Registered Nurse: New Job opportunity, not sure what to do

[roliepolieoliefan]

Hi
I know the decision is ultimately mine to make but I need some opinions, I'm so undecided
I've been an RN for many years and currently work in a doctor owned same day surgery center
My hours are Mon thru Friday no weekends, holidays and latest I work is 7pm a couple times a month , Nursing wise that's pretty darn sweet
Its 25 min from my house.
Pay is horrible, benefits retirement horrible
Doctor owned so all about profit

I was offered a job in a same day surgery unit at a huge teaching hospital in the next state.
Commute is a little over an hour, all highway
Pay is SIGNIFICANTLY more. Better benefits and retirement
The unit has longer hours even though it's considered same day.
I could start as early as 530am and work as late as 830pm , start times are staggered , 12 hour shifts
So instead of five , eight hour shifts, I currently do now, I would work three, twelve hour shifts
I'd have to work 1 winter holiday and 1 summer holiday and take call one weekend day every other month to cover the main OR recovery room.
Like i said pay is SIGNIFICANTLY more and no way will my current job ever come close to this wage
I'd have to apply for a new RN license which is $$ and time to get things notarized and fingerprinted
i like the longer shifts less days but I'm afraid I'll get stuck working every friday even though i was told 2 a month and the busy hospital atmosphere isnt something I've experienced in a long while, plus the call, and holidays

The money would be great . We have a son currently in college and one soon to start
My husband is ok with what I decide , but I cant decide what to do.

 

[barkley]

i'll just comment on these aspects as someone with lots of friends who work in the adjacent state-

Commute is a little over an hour, all highway

have you driven it during the actual times you would reasonably work? i previously worked in a state where an hours difference in start/end times could mean 1-2 hours difference in commute.

have you checked how much more in auto insurance you will have to pay? more miles equals higher premiums in some states, and with the one adjacent to us there are differences in minimum insurance coverage vs our state so people who live in one/work in another run a big risk if they don't up their coverage just in case during their commute they get into a car accident.

also-take into consideration tolls and wear/tear the double mileage will cause to your car.

I'd have to apply for a new RN license which is $$ and time to get things notarized and fingerprinted

have you fully explored the cost? rn licencing differs so much state to state that it can be very costly and entail additional education that new employers are both not paying for as well as not willing to hold a job for. on top of that remember that if the training is state specific, you as an out of state resident could pay triple the amount of tuition costs for coursework (about what someone out of state pays in my state for so much as a one day professional class offered for licensing only at colleges).

We have a son currently in college and one soon to start

it sounds like you are planning to commute from one state to another, but think about how if it gets to be too much for you and you/your dh, and you decide to relocate to the new state-it may impact any in-state tuition rates your son(s) receive by virtue of your residency.


the other issue to consider is taxes. tax laws have changed for 2018 filings and beyond such that if you are liable for taxes in the state you work as well as the one you live in you may be severely limited on writing off those taxes on your fed return. business expenses have been cut back as well so many of the traditional professional expenses are gone.



i'm always in favor of jobs that will provide for people in the long run but i think you need to consider what it will minimally cost you financially to take this job. figure out if there is a net higher earning you will receive THEN decide if those earnings balance out against the added commute time, the longer shifts, the on-call times...

 

[Caseheidi]

You mention that your current compensation is horrible. May I ask how you like the actual environment? I was once given great advise. I was told theatre are three parts to a job when you are thinking of making a change; Do you enjoy the actual work, is the environment good (people you work for and with) and are you adequately compensated? If two of the three are no, you need to find a new job.

Having said that, if the only bad portion of your job is the compensation, is there any chance of getting better by taking to your boss and letting them know this new offer. Perhaps they would improve your pay and benefits to keep you. If you don’t enjoy your current environment, then I would seriously consider the new job. The commute is horrible, and dealing with taxes may be a pain, but we spend a large percentage of our life there, and you need to be happy and feel valued.

