Refused Transfer because Im in school

PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN · Sep 21, 2009

Why won't they give you the position because you are in school? In what way will the schooling interfere with the position?

In my hospital, they promote advanced learning and will go out of their way to help people with their schedule and classes.

allnurses Guide · Sep 21, 2009

Firstly, why in the world would you drop out of school and abandon your dream of becoming a NP just because your hospital won't let you transfer? If you want to work in ICU that bad, I'd look for a position at another hospital before dropping out of school!! It's a whole lot more trouble, IMO anyway, to apply to a school and get accepted than it is to apply for a job and get hired.

('course I know that many nurses who are having trouble finding jobs would possibly disagree with me, there. =))

Secondly, like the last poster said, it really doesn't make a lot of sense that your hospital would be denying you a transfer just because you are in school. I've never worked anywhere where they wouldn't try to work with students on their schedules and such. Do they think you are going to call in a lot because of school; having to study and such?

morte, LPN, LVN · Sep 21, 2009

i think the point is the op will not be staying ....when he/she graduates...they will be off to practice elsewhere

Moogie · Sep 21, 2009

For the life of me, I cannot imagine WHY a nurse manager in ICU would NOT want to hire an RN who was going back for a master's degree or DNP. I can understand if the nurse was going to school full-time and would be leaving in, say, a year or so, but the OP has more than three years of school ahead of her/him. Yes, it takes time to orient a new nurse---but I should think the ICU would recover its investment in an RN who is motivated to work ICU and will likely stay for the next three and a half years. There is no guarantee that any new hire will remain in a work environment for a certain number length of time, and for the nurse managers to hesitate in hiring someone who will be there for three years is shortsighted.

I also think that someone who is smart enough to get accepted into a nurse practitioner program certainly has the critical thinking skills necessary for ICU. Moreover, the advanced nursing courses would only enhance the nurse's knowledge level, making her/him a valuable asset to ICU.

The only thing I can think of that would make any sense is if the nurse managers in question have had bad experiences with nurses who are also students who had difficulty balancing school, work and personal obligations. Perhaps these nurses have either had trouble prioritizing and called in often or didn't completely have their hearts in their work and could be found doing school-related work while on the job. On the other hand, it's wrong to assume that EVERY nurse who is going back to school will be any less committed to the job. It can be very difficult, but it is doable. BTW, it would be interesting to know if the OP would have faced these obstacles had she/he was going through an RN to BSN program rather than a graduate program.

Then again, I faced something similar just recently. I had applied for a position as an MDS coordinator back in May, was told in June that they could not officially get me on board until July because of low census. While taking some time off and doing a lot of contemplative navel-gazing, I decided that it bothered me that I did not finish my MSN and I decided I would finally go back to school. When I finally spoke with HR about the MDS position, we scheduled an orientation day that would be mostly paperwork and forms. I called HR to reschedule because that week I did my Miller Analogies Test and had to go to the campus to talk with folks from the school of nursing, the grad school and financial aid. HR said it was not a problem and I was to call them the next Monday to see about a new start date. When I called back on Monday morning, the HR person sounded very weird---asked if I'd talked with the current MDS nurse, who was going to be my supervisor. When I spoke with her, she also was weird and asked if I'd talked with HR. I got bounced from HR back to the nurse manager and back again. Finally one of them came out with a straight answer. Turns out that the administrator decided, as soon as I said I was going back to school, that I probably could not work around my school schedule. This, of course, was determined without anyone even TALKING to me about my school plans, how many credits I was going to take and exactly how many hours and what days I would be working. This was a huge surprise to me because the MDS nurse told me that one of the things she liked most about the facility was its flexibility in arranging schedules and that the facility was pretty much able to accommodate everything from kid's school programs to doctor and dentist appointment----as long as the MDS paperwork was done on time. Because I would have had to commute, I asked in the interview about working 10-hour days to decrease the amount of time commuting and was told that it was no problem. I also asked what would happen if the weather was bad and I could not make it in to work. No problem. But apparently my going back to school, even one class at a time WAS a problem for the facility. Anyway, the MDS nurse said that she was directed, by the administrator, to start interviewing for the position the day I told them I was going back to school. The HR person said she would call me at 10:00 AM the very next day. That was about six weeks ago---I'm still waiting for their phone call. :angryfire I would not feel so angry had someone been honest and direct with me---if the administrator who made the decision had told me why the job offer was being rescinded and at least have given me an opportunity to work part-time (I was told the position would be 20-30 hours per week) and take one or two classes at a time. Actually, no one from the facility even bothered to tell me that they were rescinding the offer. In retrospect, I think the lack of communication is indicative that this would have been a toxic work environment for me and so I dodged a bullet. But there is simply no excuse for the lack of professionalism exhibited by this facility. I mean, rescinding a job offer bites. But not telling a prospective employee that you're rescinding the job offer---and not having the guts to say why---is inexcusable and extremely poor business etiquitte. :down:

BTW, to the OP, is it possible that these nurse managers feel threatened because you're going back to school? I mean, that's the sign of some real dysfunction for a manager to feel so insecure that he/she cannot accommodate an employee wanting to better him/herself and his/her career.

Hang in there, Freedom, and if your dream is to become a FNP, don't let any small-minded people deter you. While yes, the ICU experience would be nice, it is not absolutely necessary for you to meet your goal. And hey, good luck in school!

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Sep 21, 2009

i think the point is the op will not be staying ....when he/she graduates...they will be off to practice elsewhere

although this sounds silly, you may be correct. i just left a hospital, where just about everyone on the floor (i was working on their worse floor), including myself, is in school!!! and yes, they all plan to leave!!!:chuckle

op: i agree with the others, try looking at icus and critical care units at other hospitals. i doubt further education will prevent you from being accepted somewhere else. i just left one hospital and landed an ed position at another because i was rejected for transfers too. the fact that i am gaining additional education was a positive rather then a negative during my interview. gl!! :up:

PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN · Sep 21, 2009

i think the point is the op will not be staying ....when he/she graduates...they will be off to practice elsewhere

Ah, okay. But she won't be done for a long time.

It could be that the market is in management's favor.

When I started working in the ICU, I had to sign a 5 year contract--that's how lucrative (experience wise) the position was. But that was eons ago, and things have changed.

So the OP and everyone else. Don't tell them you're going to school.