Things have been spiralling downwards for some time now. Today seems like the last nail in the coffin. After almost two years (the 2-year mark is January 2010) working in a special area (operating room), I just got a memo today saying I'm going to be transferred back to the general ward.

I neither understand nor agree with this "policy," which is to transfer special-area nurses to the ward when they submit their resignation. However, I have not even written mine up yet!

I am seriously considering resigning from my job, and since my date of transfer would come before my obligatory 1-month notice, maybe I'll file for a leave from the transfer date until the date my resignation becomes effective. Not only will the OR lose one of its senior and most capable nurse, the ward won't get the additional personnel either. And it's not like we're overstaffed at the OR at the moment, if anything, we even need one or two more warm bodies.

The only reason I'm not resigning right away is because I was hoping to hit my 2-year mark, and I know that my family needs the money.

But I am so pissed off right now --- partly because I feel like the company treats me like I'm worthless, but also partly because there is no logical rationale behind this policy.

I hope my next employer won't have me dancing to all this #%&*$#.

Thanks for reading my vent. Your comments are appreciated.

It's good that you are in nursing though. It's a job high in demand and not enough people to fill the slots. At least in the US it's that way. Many nurses here are guns for hire. Recruiters are offering them big bonuses to work with a contract for about 2 years. After the length of the contract is up, they do it again with another hospital. The length of the contract varies by job, but you get the general idea.

Is there something special about the 2 year mark? Vested in something, cash, anything other than 2 years in?

Obviously, they know about your intentions to resign, even though, as you said, you haven't written yours up yet.

When did you intend to leave? I believe you said elsewhere you already had a new position in the UK. When does that take effect? Is there something you can use to bridge the gap, vacation or sick time, between now and when you when you want to go?

I guess my best advice is never act out of anger. This is about your employment, and future earnings and work. Don't get fired, whatever you do. You want to resign, do it on your terms in your time. You have control, even it if seems you don't. Having that other job waiting is golden.

Believe me, I've been here and done that. Not to good effect, but even people at my age can learn.

Calm down and good luck.

Its a good field but don't let your emotion own your decision. Its ALWAYS easier to find a job when you already have a job. Even in Nursing they are going to ask "why you left with nothing else lined up". No human resources departmnet wants to hire someone elses problem (no saying thats what you are) but that may perceive it as that if you quit with no other job lined up. When it comes to hiring perception is ofther stronger than reality. My advice is to hang in there while you locate something new you want to do. Count your blessings you have a job.

Unfortunately, D, I'm not in the USA. I'm in the Philippines, where for every nurse that has work, there are about 100 nurses unemployed. So yeah, we're being used and abused here. And the pay? I'm averaging US$128 per month. You read that right. PER MONTH.

Nurses here can't get work in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, or NZ if we don't have experience. How do we get experience? By working in a hospital that treats you like a machine. And pays you just a few nicks above minimum wage.

They're not paying me enough to deal with all the #%&*$# I have to go through, and they add more #%&*$# on top of it anyway.

20mm, I've actually hit my 2-year mark with the company, that came last August. However, I wanted to hit the 2-year mark of being an OR nurse, which comes in January. Is there something vested? Yeah, being able to put in my resume "2 years as an OR nurse" rather than "1 year, 11 months, and 2 weeks as an OR nurse" I want to leave, and I wanted to do it on my time and on my terms. It seems like I'll be dancing to their tune for a while more, as they hit me with a pre-emtive strike.

I intended to leave about a month before we get deployed to the UK, which should be around the start of January (start of leave) so as to have a month with the family before leaving at around February. Now it seems like I'll be leaving sooner than expected.

LoyalNine, thanks for the feedback. I guess I can consider myself having something "lined up" already, so no worries there. However, I am pissed off about 2 things - the stupid policy, and being hit with it from behind.

Eh...my sister is a nurse and most hospitals if not all of them have a hiring freeze so eventhough they are in demand--jobs are still not as plenty.

v6,
boNes

Haha, that is so true! Even here, we need more nurses. If the OR is short a nurse or two, the wards sure could use at least 5 more PER STATION. We got 4 stations so that's 20 more nurses. But no, they'd rather hit us with a 10:1 or 12:1 ratio!