 

[sam_gordon]

Hi
I know the decision is ultimately mine to make but I need some opinions, I'm so undecided
I've been an RN for many years and currently work in a doctor owned same day surgery center
My hours are Mon thru Friday no weekends, holidays and latest I work is 7pm a couple times a month , Nursing wise that's pretty darn sweet
Its 25 min from my house.
Pay is horrible, benefits retirement horrible
Doctor owned so all about profit

I was offered a job in a same day surgery unit at a huge teaching hospital in the next state.
Commute is a little over an hour, all highway
Pay is SIGNIFICANTLY more. Better benefits and retirement
The unit has longer hours even though it's considered same day.
I could start as early as 530am and work as late as 830pm , start times are staggered , 12 hour shifts
So instead of five , eight hour shifts, I currently do now, I would work three, twelve hour shifts
I'd have to work 1 winter holiday and 1 summer holiday and take call one weekend day every other month to cover the main OR recovery room.
Like i said pay is SIGNIFICANTLY more and no way will my current job ever come close to this wage
I'd have to apply for a new RN license which is $$ and time to get things notarized and fingerprinted
i like the longer shifts less days but I'm afraid I'll get stuck working every friday even though i was told 2 a month and the busy hospital atmosphere isnt something I've experienced in a long while, plus the call, and holidays

The money would be great . We have a son currently in college and one soon to start
My husband is ok with what I decide , but I cant decide what to do.

Is moving an option? Maybe not all the way to the new location, but halfway? I do a 30 minute commute and have for 16 years now and haven't hated it. An hour I think would be fine at first, but after a couple years I would hate. That said, I like PP suggestion of talking to your current employer if you like everything but pay and benefits. Just before you do know there is the possibility (however slight) that they say "fine, don't let the door hit you on your way out").

 

[anniemae]

It would be tempting to try the new job. Honestly though, I think I would stay at the current job, but that's just me. Personally at this point in my life, I would not want nights/weekends/holidays. Obviously the higher pay and the benefits are a plus, also i would like the longer shifts/less days as well. But, I'm just not sure I would want to pay the price, which is the long commute, the holidays and weekends. If that does not bother you though, go for it. It sounds like it could be a good job.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Is moving an option? Maybe not all the way to the new location, but halfway? I do a 30 minute commute and have for 16 years now and haven't hated it. An hour I think would be fine at first, but after a couple years I would hate. That said, I like PP suggestion of talking to your current employer if you like everything but pay and benefits. Just before you do know there is the possibility (however slight) that they say "fine, don't let the door hit you on your way out").

We cant move due to DH's job and DD is still in high school.
No way would current employer do a thing
Many people have left and their philosophy is there is always someone to replace you

 

[Southernmiss]

Dh has had a 45 minute or hour commute most of our 30 year marriage.

He doesn't mind the drive. Me, I hate to be in the car. Would you ever have winter/much inclement weather to deal with? But you already drive 25 minutes, so another 30 isn't adding a lot.

Aside from that, the $ and better benefits would be a great motivator for me with 2 of my own in college and 1 heading there in 2020. I could even do an hour drive. Just find something you like to listen to.

The one holiday and weekends wouldn't be a bother as the kids often have their own plans and my dh works a side hustle nights and weekends.

I'd say go for it!

 

[serenitynow]

Retirement benefits are horrible at your current job? Have you been able to save enough to provide for your retirement on your own? What’s your plans for the future?

 

[Ralphmiller007]

I've never worked in an outpatient facility or surgical center, so my perspective might not be the best. I work three 12's in an ICU, and if I happen to work those in a row it usually takes me my first day off to recover from it. We sometimes get mandated to 16's, and in general the long shifts are exhausting. I would really think about how you are going to feel with 12 hour shifts plus an additional 2 hours a day in commute every single work day. You might actually feel worse than your current 5 day work schedule. There are many days I leave work and think I would love to apply to an MD office or outpatient site for shorter hours and weekends off. I know compensation and benefits are a big draw, though, and I wouldn't blame you if it came down to that. I used to work weekends only for the big differential, but in the long run it wasn't worth never seeing my husband on his only days off.

