I recently read an article by Michelle Podlesni of the National Nurses in Business Association titled “Why Nurses Need a Plan B and More in Today’s Marketplace.” She talked about 3 big mergers that have occurred.
CVS is buying Aetna Insurance. There are rumors of Walmart buying Humana. CHI and Dignity Health are combining, and Ascension and Providence St. Joseph were also merging.
Given these huge corporate mergers, there will be less competition and less healthcare institutions in the marketplace for nurses to work at.
Michelle advises to have a “plan B.” My advice is that if you see the handwriting on the wall, don’t wait. Resign first. You can always get another job, you can’t get another license.
I know it’s scary, especially with these health care institutions merging and they may be the only game in town, but again, if you don’t have a license, what difference does it make?
In order to properly resign, you need to put your resignation in writing and keep a copy. Ideally, it would be preferable to have something signed so that you know they received notice of your resignation. And when I say notice, I mean notice. Give 2 weeks or whatever notice your employer requires. It is important that your employer accepts your resignation. Otherwise, it could be listed as a termination.
Potential employers can still ask, “Were you fired in lieu of termination?” If that is the case, you then will need to be honest and respond, “Yes.”
Remember, if you are terminated, you will need to list that on all of your future job applications. You can’t just simply omit one. In fact, most employment applications require you to submit them, signing under oath that you are honest on your employment application. You can’t conveniently omit one even if you were there only for a short period of time.
I hope that you never find yourself in this situation, but if you are, now you know how to handle it.
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