I started an HCA STAR RN program in June and found out that it is not for me. I tried to a to stick it out. 5-6 patient to nurse ratio and usually no tech. High acuity patients. I tried to move floors and was unsuccessful through HR and decided it was best to try and find a different position elsewhere.
I feel awful but it’s taken such a toll on my mental health and personal life I just couldn’t take it anymore. has anyone left their first nursing job before working a year? Did you list them on your resume? they informed me I will get a bill for the 4,000 dollar contract I signed for the Star rn program. I did not receive any type of sign on bonus, the contract states if I leave before two years then I am to pay them 4K dollars due to training me. Does anyone have experience with this?
ive already gotten 2-3 calls for phone interviews early next week. I’m just not really sure what do say now that I have already left.
Any advice is welcomed
(and yes I am aware I should have had something lined up before hand?, but I can financially afford to look until I find something)
Sorry about your experience. I too worked at HCA and with years of experience- I CANNOT imagine it being my first job. I quit shortly after I started, everything was broken, acuity was unsafe- i thought i might loose my license, EVERYTHING was profit driven- we wouldn't get breaks but be harassed into clocking out so they wouldn't have to pay us for the 30min. Unethical tests/procedures so they could bill more or get their numbers .
They are a VILE Capitalistic bloodhounding Monster!! Profit over humanity, over sense. It was a soul sucking place. You did urself a favor. Dont be discouraged. Say it wasn't a good fit and honestly, their reputation is trash anyway, people will understand. There will be better days ?
If you have any emails to HR where you requested a different unit as it wasn't working out for you, save them. It shows that you made an effort to see if it would work on another unit but they were unwilling or unable to accommodate.
I don't know what part of the country you are in, but HCA is notorious for using GROUP ONE Background Checks to Blackball nurses. When you fill out an employment application, you authorize the employer to complete a "credit report" which is giving them permission to run a report in Group One. This practice is most prominent in Texas Hospitals (DFW specifically) but it has been used in HCA systems in other parts of the country. Group One was started by HCA/Baylor executives in the DFW area. The website: https://gp1.com You can search through our boards and find a variety of things people have been blackballed through Group One for... leaving a contract early, not giving 2 weeks notice, a manager leaving a nasty review on Group One whether it is valid or not. I would do research into whether or not your area hospitals use Group One then don't look back and run.
Specializes in Community Health, Med/Surg, ICU Stepdown.
OMG what is this place?? I don't think we have HCA hospitals in CA but I've heard about it from travelers from Florida. When she says 5-6 patients the acuities could be very high, they even sneakily sent ICU patients to the Med/Surg floor when ICU was full. They told me it was so stressful they became depressed, impossible to provide good pt care no matter how hard they tried.
I quit my first nursing job after 7 months and had to pay them $1800 back for my "training", 5 wks on the floor shadowing a drowning nurse, mostly helping her as much as I could with no time for teaching although she tried. But I'm still glad I quit! It was killing me. 7:1 ratio on days, 9:1 on noes and these "med/surg" pts are sicker than my step-down pts I have now
OMG what is this place?? I don't think we have HCA hospitals in CA but I've heard about it from travelers from Florida. When she says 5-6 patients the acuities could be very high, they even sneakily sent ICU patients to the Med/Surg floor when ICU was full. They told me it was so stressful they became depressed, impossible to provide good pt care no matter how hard they tried.
I quit my first nursing job after 7 months and had to pay them $1800 back for my "training", 5 wks on the floor shadowing a drowning nurse, mostly helping her as much as I could with no time for teaching although she tried. But I'm still glad I quit! It was killing me. 7:1 ratio on days, 9:1 on noes and these "med/surg" pts are sicker than my step-down pts I have now
You do indeed have HCA’s in California and they still manage to make a profit despite the ratio, OT and paid lunch laws. They are the largest hospital company in America. They are owned largely by Bain Capital (think Romney) and their CEO was Rick Scott when they were fined more than any hospital in the history of civilization (they changed their name from Columbia HCA after that). Naturally Rick Scott got millions after that and became governor then Senator.
Get a lawyer. I think you could get out of the training fee. My understanding is that most employment contracts are largely unenforceable. But a cheap consult with a lawyer would be worth it. Pay them a bit more to write a strongly worded letter about the lack of patient safety, how you feared for your license and left so you wouldn't kill someone due to unsafe patient loads and I think they'd forget about that 4K. Also, that you apparently tried to pay it a few times and they refused should also work in your favor.
Better yet it would be wonderful to find a law firm willing to take on the HCA with a class action law suit for abusive practices against young nurses with these "contracts" that obligate them to work and pay if they leave (or are terminated). This is especially true now that we have unemployment rates that are so high that people are under tremendous pressure to "accept anything". AT this point in time such contracts rise to "Grapes of Wrath" levels of abusive unfairness.
Sorry about your experience. I too worked at HCA and with years of experience- I CANNOT imagine it being my first job. I quit shortly after I started, everything was broken, acuity was unsafe- I thought I might loose my license, EVERYTHING was profit driven- we wouldn't get breaks but be harassed into clocking out so they wouldn't have to pay us for the 30min. Unethical tests/procedures so they could bill more or get their numbers .
They are a VILE Capitalistic bloodhounding Monster!! Profit over humanity, over sense. It was a soul sucking place. You did urself a favor. Dont be discouraged. Say it wasn't a good fit and honestly, their reputation is trash anyway, people will understand. There will be better days ?
If we ever descend in to the sort of socialist quagmire like Venezuela then it will be in good part due to companies like HCA who put such a premium on profit as to smear free market capitalism in the minds of voters to the point that they vote for socialism. When, I think of HCA upper management I am reminded of the French aristocracy during their revolution, and it is no wonder that so many Paris citizens stood and cheered "off with their heads".
I have accepted their offer for new grad residency program, started the online onboarding pre employment screening but have not finished. They want me to start in less than 2 weeks. Now I would like not to proceed and decline the offer. Is there going to be an issue with them regarding this?
Hop scotch
1 Article; 9 Posts
Sorry about your experience. I too worked at HCA and with years of experience- I CANNOT imagine it being my first job. I quit shortly after I started, everything was broken, acuity was unsafe- i thought i might loose my license, EVERYTHING was profit driven- we wouldn't get breaks but be harassed into clocking out so they wouldn't have to pay us for the 30min. Unethical tests/procedures so they could bill more or get their numbers .
They are a VILE Capitalistic bloodhounding Monster!! Profit over humanity, over sense. It was a soul sucking place. You did urself a favor. Dont be discouraged. Say it wasn't a good fit and honestly, their reputation is trash anyway, people will understand. There will be better days ?