written contract incorrect...need advice...please help!

HikingNinja, BSN, MSN, DNP, RN, APRN, NP · Apr 11, 2015

So I've been lurking on this site for several years. I'm a critical care nurse who has been traveling part time for a couple of years. Here's the situation I need help with:
A close family member is having surgery in june and I need to be there in order to help take care of her. I work with several different recruiters at different agencies and I let all of them know where I needed to go, why, the 5 days off I'd need post her surgery. I wanted to start the contract the first week of May. I let them know super far in advance because it's a very specific geographical area. So one recruiter who I've worked with once in the past is the first to get me acontract. But when the written is sent to me the wrong days off are listed. I contacted her multiple times to have the contract corrected and each time there is a excuse or she forgot. It's been a month and still not corrected.
So I told her I'd have to assume they won't let me have that time off and I had already let her know that was a deal breaker. I received an offer from another recruiter with pretty much the only other hospital in the area.
What should I do? I feel the first recruiter is being really unprofessional. It's been a month and still no correction of the contract. But she says I have a verbal with her so I have to do the contract. She makes it sound like she will blacklist me from agency and any hospitals they work with. It's AMN.
Advice please!

Did you sign the first contract yet? The one with the wrong dates? If not I'd go with the second offer if the co tract and dates off are what you need. I smell something squirrelly going on with that first recruiter if she can't get a contract fixed after a month of you asking her to. There's plenty of other agencies out there, AMN isn't the only one.

NedRN · Apr 11, 2015

This is a tough one! It is frustrating and stressful when a recruiter is unprofessional to this degree. No matter the outcome, I would suggest changing recruiters later at a good time. I'd even tell her manager why you want a change honestly rather than "bad fit" (the more tactful approach). You can live without AMN and "their" hospitals if they take honesty poorly. While they are the largest agency, they do not have anything approaching a majority of the travel industry and I doubt you will be hampered by missing some dream job only they have. I've been traveling 20 years AMN free and so far have not crossed their path.

If you want to salvage the AMN contract, I would suggest contacting the hospital manager you interviewed with directly. Tell them you would really like to take an assignment there but are having difficulties confirming your required personal days off with your agency and ask if she can do so (preferably by email, but verbal is OK if she gives you the right vibes).

An alternative approach is an email to your recruiter with (some of) the following points: My verbal agreement to do this assignment was contingent on getting my clearly specified days off. I have not received that from you after a full month of trying, only a threat of blacklist. To stay in AMN's good graces I will take this assignment, but regardless of what the written contract might state, I will be taking off those exact requested personal days off per our original verbal agreement and will communicate that to the hospital manager. I am copying this email to your manager and request a change of recruiters to someone who is more professional and can follow through without threats.

I don't suggest that paragraph verbatim of course, it just contains a few ideas you might run with if you feel comfortable doing so. You could just have a phone conversation with an AMN manager of course and feel it out. The manager you speak to will be in your recruiter's work group most likely and this could be either good or bad.

If none of these ideas work for you, go with the other recruiter and let the chips fall where they may with AMN. Having a Plan B as you have done is always commendable.

newbietravel · Apr 11, 2015

No. I did not sign it. I have refused until it's fixed. I've given her a couple of deadlines already to have it fixed and those have passed. Each time I get a text or email with some excuse as to why it hasn't been fixed. I've done half of the tests but refuse to do the drug test and the rest because my contract is not as it should be. The other recruiter was able to get me an interview for the other facility and they did extend an offer, I'm waiting to see the written on Monday but they said the time off would be fine.

I'm traveling only one or two assignments a year right but plan to travel more in a couple of years. I am afraid I will be blacklisted by AMN. I've read about others who have. Does this mean I would never be able to get an assignment at any hospital that they have the contract for? I'm worried this would really limit the hospitals I could work in the future.

NedRN · Apr 11, 2015

A blacklist would only affect your ability to work for AMN or their other agencies and hospitals for whom they operate as the vendor manager. If they really have a blacklist and only if you really end up on one. That is by no means assured and as you are not the bad guy here, ending up on some list should be able to be reversed.

Typical hospitals have lots of agencies they use. Being blacklisted by ANN will not affect your ability to work for someone else at those hospitals.

newbietravel · Apr 12, 2015

Thank all of you for being so kind and helping me think through my decision. I have decided when I see the second hospital contract on Monday I will make my decision. If all is correct with that contract I will sign it. I am going to let my AMN recruiter know in a professional way that she dropped the ball and I acquired another contract with a different recruiter. She is not the only show in town.

Thank you all I do feel so much better now that I know I will be able to travel for several more years and not have to worry about dreaded AMN blacklist!

NedRN · Apr 12, 2015

I'm assuming that the only place you heard about the "dreaded AMN blacklist" is from your recruiter. Because of that mention, you will not be working with them. So exactly who did this threat hurt? I think it was AMN.