Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: Hope this is the right forum for this, I am soooooooooo mad!

  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    6

    Hope this is the right forum for this, I am soooooooooo mad!

    I was contracted for 13 weeks for a med/surg floor, 12 hr. nights (which is my preferred shift). I go in to work to find that the Dec. schedule is out and I am NOT on it! I begin asking around and am told through the hospital grapevine that I have been moved to 2nd floor which is ortho/tele. Not only that but DAY shift!!
    I called my recruiter, who called the hospital and they gave him a spiel about "Oh she won't have to do cardiac drips, etc. just more acute M/S pts." SURE........this is the hospital who's orientation consisted of "Hi, here are your 7 pts tonight and oh yeah, you have an admission on the way."
    My recruiter told ME to call the 2nd floor manager and speak to her about the change of shift. IS this MY responsibility? Isn't this what the recruiter gets paid to do, mediate???
    I am so mad that I just want to cancel this contract. Only problem being is that this is local to my home and I hate to burn bridges. But I will not be someone's doormat.
    PLEASE...........any suggestions public or private are extremely welcome.
    Crying in IL,
    Trish

  2. #2
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    12

    Arrow Re: Hope this is the right forum for this, I am soooooooooo mad!

    Dear Dragonfly:

    I work for an agency so I know about contracts. This is totally not fair to you. This is why you work agency so that you can avoid the "politics" you have found yourself in.

    There are several statements I would like to make here:

    1). While it is true your agency is getting paid to talk on your behalf, you will find that many of the people that own the agency or work for the agency are NOT nurses so if they were to speak on your behalf, they probably know you would do a better job but yes, they should talk on your behalf.

    2). The second point is that I would NOT do anything that I was not comfortable with. You are only setting yourself up for a possible malpractice situation should anything go wrong and that would cause more damage to your career in the long run. Unahappy employees make mistakes more than happy ones.

    3). The problem I foresee you in is this: You will stand your ground and say you can not or will not work this shift or floor. Deep inside, your agency does not care. All they care about, is getting the position filled. Don't forget, they charge a specified amount and give you a percentage, in essence, you are being "pimped out" therefore, if you can not do it, your agency will just get someone else who can. Sounds cold but true. As I work for an agency.

    4). Here is what the hospital sees, they know they are working short and they are paying double for your services. Naturally, they will take their own employees and give them what they want and put you where they have the hole because they view you as a service they are paying for and should be able to use you were they need you. Remember, if they use their own employees they are paying out much less than for an agency nurse. Again, if you can not do it, they will expect the agency to get someone for the kind of money they are paying.

    I understand your feelings, I have been there and done that.

    Caring4You--Anneliese,RN,BSN,CLNC

  3. #3

    Re: Hope this is the right forum for this, I am soooooooooo mad!

    Does your contract specify which unit & shifts you will work?? Couple of thoughts:

    You are a professional adult. IMHO you should have gone to the manager(s) first to try to resolve this rather than relying on the "grapevine". Explain that you understand their needs but that you DO have a contract; whether or not you agree to their changes has to be your decision. Perhaps you might consider working Ortho/Tele IF they can provide adequate orientation & support. Who knows, might not be so bad.

    Second, if you can't resolve this with the facility then yes, I would expect your recruiter to intervene. That is part of their job. If they are unwilling or unable then I'd find a new recruiter. From personal experience (husband's) there are agencys & recruiters out there who will go to bat for you.

    Sounds like a bad situation all around....good luck

  4. #4
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Posts
    9

    Re: Hope this is the right forum for this, I am soooooooooo mad!

    always have a plan "b" ! read the damn contract,but whatever the case don't take on any assignment that your not experienced. forget about the bridges..the greatest advantage of traveling is you are as immune to politics as you can get in the career disciple. don't expect any going away parties, don't wave goodbye, just focus on the road ahead. when you arrive at the new destination your wiser and it's a whole new game. ps. you should update you travel co. but don't expect much action. we need an icon for "hard ass"!

  5. #5

    Re: Hope this is the right forum for this, I am soooooooooo mad!

    In my experience as an agency nurse, pretty much all contracts state that you may have to float to other units, meaning they can put you on any other unit for as long as they want if the acuity and basic care principals are the same. such as, if you sign on to do MS, then you can also be expected to do basic tele because all nurses should be able to read a strip, that does not necessarily include TRUE cards patients. Alot of MS pt's can be candidates for tele if they have simple things, such as an electrolyte imbalance. This does not mean that you should be taking care of someone with an arrhythmia, cath, etc...
    As far as your shift, if your contract states 12 hr nights, I would force them to stick to that, if it states possible rotation however, this is something that you probably can't do anything about.
    As far as the patient's go, make sure before you get report each day that you review with the charge nurse that the patient's that are supposed to be assigned to you are just MS patient's, and if they try to stick in an ortho or cards patient, refuse the assignment and call the nurse supervisor. They will either give you the appropriate pt's or they won't, and if they don't eventually they will get tired of you making an issue of it and will probably send you back to your other floor.
    Just don't accept anything less than what you signed on for, and go back and reread your contract to make sure you know what exactly it is that you agreed to in writing, verbal agreements and what people have told you don't mean squat.

  6. #6
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Posts
    5

    Re: Hope this is the right forum for this, I am soooooooooo mad!

    A caution about ending your contract. When I started having issues on my current travel assignment I too wanted to end the contract.

    Upon studying my contract closer, in the housing benefits section, there is a clause that states if I terminate early I OWE THEM $8 an hour for the remaining hours on the contract. (At that time there were 10 of 13 weeks left or around $3,200)

Similar Threads

  1. Hope???
    By but for the grace of God in forum Nurses In Recovery
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 08-05-2010, 06:26 PM
  2. help and hope
    By Buckley in forum Nurses In Recovery
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 03-30-2009, 01:15 PM
  3. LTC Nursing forum - This forum is for nurses
    By Aaron C. in forum LTC Nursing - Long Term Care
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 11-25-2008, 10:03 PM
  4. New to the forum and posting. Hope this is OK
    By cabkwb in forum New User Introductions
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 04-03-2008, 07:31 AM
  5. Is there hope for me?
    By DDH in forum Nurses Talk with Nurse Recruiters
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 02-11-2004, 10:17 AM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •