been conditions palpably and visibly deteriorating and then people getting fed up and then leaving. I stayed and watched a lot of people leave. And stayed. And stayed. And watched deterioration that I would never have been able to predict. Every time something seemed crazy and it seemed like some kind of breaking point was surely forthcoming, management doubled down. When there was an opportunity for a carrot, they chose a stick, cutting off their nose to spite their face. Again and again and again. I haven't been wronged (aside from my perception of their treatment of nurses), I've never been fired, never been personally messed with too much by management. My axe that I am grinding is based upon close observation and being a member of a group that I believe is being treated and regarded increasingly poorly.
Orienting 40-60 nurses per month does not seem like a normal state of affairs unless its a humongous organization (and if it is, well, then costs are definitely going to be higher dollar figures, as are profits). I will not profess to know, as a matter of provable fact, whether the chicken or the egg came first. But common sense would tell me that it's a lot more likely that huge corporations have a reach and a mindset that makes it possible for them to piss off a lot of people. It seems significantly less likely that thousands upon thousands upon thousands of individual staff-level employees (nurses) are irresponsible bandits who caused hospitals to be in such a terrible position that they can't afford to onboard their help.
Graduating in a few weeks and thankfully I don't need to sign a contract (but I get no choice over what unit I work in). On the other hand, the rest of my classmates are going to end up signing contracts. Irregardless, the attitudes of boomers on this thread have reaffirmed my plans to gtfo out of nursing asap.
There are so many situations in our society where educated people seem to inherently know that blaming the least powerful in a situation probably isn't what makes the most sense.
I can't figure out why this situation is considered so different.
Like I said, it does change the LEGALITY of things with a contract. You can have your personal feelings, but that has absolutely nothing to do with the legal circumstances of a binding contract.
Also our preceptors do get paid more an hour to precept. So that contributes to the scale of how much it costs to hire a new grad. I stated what happens at my hospital that does not require a contract but when you average the cost in nationwide, the amount my hospital pays is factored in, along with those hospitals that pay very little. It’s math and you can’t dispute numbers.
Everybody can have personal feelings on the subject, it doesn’t change the law. It doesn’t change that when one knowingly signs a contract and breaks it, they have to pay it back. Also, if the other side breaks the contract, like sexual harassment, that can make the contract void. That’s why it’s important to state the facts up front.
So you are comparing apples to oranges. You are comparing leaving a job and breaking of a civil contract on part of the employee to sexual harassment on part of the employer. Last time a read, sexual harassment is a criminal offense, with severity variable from state to state.
So you are comparing apples to oranges. You are comparing leaving a job and breaking of a civil contract on part of the employee to sexual harassment on part of the employer. Last time a read, sexual harassment is a criminal offense, with severity variable from state to state.
But, if sexual harrassment were proven as a pattern of that institution, would it not VOID the contract; essentially that is a win for the employee. So you believe that if the injured party wins a sexual harrassment suit, or that it became a criminal case, the nurse should still have to meet the obligations of the contract? I'm not a lawyer but it sounds more like the employer violated the contract in this situation, not the nurse. Maybe someone else here with a legal experience could comment on this.
Just because she’s an adult and it was a contract doesn’t mean it wasn’t predatory. There also needs to be accountability on the employers side of the equation. Honestly y’all suck for putting all the blame on this nurse. You people are the reason nursing will never blossom into a full blown profession. Y’all wanting to point fingers at the people with the most to lose, the least to gain, and all the responsibility (THE NURSE). Wanting to throw your own under the bus, SHAME ON YOU. Drop the archaic, back biting, competitive, petty, snarky, and gossip culture - ITS OLD.
Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN
6 Articles; 12,057 Posts
The employee wouldn’t be responsible, but it’s part of the overall cost of onboarding a new hire.