Will hospitals rehire old employees?

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Specializes in ICU.

Hi everyone! Since I am still relatively new as far as nurses go, hopefully some of you seasoned veterans can answer this for me.

I recently applied to a hospital that I have previously worked for. (Same hospital but different unit). I worked for them as a summer student nurse extern, and then as a RN in the Med-Surg-Neuro ICU for about 6 months after graduation. (the new unit I've applied for is a Neuro unit so I have had a little experience in that area)

I then found a Monday-Friday education job at a hospital closer to home which I eagerly took. I gave my two weeks notice at my old job and offered to stay for longer than that if needed. I had a good work record and was never disciplined for anything. I left on good terms with everyone.

The education job fell through, my hours have been cut in half, and here I am eight months later kicking myself for leaving my hospital job. :banghead:

So the question is, since I was previously employed at that hospital and left, will that hurt my chances of getting this new job on the different unit? Will they be afraid to rehire someone who stayed for only 6 months after graduation? Any insight or your experience with similar situations would be appreciated!

Thanks!!!! :)

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Not that I can see. You gave your 2 weeks and you were a good employee. They'll probably welcome you back with open arms!

Good luck!

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It could hurt, or not. It's worth pursuing, however. If they need people bad enough, and you left on good terms I think you have a good chance. Also, it helps that you have some experience - they appreciate that more than a new grad they have to train from scratch. You're cheaper to train!

Just explain to your new prospective employer why you left, what happened with your new job. etc. Have some good reason for why you want to work in this new unit as opposed to going back to your old one - like you enjoyed working with Neuro patients and want to work more with that patient population, or you want a new challenge or something. Also, your prospective manager will probably talk to your old manager, but if you left on good terms you should be OK. Just to be safe, I'd apply at other hospitals too just as a back-up. Good luck!

By the way - I went to Purdue also, but for my first degree in Communications. I graduated from IU for my nursing degree. I know - I went to the dark side! I would have gone to Purdue, but they didn't have an accelerated program.

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Specializes in OB, ortho/neuro, home care, office.

Depends - are you speaking of GLHS? Because they have a no re-hire policy. I know this for a fact unfortunately.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Most healthcare facilities will rehire old employees who are eligible for rehire. Eligibility for rehire is determined by whether you gave ample notice of your plans to resign and the 'cleanliness' of your file. If you had a clean file, were generally regarded as a good worker, and gave a resignation notice, then the facility should rehire you without much fuss.

My workplace always rehires old employees whether they left on good terms or not.

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Specializes in ICU.
By the way - I went to Purdue also, but for my first degree in Communications. I graduated from IU for my nursing degree. I know - I went to the dark side! I would have gone to Purdue, but they didn't have an accelerated program.

Hail Purdue! :cheers:

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Specializes in ICU.
Depends - are you speaking of GLHS? Because they have a no re-hire policy. I know this for a fact unfortunately.

No, luckily for me since they have a no re-hire policy! I have heard of people at this hospital who have worked there before, but it was for a longer time. So at least they don't have a no-rehire. My biggest concern was only being there for the 6 months and then leaving. :uhoh3:

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Boiler Up!

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Specializes in PICU, surgical post-op.

Hm, I'd also be interested in hearing whether or not this is a feasible plan. I'm hoping/planning to leave for Africa on a short term mission trip (6-12 months) at some point during the coming year. I just haven't talked to my management about it since I don't have any definite plans. Is it realistic to expect them to hire me back when I return? If I do end up deciding to go, when's the best time to let them in on my plans?

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There's a woman on my former unit who used to go on mission trips to Africa. She told our supervisor ahead of time, and I think they worked something out with HR, and set it up as a "hiatus" or "leave of absence" or something, and she kept her position. I'm sure your manager would work with you - you're already trained to work your floor, so it would be stupid not to accept you back.

Plus, it's not like you're leaving to follow the Grateful Dead or something. You're doing something to enhance your medical skills - valuable skills you can take back and contribute to your unit.

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

I resigned on good terms, because we were leaving for my dh to go back to school in a different state. We didn't expect to come back to the same city but God works in mysterious ways! My old boss was determined to get me to come back, so I went back per diem on my own terms (fewer hours than "minimum", no weekends etc.). Then when I wanted to go back to staff, it was easy.

Alirae, most places will let you take a leave of absence, unless you are taking emploment somewhere else. Volunteer work usually doesn't count as employment.

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Specializes in PICU, surgical post-op.
Alirae, most places will let you take a leave of absence, unless you are taking emploment somewhere else. Volunteer work usually doesn't count as employment.

I'd be working as a nurse, but it'll be on a boat and as a volunteer, so that would qualify, right? (Assuming everything goes according to plan...) I didn't know about a leave of absence - I'll have to check that out. Thanks!

Plus, it's not like you're leaving to follow the Grateful Dead or something. You're doing something to enhance your medical skills - valuable skills you can take back and contribute to your unit.

Tee Hee. I'm just picturing the looks on their faces if I told them that's what I was planning to do! Maybe I'll start with that, and they'll be so relieved when I tell them it's really just for nursing that they'll say okay with happy hearts. =)

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