Resignation Letter Question

[Whoatemyburger]

Ill be resigning soon from my current job. I have accepted an offer in my dream hospital. It is really hard to grow as a professional nurse in the small hospital I work for. Anyways in my resignation letter, do I have to explain that I took another position at another hospital? Do I have to be that specific?

Thanks in Advance!

[sadiemae1123]

I don't see how it would be anyone's business why you're leaving. I usually just write what position I'm resigning from and the date of my final day of work. I say keep it short and to the point, include the date you are delivering it to your supervisor and keep a copy for yourself. If possible get some sort of confirmation that the supervisor received it so there is no problem with when your final day should be and whether you gave adequate notice. You can check your employee handbook to see if the facility wants anything more than that. Good luck in your new job.

[Whoatemyburger]

Thanks! I will do.

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

Most people write something to the effect of, thanks for the opportunity...blah blah....but I am leaving to pursue other opportunities.

[Brewer,RN]

Like the others said, to be professional you would write your name, position resigning from, expected last date of employment, and then the token "thanks for allowing me to be part of the blank organization etc. " In an at-will states with no unions, which I live in, you are NOT required to give any reason whatsoever. You are not even required to give 2 weeks notice. You can technically just put "I quit", and really you don't even have to tell them you quit. I did that with a horrible job when I was a kid. Got so fed up with it, that I never showed up again. Definitely wasn't professional of me, but I was 16 at the time and couldn't care less. Wouldn't do that today though. I've seen new grads come in on their first day, spend their whole shift crying, and then were never heard from again. Did they quit and never come back, or did they immediately transfer to another dept? I don't know. But they sure as hell didn't work two weeks in the unit. You always want to be professional and never give an employer a reason to badmouth you, no matter how horrible your last two weeks are. And yes I've worked in places where I have been hazed and harassed by management during my last two weeks and wanted to just not show up the next day. And yes the laws technically don't allow past employers to discuss anything other than your job history and your eligibility for rehire, but in a lot of places, especially smaller cities, many directors, administrators, hiring managers etc. know each other and bump elbows all the time at the same conferences. And it's not like police officers or detectives are following them around making sure they don't tell other employers about you. The world of health care is a smaller world than many people realize.

[Whoatemyburger]

Like the others said, to be professional you would write your name, position resigning from, expected last date of employment, and then the token "thanks for allowing me to be part of the blank organization etc. " In an at-will states with no unions, which I live in, you are NOT required to give any reason whatsoever. You are not even required to give 2 weeks notice. You can technically just put "I quit", and really you don't even have to tell them you quit. I did that with a horrible job when I was a kid. Got so fed up with it, that I never showed up again. Definitely wasn't professional of me, but I was 16 at the time and couldn't care less. Wouldn't do that today though. I've seen new grads come in on their first day, spend their whole shift crying, and then were never heard from again. Did they quit and never come back, or did they immediately transfer to another dept? I don't know. But they sure as hell didn't work two weeks in the unit. You always want to be professional and never give an employer a reason to badmouth you, no matter how horrible your last two weeks are. And yes I've worked in places where I have been hazed and harassed by management during my last two weeks and wanted to just not show up the next day. And yes the laws technically don't allow past employers to discuss anything other than your job history and your eligibility for rehire, but in a lot of places, especially smaller cities, many directors, administrators, hiring managers etc. know each other and bump elbows all the time at the same conferences. And it's not like police officers or detectives are following them around making sure they don't tell other employers about you. The world of health care is a smaller world than many people realize.

Wow interesting story . Thanks for sharing . Yes, I am definitively grateful for the opportunity my facility gave me as a new RN. I would actually like to stay Perdiem, but there no such of thing there . I totally agree with you in terms of everyone knowing each other and stuff . I am going to walk out as professional as I can and give them 5 weeks or so notice . I'm just a little worry about telling my nurse manager because She is very nice and good to us, but unfortunately the turn over rate in my unit is horrible. Thank you again for your advice .

[Brewer,RN]

You can't be worried about what the nurse manager thinks, you've got to look out for yourself first and do what's best for you because nobody else will. I don't care how sweet or nice the manager is to all the nurses, she is looking out for the organization first, and the nurses second. She has to answer to upper management. If they tell her to lay-off 15 nurses, that's exactly what she's gonna do. It doesn't matter if they have families, are sick and on chemotherapy, or simply just need the money. I've seen it happen before. The nurse manager knows if she doesn't perform well for upper management she will get the can instead, and I've never met a nurse manager that will take the fall for a staff nurse...

[Whoatemyburger]

You can't be worried about what the nurse manager thinks, you've got to look out for yourself first and do what's best for you because nobody else will. I don't care how sweet or nice the manager is to all the nurses, she is looking out for the organization first, and the nurses second. She has to answer to upper management. If they tell her to lay-off 15 nurses, that's exactly what she's gonna do. It doesn't matter if they have families, are sick and on chemotherapy, or simply just need the money. I've seen it happen before. The nurse manager knows if she doesn't perform well for upper management she will get the can instead, and I've never met a nurse manager that will take the fall for a staff nurse...

Good eye opening .... Makes sense

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

4 weeks notice as recommended by ANA for professional nurses; FYI. Other advice is very good. Good luck to you.