Funny how six months can change your whole life. When I graduated in May this past year (2011), I thought all my dreams had came true. A 21 year old (now 22) single mother getting my BSN was just unbelieveable to me and also the fact that I had job offers lined up left and right.
I chose a large magnet hospital despite the fact that it was the only one to require a contract (18 months). Now six months later I'm tired of the hour long commute and understand now that 12 hours shifts can turn into 13 and 14 hour shifs in a heartbeat.
I work on one of the busiest floors in the hospital, our slogan is "if you can work here, you can work anywhere" which is very true. Unfortunately for me, although a very good experience, the commute and the 12 hours are not working out family wise.
I've tried everything, switched to day shift from night shift. Unfortunately that's when I started not leaving until 830 or 9pm at night because of all the extra things on dayshift (doing our own discharges, doctors continously writing orders, no time to chart) and not getting home til 10 to 11pm at night. I am truly a single mother, no help from my son's father AT ALL.
My mother helps me out a lot but I thought when I got my degree and became a nurse, I wouldn't have to depend on her as much.
Boy was I wrong!!!! Because I have to wake up so early my son spends the night at my mothers house because my daycare doesn't open until 6 and I leave at 520am to get to work on time. I'm really trying to fufill my contract which will be up in January 2013 and I also want to work out my full year at my current job as well (June 2012). But its easier said than done, I'm spending $400 to $500 in gas each month, driving a total of 120 miles each day I drive to work (360 a week).
I've put in applications and I actually have an interview with a hospital in Augusta which is a friendlier place to live but unfortunately if I quit my job and I would be forced to pay out the contract and Augusta is another hour long commute. I've thought about applying to a hospital which is 25 miles away that had offered me a position before I graduated.
If I could get a job here, dayshift then I wouldn't have to depend on my mother as much especially during the week because I could leave my house at 6 and still make it to the job at 6:45 and home in enough time to pick up my son. My only problem is getting the money together to pay the hospital I am currently in back ($2,000). They have hired a lot of new grads and overtime is scarce. I've picked up some extra days but keep getting canceled due to low census or enough staff. That's another reason I would like to leave that hospital.
Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.
It would be a very big mistake to leave without a firm alternative job offer.
With only 6 months experience you will not qualify for new grad rpograms, but you will also not qualify for experienced positions and you will be screwed!
It is not the 2k. That hardly matters. The problem is you may be putting yourself in a position that makes you not desired to anyone as an employee.
At least try to get your year of experience. 6 months will go by. I know at your age time moves slow, but soon it will move much faster. Do not hunder your future employment prospects at this juncture. You will regret it.
The problem is NO job will be perfect. Nursing involves a lot of overtime and other hassles anywhere you go. It is a matter of what you can live with. My first job I forced myself to stay a year even though I was miserable. Not the work I wanted, miserable floor with tons of turnover. I do not regret it. I got that crucial first year of experience that most jobs require. But I agree that if it is affecting your child then that has to be your priority. A job is a job. In the end when we leave this world the only thing that really matters is family.
If it were me and I got an offer closer to home I would take it. Just realize that if you are working 12 hours you probably have more days off and with 8 hours your days off are limited. There are always trade offs. Full time work stinks when you have kids no matter how you look at it. A lot of jobs sound good on paper but reality is that most all nursing jobs are very hard in one way or another.
Look I have been a nurse for three years. I cannot and will not understand how these other nurses are telling you to stick with a contract that is obviously causing you great stess and more importantly taking you away from your son. I am sorry he is your family; he is your child and he needs you. Yes I understand some of these nurses stating that you knew it was an hour commute and you knew that going in but when you are a new RN graduate especially in this day in age, one is willing to take Any job just to get their foot in the door and to get some experience. But let me tell you something I have seen personally new nurses fulfill their contractual obligation just to "let go" or fired as soon as that contract is up because God forbid the hospital has to pay out more benefits to you. Im sorry I am not trying to sound mean but I have worked with nurses that last attended school twenty, thirty years ago and they have no idea how difficult it is to get your first job as a nurse and then the abuse and misery that is heaped upon you by senior nurses, doctors and directors. I had a two and a half year contract with a hospital organization for my first position; and I suffered through it for two years. I did everything they told me; I was the model new grad nurse and I was miserable. Yes I was grateful for the job and the experience but I did not get into nursing to be mistreated and stepped on. At my two year mark I decided no more. And guess what I am paying back the six months I owe and I now work as a wound care nurse and home health nurse and I am so much happier. I am doing real patient care and loving it not the 'push meds, hang antibiotics hope my patients don't code" environement of these large hospitals that do not care about their staff or the patients. Of course make sure you have another job lined up and I would hope you would get something closer so you will not be commuting an hour or more. But contracts are made to be broken. You still can be a moral person by arranging to pay back the amount. Move on with your life and your nursing career. Do not be sick, miserable and not be there for your son.