 

[North of Mouse]

Hi
I know the decision is ultimately mine to make but I need some opinions, I'm so undecided
I've been an RN for many years and currently work in a doctor owned same day surgery center
My hours are Mon thru Friday no weekends, holidays and latest I work is 7pm a couple times a month , Nursing wise that's pretty darn sweet
Its 25 min from my house.
Pay is horrible, benefits retirement horrible
Doctor owned so all about profit

I was offered a job in a same day surgery unit at a huge teaching hospital in the next state.
Commute is a little over an hour, all highway
Pay is SIGNIFICANTLY more. Better benefits and retirement
The unit has longer hours even though it's considered same day.
I could start as early as 530am and work as late as 830pm , start times are staggered , 12 hour shifts
So instead of five , eight hour shifts, I currently do now, I would work three, twelve hour shifts
I'd have to work 1 winter holiday and 1 summer holiday and take call one weekend day every other month to cover the main OR recovery room.
Like i said pay is SIGNIFICANTLY more and no way will my current job ever come close to this wage
I'd have to apply for a new RN license which is $$ and time to get things notarized and fingerprinted
i like the longer shifts less days but I'm afraid I'll get stuck working every friday even though i was told 2 a month and the busy hospital atmosphere isnt something I've experienced in a long while, plus the call, and holidays

The money would be great . We have a son currently in college and one soon to start
My husband is ok with what I decide , but I cant decide what to do.

The commute and uncertain longer hours would kill it for me!! A very close friends does the 3day/12 hr. route and she is 'wiped' after, so don't discount that. Remember, you are spoiled to great working hours for a nurse!
Is there a possibility of relocating closer? How does the hours/mileage relate to your dh's?? That would also be a large concern with me.
Good luck on decisions. The extra pay/benefits would not be so great if you become miserable with all the changes.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The latter sounds a lot like my job. A few thoughts.

The commute wears on you. I've been doing it for more years than I care to remember now. I sometimes dream of switching out to a job like yours despite the lower pay mainly because of the commute. Yesterday as I was about half way home I saw a fresh car accident on a secondary road (which I sometimes take when I know the highway is backed up, which takes longer but generally moves) - one car was on its side and the other was sideways across the road with both air bags deployed. People were standing outside their cars looking a little dazed waiting for help. I felt sorry for them. And traffic was already backed up behind them for about a mile, there were just so many cars on that particular road. Yuck. I was glad I was on the opposite side and fairly close to the scene or my side would've been backed up, too. C'est la vie as a commuter. (Had anyone been lying in the road or looked otherwise hurt I would've stopped to help while awaiting ambulance.)

If I recall, you live in the northeast. Remember, you have to be there even if there's a major snowstorm, often sleeping there, two or three to a room, or renting a hotel room, if you're on back to back shifts. With this type of 12 hr shift, which really is more like 13 because they don't pay for your half hour break so your shift actually ends on the half hour, then add another 15-30 minutes if report goes over or you can't leave someone in distress, you're gone from the house for appx 15 1/2 hrs, so not a lot gets done at home on those days, and you're so tired all you can manage is perhaps a bite to eat and a shower, then hopping in bed only to do it over again in a few hours. And hopefully you have a quality sleep and nothing happens at home where you have to be up for a while! (Which is often, making the next day at work rather difficult.) If you do have to call in sick, you use twelve hours of time instead of eight. It adds up fast. Of course, they frown upon using sick time at all, so even though they say to stay home if you're sick, you may get hauled into the office if you're over on the sick time policy. And despite it being a place where sick people are cared for, if staff is sick, it can be different. Even for people injured on the job the focus is mostly on how to get you back to work asap.

