My husband and I (also a nurse) were discussing just yesterday about how our hospital spends far more time, money, energy etc. on recruiting new staff and keeping them happy than on retaining the staff they have. Turnover is atrocious -- we're starting a new group of 7 newbies this week. In fact, for the past four years, we've always had 3 - 8 newbies in one stage or another of orientation. Most leave after 1-2 years, many after less than that.
I've been in the same job for over 14 years, and the only perk my seniority buys me is the ability to bid into a straight day slot ahead of the newer staff. Already did that. No more benefit to seniority. I still have to work as many holidays, don't get any advantage in the vacation bidding wars, don't get preference when it comes to education days, etc. So why stay?
The Christmas schedule is coming up, and most of the newbies aren't working Christmas. They aren't required to. Next year, they'll be gone.
I can't help but think that if management threw some money at retaining senior staff instead of spending it all on recruiting, the turnover wouldn't be so great.
As for us -- we're about to leave our jobs and go traveling. Preferably right before Christmas -- I'd like to have both Christmas and New Year's off this year!
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Originally posted by indie
When you get out of the employee mindset and start writing contracts for yourself, to be negotiated with facilities, you start to really understand what is valuable to you and what the facility values. Somewhere in between is the compromise that will take good care of patients while taking care of ourselves.
If more of us were independent, less of us would be posting as above. Independence works! Try it.
just how do you do that in a UNIONIZED environment???
cause all the hospitals here are unionized.
don't see THAT flying. although the concept more than intrigues me.
Our hospital has improved in a few ways, but still has a long way to go in some. They just changed our PTO package, so people who have been there over five years get almost twice the PTO as people who have been there less than five years...and the PTO increases more after 8, 10, and 15 years. Nice for people who stick around. Holidays are based somewhat on requested days off (we have to turn in a list of the three holidays we want off most), somewhat by seniority, and somehat by who worked last year, etc. Most nurses work every other weekend, a few work every third or fourth becasue we have a few nurses who work nothing but weekends. Education is paid for a a first come first served basis...employees with 5 years or greated are 100% free if approved and employees with leass than 5 years have to reimburse if they resign within a certain time frame based on cost of the course. They do offer pretty good sign-on bonuses, but really nothing for retnetion. We get a pins every five years and inexpensive gifts like paperwerights and day planners. Wages max out after 20 years, so the olny raises for people who have been there forever are COLAs.
Actually LLG....after working 27 years for the same company as a nurse, $10,000 isn't enough. Heck, the bonus ought to be that much after 10 years employment as a nurse. Nurses should be paid $1000 a year in my opinion just for staying employed at their facility. I'm SURE the higher ups bonuses are much better in a shorter amount of time, don't you think?
No, the "higher ups" do not bigger bonuses. In fact, the "higher ups" don't get any bonuses! I am one of the "higher up" nurses in my hospital and I know that for a fact. A staff nurse (ADN required) near the top of the pay scale (almost twice as much as the bottom of the pay scale), earning shift diffs, charge nurse diffs, preceptor diffs, and the retention bonus earns more than most (if not all) of the Department Directors and CNS's (Master's required).
Personally, I think those of us who have furthered our education and taken on more responsibility deserve to be rewarded for our efforts, but that's just my opinion.
Finally, you have just proven my point. You assume that all the "higher ups" as you put it are overpaid and evil. You made all sorts of assumptions about them/us without knowing the facts.
Don't forget to do a good assessment before you make a diagnoses and plan interventions.
I just gave my 2 weeks notice last Thursday when I have been working at the same hospital since 1990, been through 5 administrations and 8 DON's. Response to my loyalty was "you are not eligible to be rehired if you don't work where I have you scheduled". My schedule was posted when I resigned and they filled in shifts on the unit I felt was unsafe because of the ratio 5 days after my resignation. Did not care that I have been loyal to the hospital and employed for that length of time and never took sick leave. As a matter of fact I am maxed out on my EIB. Seniority does not mean much, at least not to this company. Very sad!
I have read some the responses on this board with great interest. BATMIK, a difference of $9.20 hour for experience is GREAT, here we are lucky if it is $2.00 to $3.00 in difference. COTJOCKEY, sounds like the hospital you're at is at least willing to listen for ways to retain experienced staff, WOW!, increased PTO after 5 years!!!! Never happen here. KEET 10, sorry that you were treated so shabbily. Is this a HCA or Tenet facility, I know they are the worst when staff resign. Seems like they want to set you up for "non-rehire" status because you dare to leave them. Good Luck on getting a new job that will appreciate a loyal nurse with experience. I still say some type of nationwide union is the only way nurse's will be taken seriously in demands for better pay and treatment.
Specializes in Interventional Pain Mgmt NP; Prior ICU and L/D RN.
What a great Thread!!!!
I am so happy to see that I am not alone when getting upset about the "new grads/hires" getting bonuses and relocation assistance while the loyal employee's get......??????? CRAP!!
Oh sure, you are always hearing about retention strategies, but where are they? The new grads come in with this $5,000.00 sign on bonus and starting out a few dollars less that me (and that's after multiple eval raises and clinical ladder raise)...it just burns me up!
