Sign On Bonuses

[River&MountainRN, ADN, RN]

I have to admit, my only sign-on bonus experience comes from LTC/SNF facilities that are so bad that the facility never ends up paying out the bonus because no one stays that long. However, do sign-on bonuses usually mean "run the other way" or are there some facilities that have other reasons for offering them? As I'm in the process of relocating, I'm trying to figure out how to be more discerning in my search.

[BarrelOfMonkeys, BSN, RN]

Great question. I don’t have an answer. Like you, I’ve only noticed them in those same facilities. In the facilities known in my area as “bad” they all have sign on bonuses.

[guest52816]

Many hospitals in my area, central Kentucky, offer a sign-on bonus.

They range from $2000 to $10,000.

It can be because they can't fill night-shift positions, or maybe because the facility has high-turnover, or maybe the specialty isn't glamorous enough to attract new grads.

I work at a rehabilitation facility. My sign-on bonus was $7500. It is paid out every three months.

I suggest reading employee online reviews of facilities/companies.

You can learn a lot.

For instance, I read online employee reviews of my current employer, and they are spot on!

Good luck.

[2Ask]

Got a sign on bonus for my first job as a new grad. It was a small rural hospital using a lot of travelers. They recruited at my nursing school (community college ADN program).

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

Sometimes it may be a good hospital that is a good place to work, but can't attract any nurses due to it's rural location and lack of local nursing school graduates to feed the hospital.

[Aliens05, ASN]

Recently a local hospital chain that is probably the biggest in my city was offering a 10k sign on bonus plus 10k tuition reimbursement for a days OR position. I had an in to the company through an acquaintance, and got a phone interview, but did not get a call back afterwards, therefore I can't really say what the reason was for the high bonuses. They told me a few weeks later that they'd still be interested in me for the same position at a different hospital location, 45 minutes away from home instead of 5 minutes. I said no thank you as I took a different, lower paying, no bonus job, but with about the best benefits you can imagine, Federal job.

[Golden_RN, MSN]

It depends on the region and job market. I was lucky enough to receive 2 sign on bonuses years ago - one at a SNF corporation and one at a large acute organization (both great jobs). If there is a shortage in the region, then I don't think it necessarily indicates anything bad about the employer.

[SnowStar4]

I have experienced that high really sign on bonuses can be a sign of high turnover/ bad situations. I worked as an educator for a department that was basically all travellers because it was so toxic. Even travellers earning ridiculous amounts of money would leave within a week because it was so bad. It was 25k for two years experience. Another hospital nearby had a similar situation and bonus. They can't keep staff either.

However, I took a position last year that had a 5k sign on bonus, and always offers it for experienced staff. In the OR training takes forever so experience is always valued. I couldn't be happier with the position.

So I would say if it seems super high there's probably a catch, but a small bonus shouldn't worry you too much.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

My son, an RN, tends to get all excited about big sign-on bonuses, but I remind him every so often that he got one from a local nursing facility when he was an LPN and just about lost his mind because the working conditions were so bad. He's currently working as a nurse consultant for a residential care facility that just had a lousy survey, trying to correct their many deficiencies; they have an opening for an RN with a $10K sign-on bonus, but at least he's not tempted to go for that one! If a place is offering that kind of money, there's usually a good reason for it.