You mentioned holidays - one winter and one summer. Sounds like one day each, right? Well, not really. Sometimes it's two days per holiday, the eve and the day of. And although the loose policy is to work one holiday, people with lower seniority often have to work two until they get up there a bit. This is often a big source of contention for new people who thought they'd only have to work one. As for scheduling the days you work, they'll often take your preferences, but know well that they're going to schedule you where they need you, even if it's not a day you want to work. It sounds like your call weekend obligation would probably be fairly easily switchable (I'd check that out for sure), but for those of us who actually have to work weekends, they are written in stone, so if you can't find someone to work for you and you have to be there no matter what, it's tough to schedule even something like a vacation around them unless you use actual vacation time, requests for which have to be submitted months in advance.

I won't get into a lot about how working in the hospital environment has changed a ton other than to say that it can be very challenging to give the type of humanistic care we want to give while having to document continuously in the electronic record knowing that ongoing quality audits will reveal if you're not keeping up with all the mandates, which adds to the stress of the day especially when there's a problem with your patient(s) and you of course, fall behind and have to try to play catch up later. This is not something that ever lets up now, and starts the minute you walk in the door and doesn't end until you walk out. Every. Day. You might say you do this now. But people are sicker in hospitals like this, and often have multiple comorbitities, and need additional care - as do their families.

I would think long and hard about taking this type of job that is so far away. Try to talk to others who work there, or have left there, if you can. If you don't take the new job, if nothing else, maybe at least looking at it will help you appreciate a bit more what you have in your current job now! Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[focusondisney]

Pea-n-me has good points. I have worked in a large teaching hospital for over 40 years, the last 14 working 12 hour shifts. They truely are exhausting & as she points out, you often spend at least the early part of your first day off recovering. If I do 2 in a row like on my weekends, that’s all I do is work. No keeping up with family or any chores etc at home. So that first day off is catching up on laundry, groceries etc. My commute is about 20-30 minutes. If it had to add another 30 minutes I guess I could live with it. And I live in an area known for snow. Realistically, the number of really bad snow fall days are probably in the single digits every year. And you may be off those days!

Is the teaching hospital a union facility? Ours is. So everything about holidays, vacation & scheduling is set in stone for the duration of the contract. There may not be room for scheduling flexibility if there is a contract to follow.

My dream job would be no weekends, no holidays. But realistically, I am very glad I make the salary I do & I will have a decent pension in a few years. My pay allowed us to pay most of our kids college costs & weddings, we go on nice Disney vacations & buy new cars when we want them. I had a coworker leave to go work as a school nurse a few years ago. She wanted weekends & summers off. Personally I couldn’t imagine making less than half of what I make at the hospital. But like I said, I’ve done it since I got out of nursing school, so it’s all I have ever done. Everyone has different priorities & tolerance levels. Thankfully so or we’d have no one to be a school nurse, work in that doctor’s office, surgery centers & nursing homes. Your current job is important & you are needed. Just too bad you can’t get the compensation you deserve.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[mousefan73]

So here are my comments.
I had a thread a while back about our company trying a voluntary leave program ( we cant get fired, i am overseas) and part of the program we all had to have an appointment with a headhunter as If you took the package you geet re-placement services from said headhunter.

so the first step was to determine if I was even interesting in further developing myself outside of our company.. the headhunter asked me what would drive me to leave.. I said more money and less of a commute ( all other benefits to remain). He said that when it comes to job satifsfaction money MAY seem like the main factor but after time job satisfaction becomes less focused on money.

You need to ask youself. do you like your current job? do you feel driven, challenged. How are the relationships with colleagues, bosse? Starting somewhere new, you have to build a new reputation. Maybe you are considered the expert person now for something.. your new job you have to prove yoursefl again.. All of this contributes more to overall job happiness then money or a commute.

But when looking at what you wrote this is what I see:
1. 5 days 8 hours ( 250 minutes commute a week)
2. 3 days 12 hours (360 minutes commute a week)

I prefer option 2.. 2 days off . though you are full-time it feel part-time.. believe me I have been there. .. once you are at work adding the extra hours goes fast.. also with shift hours like that.. your commute times most likley will be outside of rush hour.

those extra holidays, weekends here and there is a non-issue IMO.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Hard choice.
My mom was an RN for 40yrs.
It absolutely killed her body.
If I were to ask her what made her retire it would be going to 12 hour days.
She lasted 1 month after that started.
Also having twice the commute would be awful in my opinion especially in the winter months.
Also not really having a set schedule seems like a big downside.
Is your work now very physically demanding? If so and you're going to do the same type of work for longer hours I definitely wouldn't do it unless you are in amazing shape.
Also if its the same type of work then it makes me wonder why it pays THAT much more.
I think it basically boils down to is the pay jump worth it?

