NurseWeek: A Graceful Exit: When leaving a job, nurses advise not to burn bridges

A graceful exit
When leaving a job,
nurses advise not to burn bridges

By Chris Schreiber
July 24, 2000

Every employer wants sufficient notice when you have decided to leave. Nurses recommend notifying your supervisor as soon as possible.

Illustration: Artville


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During her 35 years as a nurse, Judy Fingerhut, RN, associate director of nurses for John George Psychiatric Pavilion and Fairmont Hospital in San Leandro, Calif., has bid adieu to many nurses who have found other jobs or left the profession altogether.

She’s seen the dignified departures and the fumbling clunkers, the nurses who erase a good work history with a bad exit. Fingerhut said most nurses who decide to move on leave on a positive note, but it’s the ones who don’t that leave a lasting impression. Of the bad variety.

Fingerhut recalled one such "resignation" that was, well, unmistakable.

"He threw his keys and his coffee across the room, stormed out and said he wouldn’t be coming back," she said.

Although that nurse didn’t burn any co-workers with his ill-advised java javelin, Fingerhut said, he’d burned his bridge at the hospital before the cappuccino hit the floor. File that under "W" for "Wrong way to leave your job."

With more hospitals struggling to wrest free from the clutches of a nationwide nurse shortage, employers are doing all they can to lure even inexperienced nurses to change jobs. Job mobility is at an all-time high, which means more opportunities to use the lessons of the latte launch. But what is the best way to exit a job gracefully?

If you don’t want the double shot to hit the fan, keep these things in mind before you leave your job.

Notice, notice, notice
Every employer wants sufficient notice when you’ve decided to leave. Notify your supervisor as soon as possible so the proper preparations can be made in advance of your departure.

"A bad way to do things is to not give us any forewarning," said Viki Ardito, RN, director of nursing at Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley, Calif. "We all understand that people can move around. To not give us warning to plan and try to cover for that loss can cause a problem, and that’s one of the fastest ways to burn bridges."

Two weeks’ notice is usually considered the standard for most nurses. It’s normally enough notice for bedside or staff nurses, but Steve Tucker, RN, director of nursing at Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos, said sometimes two weeks isn’t enough time for specialty nurses.

"It’s much more difficult to find specialty nurses," Tucker said. "It’s nice when they can give you a longer heads up – sometimes, longer notice is more appropriate."

This also can be true in smaller communities and rural areas where the nurse shortage is particularly acute, said Becky Pierce, RN, a critical care registered nurse, acting director of critical care and nurse manager of trauma/ICU at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. "It takes at least two months to replace someone, so I really appreciate it when they give more time. Two weeks is really a challenge," she said.

Keep it short and sweet
Often, a letter of resignation is not necessary, but it’s always a good idea. And it doesn’t need to be long.

"It’s helpful so employers can refer to it," Ardito said. "It closes the loop if word-of-mouth communication breaks down. It can be very brief. ‘Another opportunity has presented itself and I will be resigning effective X day’ or ‘my last day will be …’ "

For more advanced studies, consider adding a grateful tone to the letter.

"The most graceful way is to show your appreciation for what you’ve been able to learn and to share your reason for leaving in a nice way," Pierce said. "You can say, ‘It’s time for a change’ or ‘It’s time to move on.’ "

"Short-timers’ " syndrome is unattractive and avoidable. Just because you’re a lame duck doesn’t mean you have to act like one. Many supervisors complain that nurses who have given notice often spend their final weeks calling in sick.

"The worst are the individuals who don’t give adequate notice or who give notice but then use the last few weeks to use up sick time," said Phyllis Norman, MBA, RN, vice president of patient care services at Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital in Texas. "That throws the unit short and leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth."

When you do come to work, make sure you still are working up to normal standards.

"Sometimes if you have someone who’s given notice, they’ve just checked out," Norman said. "Though physically they’re there, they’re not there."

Don’t throw your coffee
Even if you are unsatisfied with your job and you’ve already found another one, it’s not advisable to cast aspersions before you leave. You may think the vitriolic discharge will make you feel better, but the fun is fleeting and the regrets are permanent. You want your co-workers to say goodbye, not good riddance.

"That’s very shortsighted. In the long run, you will live to regret it," Pierce said. "You don’t have to go away mad, you can just go away."

Leaving a job can mean saying goodbye to long-time co-workers and friends. Be mindful of those relationships. What you’re looking for is closure.

"Here today, gone tomorrow – that leaves people at loose ends," Ardito said. "We often like to do little goodbye parties. You get to say goodbye. For a lot of people who just leave, that can be hard on those they leave behind."

This category also includes completing an exit interview to help your employer improve its offerings to the nurses you leave behind.

Ultimately, though, leaving a job with grace and dignity is a function of respect for your co-workers and employer. "It’s pretty simple," Tucker said. "Tell the truth, be open and honest, give the proper notice, don’t slack off and remember – patient care is No. 1."