4 weeks notice

sweetgurly25 · Jan 28, 2014

You can do either. You can take a short term time off or wait till you get an assignment then give notice. However as a newbie that might take a while. what is you specialty? I quit before i had assgnment because i wanted time off. It took 4months for me to get mine but i was too strict where i wanted to go. I did PRN work while i was waiting.

NedRN · Jan 28, 2014

You are not required to give any notice at all. Two weeks should be a better fit and is the standard notice period.

You may also want to investigate if you can go per diem at your current hospital and be able to meet the minimum requirements while traveling. Then you have security even if that first apparently solid travel assignment falls through.

trackhead, APRN · Jan 28, 2014

What Ned said......I quit my job and hauled my RV 1000 of 1250 miles to my first assignment, only to find out a week before it started that it was cancelled due to "low census". My agency paid me for two weeks work, all the travel pay, and housing, but it was still a shocker.

have a decent amount of savings before you start......that's my advice.

RNGriffin · Jan 29, 2014

I would advise against no notice. You never want to burn your bridges!

Give your nurse manager a heads up you are looking into Travel assignments. See if she has any PRN positions available & document the time of the meeting, what was said, who you spoke with, and the proper notification.( Trust me you'll regret not having the documentation in the event you're marked as a ineligible for rehire or need unemployment to cover your PRN shift)

Send an email to her & BCC yourself.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jan 29, 2014

I also disagree with the no notice, unless you want to ensure that they will make you a DNR and/or give you a poor reference. And given that there are few guarantees in life, you want to burn as few bridges as possible. You never know: traveling may not pan out as well as you thought...

Be a professional: find out what the required notice is and give it. If there is no guideline given, the standard is two weeks.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

NedRN · Jan 29, 2014

I never recommended no notice, just that it is not a legal requirement (although it could be contractual). Four weeks notice is excessive and makes changing jobs difficult. As I mentioned, two weeks is standard practice and will work better in starting a travel career. It is very difficult to lock in a travel job four weeks in advance of a start date. I agree with the suggestion by griffinchet to give the manager a heads up so they can start looking for new employees. That should ameliorate the apparent employer suggestion of 4 weeks notice and make 2 weeks more palatable.

BD-RN, BSN, RN · Jan 30, 2014

The last two permanent positions I had required a four week notice. Actually, when I was transitioning between the two and made sure HR at the new hospital was aware, the rep replied, "I completely understand. That is a pretty standard hospital practice for RNs now and is actually our policy here as well". Of course, you can technically give whatever notice you want, but be sure to read your hospital's policy, or ask your manager, before turning one in; the last thing you want to do is burn bridges!

Also, a tip one manager gave me: after you give your notice, remember you are working a notice. You might have sick time/PTO you want to use up if it's not reimbursed to you, but unless it was already scheduled, I wouldn't start calling out. A girl at my first job did that, and let's just say our manager wasn't too pleased with her when she left.

Now, I've only started traveling this summer past summer, but I haven't had any issues securing a contract so far 1 month-3 weeks before my start date. If you're on good terms with your employer and a start date got pushed back I'm sure you could negotiate some per diem work or something until you secured a contract, or take a well deserved stay-cation until you get one!

NedRN · Jan 30, 2014

My last staff job was 18 years ago, so apparently notice requirements/requests have changed! It costs so much to recruit nurses that it makes sense. It usually takes close to that long to go through a staff hiring process, so perhaps it is just travelers that are adversely affected.

Good post. Interesting to hear about your ease of getting assignments ahead of time. Just like the old days. I just landed an assignment to start first week of March, like 9 weeks from now. But it is a repeat and they would kill to have me back.

cn4333 · Feb 3, 2014

Thanks for all the replies guys! I have decided to give my four weeks notice this week!!! I am so grateful for everything my job has done for me! They took me on as a new grad after working in the Pedi ER as a CNA for three years.

Now I'm just hoping that my temporary California license comes in by the end of the month. Hopefully some new assignments are available For March.

chatkins · Feb 7, 2014

I have 2 friends who have gotten a Cali RN license, it took approx 3 months, you may want to plan accordingly.

cn4333 · Feb 9, 2014

I also am looking at tx and have my temporary license. If I don't get my CA license in time then i shall be going to TX! I'm just so ready to travel!