Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/1489186
challenge the TRAP, he encouraged her to finish the contract term. For Farrington, though, the psychic cost of continuing at Mission Hospital was just too high. Six months before her contract was up, she said she was unfairly let go, but did not want to fight to stay. While HCA has not come after her yet, the multibillion dollar chain has a history pursuing nurses. One nurse who worked at a Kansas HCA hospital was sued by a debt collection service even after he had set up a payment plan. Another nurse who left the same hospital before her contract ended received weekly letters demanding pay- ment and was threatened with legal action. One nurse who paid HCA $6,000 after leaving a Florida hospital, said she believes she has been blacklisted from the chain. NNU is calling on the CFPB to consider TRAPs and other employer-driven debt to be unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices under already existing federal consumer protection law. By regulating and investigating employers that use debt or the threat of debt as part of employment contracts, the CFPB can play a critical role in ensuring that nurses have safe and fair workplaces. "It is a disgrace and a disservice to see hospital corporations extort and exploit a new generation of nurses," said Ross. "We must welcome new grad nurses into the ranks by supporting and protect- ing them from the forces that seek to bleed them dry. The very health of the country is dependent on their commitment to the pro- fession and their ability to advocate for safe patient practices." "I greatly appreciate the efforts of our union for shedding light on and pushing to end this coercive practice," said Gaffney. "Nurse advocacy made TRAPs illegal in California and it should be the same nationwide. Nurses must be able to speak up freely without fear of retaliation or threat of financial devastation when patient safety is at risk. When nurses are silent, patients suffer." Farrington said the burden of the TRAP, the pain of seeing her patients put in harm's way, and the hospital administration's com- plete disregard for her safety or that of her coworkers led her to contemplate leaving the profession. "I was questioning, 'Do I even want to be a nurse anymore?'" said Farrington. "For somebody who spent 27 years to become a nurse and wanting to do it for the reason of taking care of people because that is what you enjoy doing, and then getting put through this grinder. It's like, 'What have I gotten myself into?'" Looking back at her experience as a new nurse, Day said she felt abandoned by an hospital administration that demanded she do the impossible, yet found fault with her if she failed to do what was demanded. "I had never been treated so terribly by an employer," she said. "I didn't feel like anyone was concerned about me, I was just there to fill a position." After seeking therapy to address the moral injury and PTSD she suffered, Day is now determined to speak out about her experiences. "I think a lot of nurses are afraid to speak up. But I don't think that sharing the truth is ever wrong. I think it can be a powerful example and hopefully it can protect other nurses and make health care a better place." After leaving Mission, Farrington said there was no place near her home where she could get a position that would give her the experience in trauma care she needs to become a flight nurse. So she is packing up to move seven hours away from her family to work in a trauma center. "I feel like I am being pushed out of the state," she said, sharing her sadness at leaving her family, especially her mother and sister. While leaving her home state is painful, Farrington said a recent encounter with a former patient who thanked her for all she had done for their family in their hour of need restored her commitment to nursing. "I cried like a baby in the hallway, because it meant so much to me," said Farrington, breaking down in tears. "I was able to do something special for someone else in the worst times of their lives. I was able to bring a smile to their lives. That is what nursing is all about." Rachel Berger is a communications specialist at National Nurses United. O C T O B E R | N O V E M B E R | D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 21 NNU surveys more than 1,500 RNs on training repayment agreement provisions (TRAPs) TRAPs Overview 51% of hospital RNs surveyed said that they have had to enroll in a training, residency, or apprenticeship program as a condition of employment. 19% of hospital RNs surveyed were at some point in their careers in a TRAP, reporting that their employer expected them to repay the costs of a mandatory training, residency, or apprenticeship program. Growth of TRAPs NNU's survey showed that newer nurses are more likely to have been required to enter a TRAP. Almost 40% of nurses who started their careers as an RN in the past decade have had to enter a TRAP, compared to only 17% of nurses with 11 or more years of experience. Size of Alleged Debt More than 30% of hospital RNs who are or were in a TRAP reported having an alleged debt between $1,000 and $4,999, and about 19% had an alleged debt over $15,000. Notably, about 20% did not know the amount they owed to their employer. Of hospital RNs who are or were in a TRAP: Less than half, 43%, reported their employers explained the terms of the debt before they signed the TRAP contract. Effects of TRAPs Of hospital RNs who are or were in a TRAP: Over a third of RNs reported they felt restrained from complaining about unsafe staffing or other unsafe or unfair working conditions. 59% reported feeling locked in their jobs. 39% reported having to accept low wages during the term of their debt contract.