UPMC to take away RN sign on bonuses effective 2-29-08

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:angryfire After class today, I happened to look at the poster board situated outside of my classroom and I saw an interesting flyer, which apparently no one else took the time to read. It said "We have some exciting changes happening to UPMC, effective Feb 29th, UPMC (only the biggest healthcare system in Western Pennsylvania) is doing away with their sign on incentive bonus for new hire RNs. Instead they will focus on putting their dollars toward formal education and helping nurses to enhance their careers. I asked my instructor about this because I thought I was misreading it and she said she heard something about it but wasn't sure. She said the reason being is that they found that nurses were getting the $8-10-12K bonuses, working their 2 yr commitment and then quitting and going to another UPMC facility and getting another bonus. When I got home I called a nursing recruiter and asked about the specifics and she said it is true that UPMC will be doing away with the sign on bonus. I said well what incentive will they offer to come to their facility and she said hopefully they will see that the hospitals are good environments to work at and that will attract new nurses. You wanna talk about PO?!?!?!?!? I graduate Dec 08 and there will be no bonus to offset these loans that I took out to help me get through school!!!!!!!:bluecry1:

It's always a numbers game, and it's always a SHORT TERM numbers game. The demographics of this country haven't changed, so the upcoming mismatch between number of nurses and number of nurses needed hasn't changed. But for now, UPMC is just looking at how many new nurses they have to get through the door this year, and they've decided that they can reach that number without putting out bonuses.

I was going to post just this but you said it so well that I don't have to. However, I could add that in my life time I have seen nursing ranks fill up only to be decemated by poor conditions and flat wages. History has a way of repeating it's self.

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Nevermind, Thanks!

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And retention SHOULD be more important to you then recruitment. Hospitals can and will do whatever it takes to get you in the door, but once you are there you are stuck. Best if you like where you work.

Exactly. If a facility is truly a great place to work, nurses will be lining up to get in. Only when working conditions are poor, are sign on bonuses needed, imo.

It sounds to me like this hospital admin may actually be looking beyond the surface, and thinking about real ways to improve conditions and retain nurses.

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I was going to post just this but you said it so well that I don't have to. However, I could add that in my life time I have seen nursing ranks fill up only to be decemated by poor conditions and flat wages. History has a way of repeating it's self.

Yes, and as we all know, there is actually a surplus of nurses in the US. There have been many articles and stats on this posted here.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

we never started the bonus thing because we were afraid it would only attract people looking for money, not a career. The "hospital down the street" offers sign-on bonuses, and they get more new nurses than we do. However, our turnover is much less than theirs and many of their nurses eventually land here. So it is an expense that we don't need. I prefer to think that the money is spent on staffing or other necessary thing.

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No sign on bonuses in my area, but hospitals ARE offering generous tuition reimbursement....which is fine for those going to nursing school (it is almost always the techs that get this benefit, very few nurses have the time/energy to pursue advanced degrees).

What :angryfire's me is that there is absolutely NO $$ for continuing ed; that is, so you're a bedside nurse and want to be a better one? Too bad, all the $$ goes to the techs who graduate and leave the facility.

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Specializes in med surg.

I believe more empahasis needs to be placed on retention. If there are not seasoned nurses to preceptor and mentor new nurses we will be in deeper trouble then we already are.

It is also my opinion that the new breed of nurses will not stay at the bedside like we have for 20 years.

The work is much harder then they expect and the acuity of patients is increasing not to mention the responsibility.

There are a limited number of case management . staff dev, and desk jobs for nurses, I am not sure what the future holds but I remain optomistic.

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:angryfire After class today, I happened to look at the poster board situated outside of my classroom and I saw an interesting flyer, which apparently no one else took the time to read. It said "We have some exciting changes happening to UPMC, effective Feb 29th, UPMC (only the biggest healthcare system in Western Pennsylvania) is doing away with their sign on incentive bonus for new hire RNs. Instead they will focus on putting their dollars toward formal education and helping nurses to enhance their careers. I asked my instructor about this because I thought I was misreading it and she said she heard something about it but wasn't sure. She said the reason being is that they found that nurses were getting the $8-10-12K bonuses, working their 2 yr commitment and then quitting and going to another UPMC facility and getting another bonus. When I got home I called a nursing recruiter and asked about the specifics and she said it is true that UPMC will be doing away with the sign on bonus. I said well what incentive will they offer to come to their facility and she said hopefully they will see that the hospitals are good environments to work at and that will attract new nurses. You wanna talk about PO?!?!?!?!? I graduate Dec 08 and there will be no bonus to offset these loans that I took out to help me get through school!!!!!!!:bluecry1:

Guess I'm not understanding why you're "PO'd", as you put it. You're actually angry that a hospital system in your area doesn't want to give you money just to get you in the door? Why? You asked a recruiter what the "incentive" is to go to her hospital, and she told you that you should want to work there because it's a great place to work. And THAT angers you? I don't get it.

If someone told you you were entitled to free money just for accepting a job, you were clearly misled. While it's true that sign-on bonuses have been plentiful for quite some time, it's NOT offered everywhere, it's NOT in every facility, and for what it's worth, there are some great places to work that don't offer a DIME as a sign-on, but instead offer some very real benefits and perks. There are some truly crappy places to work that offer gobs of money; there's your "incentive" to go to work there. And once there, you'd be wishing to heck you'd made a better decision.