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

We cant move due to DH's job and DD is still in high school.
No way would current employer do a thing
Many people have left and their philosophy is there is always someone to replace you

With RN's being a shrinking pool I bet they change their tone soon enough.

 

[wvjules]

I would not do it. Why? I know I am not cut out for 12 hour days, even if its only 3 of them. I wouldn't be able to function by the middle of day 2. And then add an hour long commute on top of that? No.

Yes, more money would be nice. But do you *need* it?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

With RN's being a shrinking pool I bet they change their tone soon enough.

There is a lot of controversy about this. Is there a Nursing shortage? Yes and no. The average age of RNs in the country is something like 55. Which means that in ten years, many will be retired/retiring and need to be replaced. Medical drama TV shows and relatively good pay have inspired many to become nurses, but many had trouble getting hospital jobs (for a few reasons) and may still be rather inexperienced, plus they don't usually stick around as long as the previous generations of nurses did; they tend to move on relatively quickly. As you saw yourself with your Mom, working in hospitals 12 hour shifts, especially overnights, and weekends, holidays, overtime shifts, etc., can be hard on us as we age, but even when we're young. Many people can't work overnights, they get physically sick and can't sleep right during the day, so if that's the only option for them, they may have to leave. Quality of life becomes a bigger issue.

As for the type of place the OP works, there may be lots of experienced nurses who've "had it" with commuting into the city and working crazy hours with high acuity patients over many years, and may be looking for something a little less stressful and closer to home, even if it means the pay is less (they can always stay on Per Diem at the big hospital and pick up a few shifts here and there to make up the difference). Experienced nurses may not be too difficult to find for that specialty, not sure. So I don't know if they'll be changing their tone about people leaving, it's possible. We nurses all know that an experienced nurse is something to be really valued and they'd be smart to try to keep the staff they have happy.

 

[focusondisney]

Also if its the same type of work then it makes me wonder why it pays THAT much more.

With RN's being a shrinking pool I bet they change their tone soon enough.

The OP currently works for a private surgery center owned by a physician. Physician owned practices have always paid less than half of what our large hospital systems pay for the whole time I have worked. They can draw staff because they are less stress & the hours are generally more family friendly. It really has nothing to do with the type of work being the same or not.

It isn’t easy working in a large hospital & the higher pay helps keep staff there. And private physicians don’t have the income stream large institutions have, so they can’t offer the same pay rate & keep their practice open, even if they want to.

 

[indimom]

Think about your life outside of work. While 3 12s sounds pretty sweet... with the commute, you will basically be working and sleeping on those days. Is it three days in a row or are they spread out? Are they the same days every week or will it vary? It can really eat into your life a bit when you 'lose' three full days a week with little to no time for exercise, preparing meals, spending time with your family. In addition, there can be recovery time when you basically fit five days work into three. But, depending on your personal situation, the Days off may make up for it.
It really depends on you.

I went from 3/12s to 5/8s. I feel like I have a real life again. I missed out on a lot working that schedule because every other week two of my days were weekends. And my days off were when everyone else was working or in school.
If you need a change but aren't sure this is it, spread your net wider. There are a lot of positions which may fit better.

ETA. I do work for a hospital with these hours so those positions do exist. I get the better level of pay with a livable schedule. I do still have on-call hours, but they're manageable.

 

[cayennews]

Would the three shifts be staggered or in a row? If they are in a row then you could potentially get a hotel room and stay local for a couple nights. It might be nice to have some quiet time.

It does sound like you may need to ask a few more questions of the new job before you decide. Do the drive a few times to see if you can handle it three times a week. Good luck with your decision.