When I graduated, I had 300 other classmates with me. Assuming 200 of those passed the exams, that's at least 180 nurses looking for a job FROM MY SCHOOL ALONE. How many nurses was hired since my graduation? 30. So yeah, I'm lucky to have a job, and to have it at a special area. But does that mean they get to screw me when they want to?

I've got half a mind to report them to the law, if it weren't such a hassle.

Don't let pride get the best of you, especially when you have a family in the picture.
Never quit a job unless you have another one with a start date, and preferably a letter of job acceptance even then. Jobs are hard to come by these days wherever you are, don't make things go from bad to worse.

How much will you work for? Would $70,000 USD per annum do it? That figure may be out of date.

Employment

Here's a couple suggestions for when it feels like you're a tree in a world full of dogs:

Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot by Jim Stockdale

The Enchiridion by Epictetus

Good luck, and I hope everything turns out for the best!

Cheers!

Rick...

Feel for you Ice, I did the same thing you're thinking of doing, Corrections to IT. Same money starting out where I am now compared to top pay I got to at hell on Earth at the jail. I was luckily only married, didn't have kids/mortgage so I had options, wish I could offer you some advice.. Good luck to you, it'd be tough to be stuck where I was.

Tough it out, then look for a job in the U.S. or Canada by which time the economy will have recovered. A that point you can then tell your current employer to go puck themselves, though not out loud of course.

Sorry, but one thing I failed to say was that I planned on resigning anyway. The only question was when. Like I said, I already have a new employer lined up and I'm only waiting for my documents to come through (visa, sponsorship letter, etc.). I was hoping to resign one month before I am to leave to spend that time with my family. To be able to resign one month before I am to leave, I have to submit my resignation another month earlier, or TWO months before I am to leave.

The confusing part there is that the agency could not give me a definite time when the deployment date is. He said the employers want us there by the end of January, so if that's the case, I should pass my resignation letter now and spend Christmas with my family. However, the agency guy says there are always delays. It's so confusing, and I was "holding out" with submitting my resignation to see how things turn out with the agency.

However, with the recent turn of events, it seems that I'll be submitting my resignation anyway. My thanks for all the show of concern, I'm really grateful, and I'm even more stoked that yes, I do have a next employer lined up (Sauron, the new job is GBP21K per annum, and no, I can't afford those books at the moment, with a US$128 per month salary).

Like I said, I'm just so mad at being pre-emptively struck at. Here I was, waiting and watching, and BAM! They hit me anyway.

Also, another reason why I'd rather resign than work at the ward: I don't want to dirty my record any more than I have to. I haven't worked in the ward for close to 2 years now. A lot of ways have changed by now. If I do go back, I won't be treated as an orientee, but rather as a full time staff nurse. With a 10:1 ratio, how likely are mistakes? From one who hasn't worked there for so long - Very. Heck, the staff nurses commit more than TWICE the number of mistakes as compared to other special areas, and those nurses WORK THERE day-after-day! And this hospital is very fond of memos, suspensions, and such. So no, I won't subject myself to any more disciplinary action due to errors, the errors due to sub-optimal working conditions.

Enough is enough. This job barely pays enough for all the stress it has me going through (though money is still money, but my wife tells me I talk in my sleep about my problems), and the MAIN reason I'm in it is for experience and I got that. Two years of it plus change. Time for a rest, me thinks, and hit the books again in preparation for my UK job.

In that case, I'd be very tempted to bail out before they could tag me with anything that might stick, as you say. But save those books for later and pick them up in the UK, LOL!

Cheers!

Rick...

Hahaha, I'm glad you see it my way, Sauron. Yes, I'd like to "maintain" my current record, I'll be damned if I'd add anything more to it just before I leave.

The current policy for resignation is a month's notice, so that'll mean I'll be out by December 21 or 23 (the folks who I submit my resignation to won't be at work until Monday, so the actual date at which I submit my resignation may be a factor). I'm scheduled to transfer to the ward on December 1. I'm planning to submit my resignation now, then file for a leave starting December 1 up to the time my resignation becomes effective.

