I have recently switched jobs after almost 10 years with the same employer. It was (so I thought) a well thought out decision. My past experience as an RN has been in Med/surg and OR settings. My new position is DON of a small public health. My reason for making the switch was many things. Personally I felt I wanted to get away from the drama and "social work" part of bedside. My last shift I had a patient's wife cuss me over the phone and demanded to be called with every lab value/ order/medication given, etc...Talk about icing on the cake! I also made the switch to try to gain a more regular home schedule. I went from three 12hr shifts, to now five 8 hr shifts.
When I made the switch I moved from hourly pay to my first salary position. I was offered a too low amount, I accepted a yearly amount that was a little more than initially offered, in order to meet the difference in the increased babysitter days I would have to pay for. When I made this decision I referenced my past W-2 amount. I made the mistake of not figuring in my hourly increase since the W-2. I actually ended up taking a pay cut. I did not realize this until I was in the position for almost 3 weeks!
In addition to the complete job change, I came in the middle of COVID-19! (Which was not yet happening when I accepted the position.) I have received no formal training at all. Just a “jump in and help wherever you can” type of environment. It has been mentally stressful to say the least. On top of the cut in pay, my hours have increased and I am working even on weekends. There is no additional compensation for any of it. There are no guaranteed pay raises in the future either.
I also miss my work family and working in the clinical setting. The main questions I ask myself are:
Is it just about the money? Is it worth the loss of pay?
Do I just feel uncomfortable? Will this place eventually feel like home? Or is it because my heart is not in this type of work and I’m really made for the clinical setting?
Will it look bad on me if I go back to the hospital before giving this job a full year?
I considered having an honest conversation with my boss and asking for a higher pay, but don’t know if that is appropriate. I don’t want to waste their time. I also don’t want to waste mine. If I do decided to go back to my previous job, I would like to give them a heads up before I even consider it, but also don’t want to run the risk of having a red letter on my back!
I thought decisions like this were supposed to get easier over time!!