They are so concerned about getting the nurses in..what the H*ll are they going to do when that is all they have??? INEXPERIENCED NURSES!!! It takes experience to run a hospital and to train the newbies....Yes we need them, but the senior staff can not be forgotten...or actually thrown to the side like a bag of trash!
Most of these newbies stay for 1 1/2yrs or so then move on...but yet the senior staff are still here..getting crapped on....
I have spoken my mind many times...but it falls on deaf ears.....
The hospital I work at is applying for Magnet status....isn't part of that the satisfaction of the staff??? They should have sent out a questionnaire to get the picture instead of asking the administrators about staff morale/satisfaction.
I unfortunately like where I work...the people I work with....but leaving would only be admitting defeat....AND I AM NOT WILLING TO DO THAT.....The senior staff need to keep at them....it takes the strong voices and those that are "afraid" of the adminstrators/mgmnt....the newbies do not have these "balls" yet...although once they've been there awhile their eyes open some, but they keep their mouths closed.
Oh some day dreams may come true....somewhere over the rainbow!! LOL
barefootlady, I did the math after I posted the difference in pay and it amounts to $18,000/year. That is a pretty big difference. I guess at the time the contract was negotiated lots was done to recruit new nurses but not much to retain the old ones. It made the devoted employee seem worth less than the new ones down the road.
In what I have seen is that most employees that have been around 10 years or more are likely to stay than those who have been employed for under 5 years. I have to say I would be quite shocked if I came to work and one of my long term co-workers was leaving.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
guess the lesson to those of us with less than 10 years' experience...
be a gypsy.
or write your own contract...if you can.
too bad.
but it's how i see it and why i am working on my bsn with an anticipated move out and hopefully UP. this is NOT how I want to spend MY career, being loyal and royally pooped upon. noooope.
No, the "higher ups" do not bigger bonuses. In fact, the "higher ups" don't get any bonuses! I am one of the "higher up" nurses in my hospital and I know that for a fact..............
Finally, you have just proven my point. You assume that all the "higher ups" as you put it are overpaid and evil. You made all sorts of assumptions about them/us without knowing the facts.
Don't forget to do a good assessment before you make a diagnoses and plan interventions.
llg
llg......if you will go back and read the part that you quoted from my post, you will find a question mark after my statement about "higher ups" making more bonus wise. That question mark was meant for a reason. If I meant it as a known fact by me, I would have placed a period after that statement instead of a question mark. Now...I'm a forgiving person, and always willing to learn what I don't know, so if you would like to read the question I presented the first time regarding bonuses for the "higher ups", and answer it for my learning experience I would be most appreciative of that.
You did answer it by saying "No bonuses are paid to "higher ups" etc. etc.", but you answered it in a "you don't know what you are talking about tone of voice" instead of a "teach me something voice"........which makes all the difference to someone who is asking a question and not making a statement of fact for their learning purposes.
So...to quote you: "Don't forget to do a good assessment before you make a diagnoses and plan interventions."
And......nowhere in my post did I call "higher ups" evil. It's not good to add words to another person's post in an accusatory way.
It's only been in the last few years our hospital has been looking at retention. It makes more economical sense in the long run to retain trained and experience staff and look at their issues.
I've been 11 years at this hospital. But have the confidence to speak up for myself, "my" coworkers and the confidence to leave if I need to.
We have two kinds of workers at our hospital right now, new grads, and long-term employees with greater than ten years. The in-betweens are contracts and travelers. A new grad after a year experience can jump up from about 18.00/hr to 30.00/hr plus bonuses and housing by travelings, or to 30.00 hr. by doing a contract.
But I've made good raises the last several years (we don't have a pension plan, but a savings plan we must participate in), and I'm not going to become a nomad for a dollar or two an hour more. Plus I enjoy the 30 days off a year I take.
But I have the confidence to be a nomad if I have to.
I'm SURE the higher ups bonuses are much better in a shorter amount of time, don't you think?
Cheerfuldoer ... If I misunderstood your comments quoted above, I do apologize. However, the fact that that you wrote the word SURE in all capital letters suggests to me that you were not simply asking what the bonuses were for members of the leadership team. The tone of your post suggested to me that you were SURE that the leaders were better paid than they actually are and that the staff nurses are being treated unfairly.
Re-reading your original post, I don't think my interpretation was unreasonable. If my interpretation is not what you intended to say, I can accept that -- and chalk it up to the difficulties of communicating on a board such as this one. It's often difficult to interpret why some people write a word in all capital letters, etc.
llg.......that is why when reading post one should not apply a certain "tone" to it since we cannot hear what tone or manner the post is being presented. ASSUMING things gets one in serious trouble all the time.
TONES can be implied, but never proven when reading written material. One person's perception of something may be totally different to another person. When I read a post, I read it for the information and not to apply a certain "tone" or manner of speaking to it because that is unfair to the person writing what I am reading to accuse them of something I am not certain even is an issue.
SmilingBluEyes
20,964 Posts
just how do you do that in a UNIONIZED environment???
cause all the hospitals here are unionized.
don't see THAT flying. although the concept more than intrigues me.