If it weren't for the money/salary I'm losing, I'm really looking forward to spending the holidays with my family on a very relaxed atmosphere. I haven't been able to do that since my first son was born, 6 years ago. After that, the pressure of school, then of work, meant that I had to be at the hospital even during holidays, at first to earn credits for graduation, then it became part of my job working even during holidays.

I'm thinking nothing happens by accident, and maybe behind this dark cloud, God has neatly placed a silver lining.

Hopefully Ice. The jail fired me for not showing up for shifts that they purposely scheduled during school hours knowing I'd miss them so they could create a paper trail. I had no previous disciplinary action taken against me, they just singled me out like a few of my former co-workers predicted. And this was AFTER the head Supt and I had a verbal agreement that I would work on the weekends when they obviously have a harder time staffing. I thought it was win-win but they ended up not seeing it that way in the end and canned me. I filed my termination letter away in a drawer as inspiration during school but I never needed a self pep-talk I was so happy to be gone from there. Only job I've ever been fired from, and it's the one I'd have picked if I had a choice.. Other than the fact that you're already doing something that it a good career we're sort of in the same boat. Trust me, it's worth it. Good on you for making the huge jump, I hope you have the same feelings I have now two years afterward.

Your doing all that without the actual visa and contract in hand, that takes some cajones.

Dude, I've had to work for less than the US minimum wage many times lately, for the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE.

This is the new world order, get used to it.

I am fortunate that there's another side of this coin to my job - I also have days where I'm making ten times the minimum wage.

But in the former world any day less than minimum wage meant my instant "resignation".

Well, nowadays you take crumbs off the floor at times....

tomcat, hate to know that happened to you. Since there's a paper trail, can't you complain? If you hated that job, well, at least they made it easier for you to get out.

Nodak01, I agree. I guess I've grown some brass ones lately. I was hoping to be in a "safer" position before resigning, which is exactly what you suggested, having my Visa and contract on hand. However, they jumped this on me so things have to come up a little faster than expected. I hope my employer doesn't bail out on me, then again, I'm hired to work at their operating room, and there are only four of us for that area, so I don't think they want to lose 25% of their new manpower. Oh God, let it be so!

Vulgarity, what is the US minimum wage? Your advantage is you have good days to make up for the bad. For me, I can make an additional 10-20% of that from overtime, but that means just going home to sleep! Note that the salary I quoted was for 6-days-a-week work, with a double-shift at the end of that week (so it's basically 7 shifts a week)! Most of the time, I just spend my day off making up for lost sleep!

Reality nowadays is there is no such thing as a US minimum wage.

Most jobs nowadays here are "part time, on call, no guarantees", and that goes for the wages too. You don't find much in the way of "employment" these days, far more common is being classified as an independent contractor, EXCEPT that you will be treated just as if you were an employee.

Business knows it can get away with it because people are so desperate and/or afraid of not having work at all.

Like I said, this is the new world order, this is the new normal.

Business finally has everyone right where they want them.

Well, the beef here is, I am a REGISTERED NURSE. That means 4 years in college, taking a board exam, and passing it. That means I am a PROFESSIONAL. Not a smart high school graduate (no offense meant).

I treat my work seriously, I treat my patients professionally. I expect to be treated as such by my employer as well.

But your not special (no offense meant). There's a lot of people with equal or higher qualifications these days who simply don't even HAVE work. Among those who still DO have work the new normal is pay cuts, furloughs, "we'll call you when we need you", doing the work of three people, etc.

Look I'm just as unhappy about the 2009 world economy as you or anyone, but I'm just saying that to quit a job THESE DAYS is something to be thought about extremely hard, much more so than in years past.

Even if you're being used and abused.

I think that Vulg has a good take on this.

Is it that bad in the USA? I heard nurses are one of the most recession-proof jobs there.

Here, I think I can find work in a few months. BTW, aside from all I've been spouting, let me add "2 years in the Operating Room" to that. That's a special area and not a lot of nurses have it. Sure, there are other with more qualifications and what not (I'm not the epitome of my profession), but I'm sure I have my good points that I can bring with me to whoever hires me. Hardworking is one.