At the time I hired on to my facility, I got a nominal sign-on bonus. It was an added perk, since I'd have worked at this facility if all they offered me was the pen with which I signed my application! Recently, the bonuses are being re-thought, and I don't expect them to be offering them much longer (if they even are now). Why not? Because there's enough nurses applying, enough staff that cover the scheduling needs, that they don't have to. Gosh, people apply to work here because it's a (relatively, LOL) good place to work, go figure! ;)

Choose your employer wisely. If you don't want to turn into one of those job-hopping new grads who has three jobs in the first year, you'd be better off leaving the amount of the bonus out of the decision equation. Best of luck to you!

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Specializes in Med/Surg < 1yr.

I truly appreciate everyone's input . However I feel like I'm being made to look like I'm money hungry and that is the only thing that I was thinking about when deciding where I'll work. Nah, money is not the biggest motivation for me. I was an accountant at the headquarters of a major corporation. I had 10 paid holidays per year, three weeks of vacation, unlimited sick days, $2000 bonus check every January, 401K program that matched dollar for dollar up to 6% and paid tuition with no taxes being taken out afterwards to darn there any school that I chose to attend, not to mention I made a decent salary never worked overtime, or on weekends or holidays in 8 1/2 yrs! I was PO'd because I thought that I would automatically get a sign on bonus when entering nursing that's all. I didn't know about the fine print that came along with them and though I got chewed out about this I'm glad I did post this topic because now I know. I thank you all for giving me some serious insight into that and many of the issues that are going on in the field of nursing that I was unaware of.

I chose the nursing profession because I hated sitting at a desk all day doing the same thing day in and day out. I asked God what I should do with my life and He has directed me to nursing and made so many things possible so that I could be the best nurse that I can be.

I am doing my clinical at a major hospital in my area. I love the atmosphere. I love the support that the nurses are showing us and each other. I have questioned some of the newer nurses about how they like working there and they really like it and have given me some good advice should I decide to work there. That is where I would like to work whether they offer a bonus or not!

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Specializes in Cardiology.
:angryfire After class today, I happened to look at the poster board situated outside of my classroom and I saw an interesting flyer, which apparently no one else took the time to read. It said "We have some exciting changes happening to UPMC, effective Feb 29th, UPMC (only the biggest healthcare system in Western Pennsylvania) is doing away with their sign on incentive bonus for new hire RNs. Instead they will focus on putting their dollars toward formal education and helping nurses to enhance their careers. I asked my instructor about this because I thought I was misreading it and she said she heard something about it but wasn't sure. She said the reason being is that they found that nurses were getting the $8-10-12K bonuses, working their 2 yr commitment and then quitting and going to another UPMC facility and getting another bonus. When I got home I called a nursing recruiter and asked about the specifics and she said it is true that UPMC will be doing away with the sign on bonus. I said well what incentive will they offer to come to their facility and she said hopefully they will see that the hospitals are good environments to work at and that will attract new nurses. You wanna talk about PO?!?!?!?!? I graduate Dec 08 and there will be no bonus to offset these loans that I took out to help me get through school!!!!!!!:bluecry1:

Just so you know the bonus was $4000, it made me ineligiable for PHEAA loan forgiveness and they tax it to near non existence. You aren't missing much. Staffing levels are atrocious where I work right now so I don't see how Pittsburgh isn't feeling the squeeze of the nursing shortage. Also I think the pay is low for a city hospital but I think that may be an issue in all of W. PA and OH.

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When I graduated nursing school I didn't consider employment based on sign on bonuses. I did take a $4000.00 dollar sign on loan from UPMC for a two year commitment. In the future I will be very reluctant to take a sign on bonus or sign a contract anywhere. My husband's job is relocating him to another state 3 months before my contract is up and I will have to pay back the $4000.00. I have the money sitting in the bank and will pay them back in full. I regret my choice to take the bonus because I have now worked for 2 UPMC hospitals and disliked both. My co-workers at both facilities are stressed out and keep leaving. Truthfully, if I hadn't signed a contract I would have left before now. Thinking of yourself as a free agent and not being contracted to some megalith corporation is best.

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Specializes in Flight Nurse, Pedi CICU, IR, Adult CTICU.

Former UPMC'er here. I received a bonus that was actually a "tuition" bonus ($9k) years ago, so it was not subject to the devestating taxes. That said, nursing was a second career, and I always had the personal standard of never taking a job that I couldn't walk away from...so I 'held' the check to see if I was going to stick around for 2 years.

I left in just under a year...the working conditions were just not worth it, and I sent back the uncashed check.

But here are the current conditions in Pittsburgh; they have taken over a significant majority of hospital beds in the region and are one of the largest employers in Western PA. Add to that the fact that there is a nursing school on practically every corner (CCAC has 4+ RN programs running simultaneously), and the conditions don't really warrant a bonus.

Additionally, the economy means that staff are getting laid off, and people are looking for JOBS, not necessarily bonuses.

I made a geographical and job change about 2.5 years ago and applied to hospitals all across the country...all of them were university-level tertiary centers, and the best ANY of them were willing to offer was moving assistance.

I got $2k to move to my current job (far from Pittsburgh), and I had to show receipts.

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