lovemylab

Over a year ago I interviewed for a Clinical Research Coordinator position in a local hospital. They were NOT looking for someone with experience; they were looking for someone bright that they could train (read cheap labor). A mutual acquaintaince who knows the Research Director recommended me because I used to be a Project Coordinator before I was a nurse and he thought I would be a perfect fit for the job. Salary became an issue. They were offering about $40-$45K to start and I didn't want to make less than I was ($50K as an LPN). I'm becoming very burned out in LTC though. As much as I love the residents, I am stressed to the limit, and not just stress of the workload, but also the catty atmosphere, where nurses love stabbing each other in the back. When I worked as a PC, there was stress and deadlines, but not UNATTAINABLE work expectations, nor was there such an immature, hostile work environment. This job keeps resurfacing in the classifieds and I've been thinking of reapplying for the job. But....I'm wondering WHY this job keeps reappearing in the classifieds. Can it be just the salary? It seems to me there would be plenty of nurses who would take a pay cut to get away from the stress of being a floor nurse. Or is this line of work just as stressful as floor nursing? Thanks for your input!

At the LTC where I work, we are docked pay for clocking in even 1 minute late, yet we are only paid until our shift ends, not at the time we clock out. Most nurses are there at least 15-30 minutes past the end of their shifts and of course when there's an afternoon admission or it's a really busy day we're there much longer. I figure the owners are getting at very minimum 4000 "free" minutes of work out of me every year, and if you multiply that by every nurse in the facility, that's a nice little sum of money they are saving. Their reasoning is that if they pay staff when they clock out, people will be dragging their feet to clock out. That may be true for a very few staff members, but I do not want to be there when my shift ends and if I am still there working after my shift ends, I want to be paid for it. The owners of my facility are quite affluent, and I think it's ridiculous that I am working for free every day to save them money. Is this illegal? How many of you are paid until you clock out as opposed to the end of your shifts?