4 weeks notice?

[eileeny21]

Hi, I currently work on a Med/Surg floor and have been there for 7 months. I just accepted a full time position at a nursing home, since this has always been my passion and I now realize my calling in nursing. I recently gave my employer my 2 weeks notice and will start my new career in two weeks time. However, my current employer told me I suppose to give 4 weeks instead of 2. I have never heard of this before and I always thought a notice of resignation was a courtesy not a requirement. I am also partially quitting since my orientation experience there was horrible, being treated as if I was the most stupid nurse on the planet, and also having a very crazy work schedule with nothing being consistent whatsoever, where everyone else has consistent shifts. I am wondering if you have ever heard of a 4 weeks notice?

[sbostonRN]

My facility policy is 2 weeks. I've never heard of 4 weeks for ant non management position. Even my DH is s mid-level hotel manager and gave 3 weeks at his old job.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Also depends on the country. In the UK I had to give 4 weeks notice in all my nursing jobs whether on the wards or in the community. Here in Nova Scotia my job only requires 2 weeks

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

4 weeks is the rule of thumb, if you consider yourself a professional nurse. ...What surprised me was how many RNs didn't know or hadn't heard about it.

If so many RNs haven't heard of it, it can't really be the rule of thumb, can it.

[Sun0408, ASN, RN]

The last two hospitals I worked for require 4 weeks notice. Yes, even for bedside/staff nurses. Both are very large and if you become ineligible for rehire at one of their facilities you become ineligible for all their facilities and one was HCA, so that's a lot of hospitals all over the states. I was not gonna risk it plus lose my PTO..We never know what the future holds and sometimes the grass is never greener on the other side. You may want to go back to that hospital in the future.

As far as interviews, didn't have a problem because the new nurse manager new I had to give 4 weeks.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Having an attack of deja vu with this thread.....seem to remember that thread going on for a looong time.

Last hospital I worked had a policy that you were to give notice for the number of weeks' vacation you had. A clerk or aide would give 2 weeks. An RN would be 3 weeks (until 4 had been earned). If you gave less notice, you could expect to lose PTO that you might have had coming....or, without that as an option, you might just find yourself as a "non-eligible for re-hire" candidate.

Basic idea was you gave notice for the amount of time it would take to replace you. The higher your level, the greater the notice requested.

[SCTravelRN]

Perhaps, tyvin, a lot of RNs were not aware of this more common 4 week notice requirement because we have not recently gone through a nursing program, or have been with a single employer for a significant amount of time. Just sayin...

[Vespertinas]

edit: darn. I'm sorry. I need to get back into the habit of reading the whole thread. Bad manners. (repeated SCTravelRN's point nearly word-for-word)

4 weeks is the rule of thumb, if you consider yourself a professional nurse. This was taught to me in my nursing program so it was no surprise when I went into the field. What surprised me was how many RNs didn't know or hadn't heard about it. If we are take ourselves seriously as a profession we must act like it as well.

Maybe you were taught it in school because it is becoming the *new* standard. That's great that your school was so conscientious about the details of professionalism. On the other hand, many nurses didn't get that education last year and they're still catching up because it's not every day that they resign.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

Check your Employee Handbook and any official policies that are relevant. If you don't follow the proper procedures for retiring, they can designate you as "ineligible for re-hire" which may prevent you from getting other jobs in the future. Not following the proper procedures can also cause you to lose certain benefits (such as being paid for un-used vacation time, etc.).

This. It's not just about "making nice" and making sure you're eligible for rehire (which is especially important if you work for a large chain.) Leftover PTO and such will be lost if you don't follow your workplace's policy.

And this isn't new. I had to give 4 weeks at a job that I quit about 8+ years ago.

Give 2 weeks and go. Don't give any notice. But be prepared to accept the consequences if you do so.

[PediLove2147, BSN, RN]

I worked private duty and my family wanted 6 months! The agency only required 2 weeks though. I gave them 4 because I could.

Enjoy your new position!

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

I am going through that right now. They did not teach us this in nursing school. I asked my administrator how much notice they needed. She told me 2 weeks was fine. THEN I get told nurses are 30 days. NC is a "right to work state, so I don't have to give any notice and they can terminate me anytime as well. The rub is that if I want a good standing reference, I have to do the 30 days. Also for me to recieve my PTO balance, I have to do 30 days. I have already made plans to start orientation!!!!! I went to HR and told them what I had been told, that I had been an exemplary employee (which I have been). They have offered me, in writing, that I make up the 10 shifts (8 hours each) in the next 45 days and I will be off of the "ineligible for rehire" list AND I get my PTO balance in cash (about 80 hours worth).

It really pays to do your homework. I wouldn't care about the rehire status, but the $$ makes it worth it. I am going to a job where I will work 3-12s, so I should be able to get it done. I'll pull a couple of doubles if I can fit it in my schedule. It's funny how they don't really tell you this stuff in orientation.

New grad may '12, worked there 8 months (rehab in a LTC). Leaving for a GREAT opportunity at Duke.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

It really just depends on the employer and their written policy. Follow the particular employers policy. If you don't you lose PTO and get a black mark on your record.

[netglow, ASN, RN]

Looks like this mind/life control nursing employers are practicing just keeps getting more and more intrusive. If you receive a job offer and that new job wants you to start ASAP and will agree to have you start in two weeks that is what you do. When I read stuff like mmc51264's situation, I KNOW that the idea is to make it so very difficult to leave that it will dissuade you from looking elsewhere. If you start on orientation with your new job, you will be overwhelmed in the learning, and the stress involved with wanting to to prove you were a good choice for them. Adding other shifts to meet some sort of "pay-off to the Mafia" at your old job, only serves to undermine your success.

Never ever sacrifice a new job for one you quit. Set your goal for the new employer and put all your efforts there.

If anyone believes that they will be able to go back to an old employer and work again even with the "stellar" review, in this day and age where jobs are scarce, you are being had. Never trust an employer. They will be eternally PO'd that you left - nobody cares if you were a great nurse or not - they just don't care because you quit. That's all. You must understand that, they can have 100's of nurses who are experienced ready to take report at a moment's notice. It is no hardship to find nurses to fill a vacant spot - unless the facility is a trainwreck, and cannot keep nurses on staff. These places will be the ones to threaten. You can leave these places at any time people!

Remember nursing is a small world, everybody knows what facilities are a hot mess. Spread the word to your nursing friends and also, to your family and non nursing friends. The facts of the workplace situation for nurses, you speak of will seriously freak out people in the community. Let EVERYONE know what the life of a nurse is about in your area.