After 10 years working as a medic in a large Metropolitan City, I decided that becoming a Nurse would broaden my scope of knowledge and my horizons. At the time I had two young boys and my wife was pregnant with our third. We had a mortgage, car payments and all of the accoutrements of a young family. It was not an easy decision to make, as I knew that I would have to continue to work full-time as well as study full-time. Needless to say it was a busy time and many milestones were missed. I graduated in 1993. My sons are now fully independent young men and I am also blessed with grandchildren. Although I did miss some key moments in their development, becoming a Nurse allowed me more career choices and flexibility that ultimately contributed to a better quality of life for us all. My point here is: remember why you chose Nursing as a career. Professionally, it has been extremely rewarding to me. Furthermore, as long as my priorities were clear and well defined, I always knew that my choices were sound. My top priority has always been and always will be my family. No institution, no matter how loyal you are, can repay your dedication the way a hug from one of your children can. Nursing jobs will always be there in some capacity or another. Some good, some bad, but our children are with us for such a short time. Don't allow others to judge you or the decisions that you make. 18 years from now will you look back and think, "geez, I sure am glad I was loyal to that Hospital?" Personally, I prefer reminiscing about how Nursing fulfilled me professionally while allowing me to spend more time with my family.
If nursing employment was easier to obtain like it was 7 years ago, there wouldn't be an issue to leave your job. However, this isn't the case. While I fully agree that personal happiness and family are a priority, you need to consider the whole picture. Staying at a job you don't really want for a year to a year and a half in order to gain experience isn't the end of the world. You know you won't be there forever. The fact is, most jobs have drawbacks, most jobs involve shifts, and overtime. You will face these obstacles again. It doesn't hurt to start sending out your resumes at least, but be prepared also to have to stick it out. For those people commenting, "What's wrong with these nurses for saying...." Many nurses have families also, and they deal with commuting. Yes it sucks, but if there were any reservations, signing a contract may not be a good idea. Treat this as a learning experience. At least you are aware of your values.
I know others are having a hard time finding jobs and I'm sorry its that way but at the end of the day no one went into nursing to be miserable. I think we all went into it because we had a compassion to help others in need, but I don't think any of those who have made the statements that I make it hard on other new grads would stay in a very stressful if it became a choice between themselves and their family's well-being. Although I was a teenage mother I went to college and worked for 4 years to provide a good life for my son and myself. I was away from him a lot especially doing nursing school and working those last two years. I love nursing and taking care of pts, nursing is not the problem its working at a hospital with little support for the nursing staff because at the end of the day nurses costs the hospital money while doctors make the hospitals money therefore in a hospital setting nurses don't have as many "rights". If I can make it work I'm gonna fufill my contract or at least get my year but if a better more family friendly schedule comes along I will take it. I was pulled to a floor last week and the charge nurse told me they had lost 8 nurses in the past 2 months and all of them paid out their contracts. Just in 2008 this same hospital laid off over 100 employees while the CEO got a bonus of over 400k and this was published in the paper. I'm not ignorant enough to believe my loyalty will be rewarded nor will I stay in a stressful situation because of a little piece of paper that the hospital came up with just because so many ppl are leaving. All the floors of this said hospital are staffed by many nurses who have 3 years or less experience. It was so bad most of the new grads were being precepted by nurses who had a little over one year of experience, even some with just over six months. Now if this sounds like a dream hospital to you then by all means pls apply and sign the contract. I was unaware of this because I was made to sign the contract my first day of hospital orientation. I appreciate all the comments even those who speak against breaking the contract because I posted this topic for perspective and I have gotten a lot. I'm gonna stay but I can't lie and say I will definitely fufill the contract.
Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.
