Secretly breaking contract

Nursing Students General Students

Published

Hello,

I would like this blog member's opinion. One of my classmates, like me, signed a 5 year contract to work at the hospital that is paying for our nursing education. Now my classmate is going to break her contract because she wants to work in a bigger hospital, However, she is not telling the administration at our hospital until she has the money to pay back the contract. I think this is dishonest. What does everyone else think?

0 Votes
Specializes in Mental Health.

I think it’s between her and the hospital and I’m sure they know how to handle it.

13 Votes
Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

The administration will find out about it when she doesn't come to work at their hospital after graduation. At that point, she will have to either start working for them or arrange to settle her loan with that hospital (pay back the loan). I am sure they have a standard procedure for that -- and it is probably written into the contract.

Up until the point at which she is supposed to start working them, she is not violating any terms of the contract and free to imagine any future she wishes. I don't see a problem with that as long as she is prepared to pay back her loan when the time comes.

6 Votes
Specializes in ED.

This situation is 100% between her and the hospital. I can't see how it is any of your concern.

If you are simply asking for opinions on the ethics of "buying out" a contract then I would say there is nothing dishonest about what this person is doing. It sounds as though they understand the contract and what is involved in prematurely breaking the contract. They are continuing to work out their contract until such point they are in a financial position to buy out the contract and move on. Nothing dishonest or unethical there, they are playing by the rules of the contract.

Essentially I think of this kind of a contract as a loan. You either pay this loan back with your time as an employee, or you pay it back monetarily if you decide to end your employment. Again, this person is going through the steps to end their employment within the rules of the contract.

If I were in your shoes I would simply worry about myself and not get caught up in the business of others.

9 Votes

Except that my classmate has involved me because she has asked me to keep this all a secret. And because she is stringing the hospital along they can't hire someone to fill her spot. If it was all above board (ethical, I'm not talking legality) than she wouldn't have to be so sneaky about it.

0 Votes
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

This is none of your business. She shared a secret with you. You aren't responsible for her life or her choices and she isn't doing anything wrong. She has plans to break her contract. She isn't in violation of it. If you share this information it makes you look bad, not her. All she has to do is deny it. Then what?

If her sharing it with you makes you uncomfortable just tell her that you don't want to know. End of story. Because this isn't any of your business and there is nothing for you to do with the info.

14 Votes

Well I guess I've been put in my place by others on this blog. Kind of surprising that no one can see this from another point of view. But on the other hand not surprising since honesty is in short supply these days.

0 Votes
42 minutes ago, lorias said:

Well I guess I've been put in my place by others on this blog. Kind of surprising that no one can see this from another point of view. But on the other hand not surprising since honesty is in short supply these days.

Just because we don't agree with you, that doesn't mean we can't "see this from another point of view." I see where you're coming from. I also see that your classmate has done nothing wrong at this point. What we're trying to do is help YOU see the situation from "another point of view."

In a nutshell, your classmate is making plans that may or may come to pass. She's also prepared to pay whatever financial penalty the original hospital imposes on her, which means she's not running away from her responsibility.

You say your classmate involved you by sharing her plans with you, but that doesn't actually involve you unless you choose to become involved. As my mother says, "you don't have to tell all you know." It is important to know when to speak up and when to MYOB. What she's doing isn't "sneaky," as you term it. Lots of people leave jobs, and most are smart enough not to tell their current employer until they have lined up another job. This is standard job hunting 101. Your classmate is wise not to say anything at this point.

As a new grad, she may not be able to get a job at her dream hospital, and end up working at the original hospital after all. If she tells the original hospital about her plans, it will set her up for a uncomfortable relationship with her employer. She may even start out working at the first hospital, decide she likes it, and spend 5+ years there. You don't know that, and neither does she.

Also, I'm a little off-put by the moral superiority of your posts. You yourself have no idea if you end up working the required 5 years at the first hospital. Even if you are 100% committed right now, you can't really foresee everything that will happen in the next half decade. You may end up hating it. It may be a toxic environment where you leave in tears every night because of bullying. You may need to move because of changed family circumstances. You may have a baby and need to go part-time to maintain a work-life balance that keeps you sane. In short, you don't REALLY know for certain that YOU will abide by the terms of the contract.

As a nurse, you will need to extend grace and compassion to your patients. Some of your patients will not be "innocent" people who are hapless victims of terrible misfortune. Some will be people who make bad choices. Some will make bad choices over and over. Sometimes their hospitalizations will be a direct result of their bad choices. You will need to leave your judgment at the door and care for them kindly anyway.

Your life will be far happier if you also extend grace to your colleagues when they sometimes fail to live up to your idealized standards of perfection. And hopefully they will extend you the same grace when you fail to measure up to theirs - because, rest assured, you WILL fail sometimes. No matter how good your intentions, you too are flawed, and that's okay. It's not a lack of "honesty," but rather a fullness of compassion that is prompting us to tell you to ease up on the judgment here.

28 Votes
Specializes in Neuro.

She's making plans to reimburse them, as long as she does, I see no issue, my humble opinion. Ultimately it's her in the hot seat when she graduates.

I also guarantee the way nursing schools are pumping out new grads each semester, the hospital/facility will have no problem filling her position with someone else who wants to be there.

I'd just let it go and stop getting upset about a whole lot of nothing. Again, it's her who has to deal with this upon graduation not you.

Do you want us to encourage you to go tattle on her? I don't know what you want to hear, people have a right to change their mind & yes, eventually she'll have to be honest with them because she'll owe them, how is it dishonest for her to choose when she does it? She is going to have to ultimately. In the end, this is her issue not yours. Let. it. go.

1 Votes
Specializes in Neuro.
2 hours ago, lorias said:

Well I guess I've been put in my place by others on this blog. Kind of surprising that no one can see this from another point of view. But on the other hand not surprising since honesty is in short supply these days.

The problem is we are seeing it from another point of view and trying to share & perhaps make YOU see things from that view as well.

Also indirectly telling us on this forum (not blog) that we support dishonesty simply because we disagree with your opinion reflects poor on your character. Because you fail to see things from our perspective doesn't make us automatically supportive of dishonesty.

8 Votes
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

This isn't about honesty. This is about you staying in your own lane. There is a HUGE difference. You don't like what she plans to do. So what? She plans to honor the terms of her contract by paying the fee that comes from breaking it. What exactly is your problem with that and how is that dishonest? It is legally exactly what she agreed to do.

You seem to find a moral issue with this that, frankly, isn't there. I suppose you think her being fired for this and unable to work through or continue school is the moral high ground? Is that what you were hoping we would tell you would happen if you tattle on this so-called secret?

Here is what would happen. You tell your manager. Your manager tells you to mind your own business. Or maybe nods and smiles and pretends to care. And then life goes back to normal, only now you didn't get the nasty outcome you were hoping for and now you decide not only is your coworker "dishonest" but now your whole institution is.

Time to grow up. Nothing wrong is happening here.

5 Votes
Specializes in PICU.

I just don't see the same dishonesty that you do. Just because she is making plans to leave does not make her dishonest. In my opinion, she is doing the right thing, making sure she can replay the debt. She understands the clause in the contract and is ready to pay back what she needs to.

I don't see how she is stringing the hospital on... she shows up to work, does her job. I would just focus on my job and not worry about what others are doing on their own time.

Is this a place that you want to work for the rest of your life? What made you sign on for 5 years? What if you decide to have a child, move, or something else happen? Wouldn't you plan to esnure you weren't caught off guard?

2 Votes
+ Add a Comment