In any case, I feel for you, Vulgarity. I'm just glad I have my UK job lined up, or else you are 100% correct, I wouldn't be resigning even if I were used and abused.

Then again, it's my UK job that prompted my boss to transfer me to the ward that prompted me to resign anyway (since I already have something else lined up). Kinda twisted, huh?

On the plus side, I finally get to spend Christmas and New Year with my family....

That's not always a perk.


Wheels

I don't think its that bad... at least in the "Healthcare" job market. Our hospital is hiring all the time and usually can't get enough nurses. Heck, our hospital gave everyone a 1% bonus this year. The benefits are good as far as retirement goes here. They essentially match you 6% of your salary if you put in 6% too. However, from what I have heard other hopsitals in the area are on a pay freeze.

Usually its either feast or famine with hospital budgets. If the dumb@$$es in administration would leave a d@mned cash reserve and NOT touch it until they need it to get through a though stretch and then rebuild it during the good times things would run smoother but usually the administration is a revolving door of people with short term goals to make themselves look good and then move on to bigger and better institutions.

Nursing always seems to have a cycle of too many then too few nurses. One field of nursing you may want to consider is Nursing Informatics kinda of half IT half nursing where you are the liason between the clinical staff and the IT staff. You help make the clinical informatic system more user friendly for doctors and nurses. Its a relatively new field that I have only seen utilized in the last five years in the two hospitals I have worked for.

That's a nice suggestion, Chef! I'm kinda into computers, and I was taking up Computer Science before shifting over to Nursing. I've always been told that my "l337 skillz" would come in handy later on. So far, this hasn't materialized yet, but here's to hoping!

wheelsup, it kinda is for me right now. I've never really been able to enjoy Christmas and New Year since taking up Nursing. The college days were taken up doing projects and on-call duty at hospitals and what-not, working days usually had me on duty at one shift or another. So this is the first time I'll be able to actually really ENJOY the holidays in, oh, 6 years, without worrying about going on duty in a few hours.

I am glad to hear that you will be able to enjoy the holidays this year.


Wheels

Hehehe... Thanks Wheels. Really, I haven't been able to fully enjoy it for some time now, so it is a big deal for me. Unlike other jobs, we do have to work on holidays (sometimes, we even have MORE work on the holiday or the next day :D), so this is a real treat.

Hehehe... Two days before I was to stop working, I went to assist with a surgery and the doctors and the anesthesiologist looked up and exclaimed that they thought I had already left. Same thing happened the last day of work. All of them expressed their disappointment at my leaving and the lack of manpower and the idea of the OR getting handicapped without my l337 skillz.

I'm happy to be away. I'm sad to leave them, but I have to move on.

Two day later, my sister accompanies her friend to the hospital to submit her (the friends') application as a staff nurse. They overhear the chief nurse curse and whine about me leaving --- the chief nurse was on leave for the two weeks prior to my resignation and only learned about it the day before. Apparently, now they have a staffing problem, but they're not hiring anyway. My sister and her friend left the office without submitting her application, as they decided (from what they overheard) that it wasn't a good place to work in.

Many of the nurses I know are having their hours scaled back. These people aren't working in rural areas, but major hospitals that are among the best in the world. Some specialties are less affected than others. Lately, there seems to be almost a 50% increase in patient load compared to previous years.

Good luck.

My aunt is a very experienced nurse in Toronto Canada and she is being forced to cut at least 1 shift per month from her schedule, as well as every other nurse in her hospital, cost cutting measures.

Longbow, I'm sorry to say this, but a shift per month is no big deal to me, but I've never been to Toronto so... but what I'm saying is, the last time I evaluated my "expenses" in Toronto, I have more than enough for my need in one month's salary so a 1-shift decrease isn't too big a hit.

I do agree with you guys though. It's very confusing. Everybody I know (and I have a few cousins in California) says they "NEED" nurses, but they aren't hiring, and the current employees are being probed and poked to see how much they can take before crying "foul!"