As I said before the contract is really a minor matter. The 2k is no biggie in the long view and I do not believe loyalty is the big issue either as employers are often disloyal to employees these days and so it goes on both sides.
However, this is a critical time for you, and my point was not to leave without a firm job offer because with 6 mos experience you will be stuck if you have quit the new grad program and are looking for a new job without the qualifying experience.
Back in the day that would have been no problem and you would have found plenty of people willing to hire you, but it is not that way now. And you may be going from the fire to the frying pan at any new job and if you quit that too soon then you are officially a job hopper early in your career and will have an even harder time.
I am all for quality of life. I work a much lower paying job to have weekends and holidays off and less stress, but to get my totally cool job I had to show a stable track record from early on. If your child is healthy and your mom can stand still helping out for another 6 months then consider staying. If not and you have a firm offer then leave, but know that it may bite you in the butt later. You have to consider your financial stability for your child also........
You seem very mature and motivated for your age and that is the only reason I am wasting this much energy trying to help you.
If I were in your position, I would finish up the contract before leaving. The reason is due to, you would gain extra experiences from what you have already learn and that would help in your resume if you are applying for some other hospitals then.
As about your son, as long as your mum is willing to help you, I do not think she would mind. Yes, you might think you are depending on her too much, but sometimes, you need to think further for your future-sake.
I pray that you have the right decision soon and may God bless you.
I can understand the reasons why you are considering breaking the contract and I sympathize as I have a little one as well. However, I would finish the contract for two reasons.
First, as others have said, to break it would leave you as a new grad with only 6 months experience...which is worse than being a new grad with no experience because you will not qualify for a lot of new grad programs if you have that much experience. Nor would you be eligible for a lot of jobs for more experienced nurses since you would still be considered a new grad. It's a very bad spot to be in and one you should avoid if at all possible. At least if you finish the contract, you end up with a year+ of experience under your belt, which puts you in a far better position for job hunting.
If you do break the contract for a guaranteed job, at least you'll be rolling right into work and won't have to hunt for a job. But keep in mind that doing that could come back to bite you...if not now, then down the road.
Second, you should always leave a job on the best terms possible, to ensure that you are not tagged a Do Not Rehire. You will have to list this hospital on job applications and HR departments will call them to verify your employment there...and if you're marked a Do Not Rehire you will have to explain why (if HR doesn't explain it for you). And unfortunately, breaking a contract may not go over well with the interviewer and their HR department, no matter what your reason was. In addition, you never know if you will find yourself applying to work there again, or at its sister facilities (if any).
Specializes in Geriatric Assessment, management and leadership.
Congrats on juggling a full time nursing career and being a mom! Both can be stressful. Both can bring joy! I have read all your and the others' comments. To summarize: Sounds like the biggest problems are: the time away from your son, routinely working more than 12 hours, poor treatment by some of the other RNs and lack of support from administration.
Have you gone to your direct supervisor to discuss the situation? If you did and did not get support or help dealing with your work issues, go to his/her supervisor or human resources. Consider taking advantage of an EAP program, if available. It is paid for by your employer and can give you the support you need and help you look at options.
A magnet hospital must meet certain criteria to be certified as such. One is called "transformational leadership." If that is the philosophy of your hospital, then I think they would much prefer to help you stay than figure out how to replace you.
As a new grad myself, I hope you don't quit. In our area there are over 400 applicants for each new grad position because not many hospitals are offering them. They did take a chance on you by putting time, money, and effort into your training. You have taken the spot of someone else that might have been hired and willing to stay. You morally signed a contract of your intent to stay and whether or not it is enforceable is not a question in my mind.
I don't hear you having negative comments about the training, etc so I am gathering that has gone well. 3 shifts a week still leaves you with 4 off plus I imagine you are getting paid for those extra hours since that is legally binding. There is good and bad to all positions. In my area, many many many new grads would gladly be in your position.
CrunchRN, ADN, RN
4,555 Posts
It would be a very big mistake to leave without a firm alternative job offer.
With only 6 months experience you will not qualify for new grad rpograms, but you will also not qualify for experienced positions and you will be screwed!
It is not the 2k. That hardly matters. The problem is you may be putting yourself in a position that makes you not desired to anyone as an employee.
At least try to get your year of experience. 6 months will go by. I know at your age time moves slow, but soon it will move much faster. Do not hunder your future employment prospects at this juncture. You will regret it.