OnceIWas

A coworker of mine has resigned & is returning to bedside (med/surg) nursing after being away from bedside/direct patient care for 10 yrs for a weekend option position. The hospital offered a re-entry program to him since he hasn't been in a hospital setting the past 2 yrs. The only difference for the re-entry program is nurses w/recent hospital experience are with a preseptor up to 4 weeks while those w/no hospital or no recent experience are given up to 8 weeks w/a presceptor. His returning to bedside after 10 yrs away has sparked debate among my coworkers about whether its a good idea for a nurse who has been away from bedside that long to return even with the re-entry program support in place given so much has changed including patient acuity/families. Other coworkers say nursing is nursing in a basic sense & the new equiptment/documentation programs are readily learned & patients/families have always at times been challenging. I'm curious as to what others on this forum think.

Ageism definitely is an issue - mostly because, as others have stated, the hospitals don't want to pay for the experienced nurse, knowing the new grads are a dime a dozen and can be brought on for less money and probably to positions other than what they applied for. New grads are leaving the hospitals in droves where I live - most staying a year or two at best. It has gotten so bad with the new grads leaving in less than 2 yrs that the hospital is going after them legally to repay any bonus money that was given to them as part of the offer. In the past, the hospital basically let it go. Not anymore. Most of the outpatient doctors offices in my area are filled with new grads/nurses with less than 2 yrs experience as well as the home health agencies. A few I've talked to have said they weren't prepared for how the hospital setting would "really" be, they realized they didn't want to be a nurse but it was too late or they couldn't deal with the 12 + hr shifts on a continual basis. Most took paycuts and cuts in benefits but don't seem to care. It's a disservice to older nurses/employees of any kind, who can and do bring a lot to the professional table to be overlooked or dismissed for all the wrong reasons. Healthcare claims to value all but doesn't seem to realize one of the largest drivers of ageism in healthcare systems themselves.

Thousands of nurses prefer a set schedule but in some areas of healthcare that is not always an option. Thousands of nurses have health issues, physical and mental, it is not the responsibility of the employer to manage those. It's the employees. Some reasonable accommodations can be made of course, but honestly, what you are expecting from your employer, to basically work around your needs/comfort level because you don't like sudden change, is unreasonable. Your boss is just that, your boss. Not your therapist, family member, friend..that may sound harsh but her job is not to spend time she doesn't have trying to get shifts covered and patients taken care of to sit with you and go over options. It has nothing to do with whether she feels compassion for you or not. It's business. You are a registered professional nurse and I'm sure are expected to behave as such. It's surprising you would not know the hours of the HR dept. but most employers don't have HR on Sundays. You also need to understand HR is not going to side with you against your boss. They will go by policy and procedure and take it from there. You stated to asked for the offer letter and a copy of the policy about floating. Which indicates you did know it was a possibility so at some point it must've been discussed. Did you not keep a copy of your offer letter? If signed electronically you should be able to login and get a copy. Also, policies and procedures can usually be found on a facilities intranet so you possibly have the option to look up the policy yourself. Am not sure what advice you are seeking but it doesn't sound like you were threatended or mistreated. You were expected to be a professional team player and because it wasn't by the "rules" you need you are unhappy. If your offer letter/policy makes no mention of floating, you may have some leverage with HR. If not, you need to make a decision to find a position elsewhere that does not require short timed changes because otherwise you will be perpetually unhappy as will your boss where you currently are.

Private duty nursing is like other nursing in that you would need to be licensed so whatever state you are interested in working contact that BON to see what you need to do to obtain licensure for that state. As far as jobs..unless you live in the state/area you are wanting to work in I think it may be difficult to get an interview/job offer living elsewhere. How would you be able to get to the interview? What time frame for starting a job would you have since you would have to move? You may could look into travel agencies and go that route but I don't know of any nursing travel agencies that have private duty contracts. Some private duty companies do have agencies in multiple states so that may be an option for you.

Wow - I didn't know something like this was possible.

Having worked hospice in the past, if you are new to hospice or a relatively new nurse (less than 2 years licensed) none of the agencies in my area would hire you PRN due to lack of experience UNLESS you had worked in hospice in another capacity (aide or LPN for example). Some of the agencies around where I am do hire part time case managers. Keep in mind too that if the agency does not have a dedicated call team case managers rotate the call. And some agencies with call teams still have case managers on call as back up or fill in when the on call person is off. Make sure to ask this as case managers are expected to manage their case load in addition to the on call needs.

Mostly retail in nature that is pet/animal focused as I would love to work with animals in any capacity. Nursing was chosen for me by my parents - it's not a profession I would've placed first on my list. At the time, nursing was THE profession to go into and coming from a poor family my parents wanted a better life for me. Anyway.. I've looked at non-direct patient care positions such as insurance companies/remote work but most require CCM certification, compact licensure or similar. I also am retricted in the sense I do not live in/near a large city and the closest one to me is 2 hrs one way. I am not able or willing to relocated at this time. I have been in healthcare in some capacity since my teen years, through college and after. I am now in my 50's and would very much like something outside of healthcare as I definitely have hit the burnout stage. I didn't really understand what that term meant until this past year but I do now.

Wouldn't the 60 less be worth being on days for your health and well being as it sounds like working nights was a large part of why you were unhappy. FMLA may buy you time w/your current employer but you do know FMLA is only paid if YOU have the PTO time, it is not paid time the employer gives you. FMLA only protects your employment for up to a certain time, it does not protect your position nor is it a paycheck like disability. FMLA is also not used for a few days away from work, most of the time it has to be an extended period of time - at least a few weeks. Maybe I am not understanding your posts but if you want day shift, you have an offer for it. You would be working the shift you want. 60 less an hour working 12 hr shifts equates to less than $22 a week so about $88/month. Not a huge difference if you are getting what you want schedule wise.

I'm sure this has been addressed elsewhere on allnurses but I wasn't able to locate recents posts. My question is do you feel pigeonholded (stuck) in nursing because of your nursing degree? I do. I have wanted to segway out of nursing for sometime but as soon as I apply for positions that are non-nursing (even if in the healthcare field) the application goes nowhere. I am not financially able to return to school for another degree or certification. I wish now, years back, I thought about how narrow the field becomes with a nursing degree outside of the nursing world. Yes, I know, there are other degrees that can be as restrictive but nursing imparticular seems so.

Wouldn't you need to live in Virginia to be a personal caregiver in Virginia? And what type of personal caregiver are you referring to - I.e. working as a personal caregiver for an agency, getting paid as a caregiver through the VA or medicaid for a family member, etc. ?

It's a noble cause, all that is written above, but the large money making corporations that own most of the hospitals and are driven by numbers and insurance companies, makes true change extremely difficult to achieve. Remember any hospital that wanted to be "THE" hospital worked to become a Magnet hospital..guess what? Few hospitals that started the jouney finished, those that did, the outcome was basically nothing changed. I worked both types - there was no difference other than slight higher pay at the magnet. I'm not even sure hospitals strive for that anymore. With the mess healthcare in the US is in with fewer medical professionals entering the field to balance those leaving, the obscene cost of medications, surgeries, etc. the burnout of nursing & ancillary staff will continue to climb while the hospital CEO's decide if there is enough viability to keep the doors opens. You can go to this site to see more about the state of affairs for hospitals in the US including by states https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/

I agree the job market has changed but so have employers that conduct the interviews. I get what you are saying about the above mentioned applicants but this goes both ways, I recently went to an interview that was scheduled for over a week. I confirmed the day before. I show up, early, and am told the Director is not in for the day. I immedately reach out to the recruiter who was able to have the assistant Director step in the for the interview. This person was nice but yawned & checked his phone not once, but twice during the interview. The second time I point blank asked him if we needed to reschedule - he apologized. The interview took over an hour, way too long, because of the employers lack of preparedness. I questions I asked about scheduling, documentation etc were answered vaguely at best. Fast forward later that day I was contacted by the recruiter with an offer. It was no where near what was discussed wage or schedule wise. I declined the offer. Professionalism, follow through and transparency is lacking on both sides and therefore makes the whole process of applying, interviewing, on boarding much for expensive in time and money for everyone involved. You are right, it has definitely changed.

Not sure how your situation is "pretty weird" as there are many similar posts on here..As a new grad & one that hasn't been employed in a while you are probably going to be competing against more seasoned nurses who have been working & can, frankly, offer the employer more. If you are in a position to not work then why waste your time and the employers by interviewing? Keep looking/applying for your dream job though it would be highly unlikely with little work experience to get in the door. But again, as someone else pointed out, maybe reach out to former classmates, professors & the like to see if they can offer any guidance. If you do need to work then you may need to, at least temporarily, adjust your dream job focus & accept a position that will give you income & experience so you will be more competative for the dream job when it arrives.

If you know nights isn't a fit for you, why even think of accepting one? You will be right back where you are now. FMLA is not meant for a one or two day absence from work. Can you be upfront with your boss/HR about night shift just not working out & see if there are other options so you can remain employed there if that is what you are wanting? If not, consider home health or hospice, outpatient dialysis, MD offices, or similar - they are day jobs & regardless you can tell a future employer night shift became difficult for you to maintain thus you are seeking a better fit for yourself & the employer. The less details the better.

Not sure what your age it but it sounds like your lack of experience is what's holding you back. Consider assisted living facilties, home health or hospices. Often times, especially home health agencies, are open to hiring LPN's with little to no experience - at least in the area I live.