Having interviewed and rejected for a management role with every hospital chain in Florida, I was conversing with Chat GPT to formulate a plan forward. This is what I was told:
- White male → no DEI tailwind
- Nearly 60 → systems prefer “long runway”
- Nonlinear career → HR hates translation
- MBA → irrelevant unless paired with the “right” titles
None of these are moral judgments.
They’re selection biases in modern healthcare.And they stack.
Then the model went on to say:
In hospital nursing:
- Degrees don’t open doors
- Titles do
- Timing does
- Internal sponsorship does
The MBA was necessary but not sufficient — and at this stage, not decisive.
ADN nurses are getting leadership roles because they:
- Are internal
- Are younger
- Have the “right” nurse-coded stepping stones
So, with that analysis, here was the recommendation:
Travel gives you:
- Novelty
- Distance from bullshit
- Clear boundaries
- Financial upside
- Half the year off if you want it
If you want to be brutally rational:
- Hospital management track → low probability, high emotional cost
- Travel nursing → medium probability of satisfaction, high autonomy, reversible
- Staying put → worst outcome
That makes travel the dominant strategy, even if it’s not perfect.
What’s odd is that the machine chose to say “distance from bullshit” even though I have not once used any sort of profanity in the chat. It also recognizes DEI and age as being probable disqualifiers.
Honestly, I want to start ramping down from working full time. The only misgiving I have is winding up in shitty hospitals. Then again, I am in one now. This week was brutal. Not in the patients that I had- I love taking care of seriously ill people, as the challenge of difficult cases is the draw for me. No, it’s working for people who are rank amateurs that got their position through favoritism and DEI instead of talent.
At least on a 13 week contract, I won’t have to put up with that shit for more than a couple of months at a time.
15 Comments
EN2 SS · January 23, 2026 at 9:10 am
That makes travel the dominant strategy, even if it’s not perfect.
I imagine that even Musk has complaints about how things work, example; getting a permit to spray rain water on his rocker launches. I spent my life doing what I thought was best for my family, my wants always last. Do what is best for you, the family will work out better, I bet.
Tom235 · January 23, 2026 at 9:17 am
A qualified, experienced white man. I feel so sorry for you. not /sarc
HR sucks – you’ll never pass through, even the temp jobs are troublesome. HR people are those DEI types that couldn’t make it through Education or Journalism school.
But you’re not alone. Nor is it just your industry.
Best advice? Try to start a business on your own, perhaps consulting.
You may have to move; you may have to give up your profession to maintain your own mental well-being.
Nothing but a collection of bad choices – which is least bad … for the next 10 years?
Based on my experience.
It ain’t our world anymore.
Sucks, doesn’t it?
Sailor Paul · January 24, 2026 at 4:57 am
I have a good friend who travels. It’s a mixed bag, mostly positive. Her greatest beef is the frustration with how awful some places are relative to others in terms of support, standards of care, etc.
She said specifically that HI, FL, NY and MS had horrible healthcare relative to most of the US, Hawaii being absolute dogshit and NY and FL being a war of attrition between nursing staff and illiterate Haitian ringers w/ fake diploma mill papers getting imposed on staff by the hospitals and killing patients on the regular.
Divemedic · January 24, 2026 at 9:26 am
There are A LOT of Haitians here. Even the ones who went through legit schools, although nice people, aren’t the sharpest scalpels on the tray.
Divemedic · January 23, 2026 at 9:30 am
If I wanted to do all of that, I would just go back to teaching.
Tom235 · January 24, 2026 at 8:21 am
“teaching” is deep into DEI (and it’s a calling, not a job)
Grumpy51 · January 23, 2026 at 9:31 am
Interesting. And can confirm at least 90% of it (I’m white, male, in my 7th decade of life, and have the advanced degrees). Contract and PRN have been my go-to for 20 years now….. I control my schedule. I’m my own boss, an entrepreneur, taking advantage of all the tax laws to the fullest (CPA drives this one, I don’t know enough).
CONGRATULATIONS!!
hh475 · January 23, 2026 at 9:41 am
One of the nice things about term contract work is that you have *no* part of the local drama. That was the thing I noticed when I started. I worked for years at a place that was filled with drama, and it made working there a trial. I couldn’t avoid it, because I was invested in the place and the decisions and personnel issues had important implications for me.
Then I started doing contract work. I noticed that there was drama/conflict/etc at these places too, but it was simply not my problem. My attitude was “I sure hope you guys can work that out, but I gotta go cash my check. See you in a few months….” Plus, I got along with folk better because I didn’t have to “take sides” in anything, and nobody was testing my loyalty — it was given that I was nott a player in their little drama.
The only down side is that, just as there is no pretense that I have loyalty to the organization or any faction in a place,they also have no loyalty to me. I recently worked at a place that needed me because they had lost a person. I had a friend who needed a job and seemed like a nice fit, so I told him about the opening. They hired him. As soon as they hired him, I got called into the Chief’s office. The conversation went: “Hey! Thanks so much for referring this guy. We really appreciate it. He’s seems like a perfect fit, and now we’re staffed up. You’re fired.”
But that was OK. There’s lots of contract work. Then, six months later, someone else quit, and they called me offering me another short term gig… The thing about contract work is that they don’t see you as an employee. They see you as an appliance.
Divemedic · January 23, 2026 at 10:17 am
I’m OK with that, as long as I am not getting screwed over.
Gordon · January 23, 2026 at 1:01 pm
Aslaska is in a constant /desprate search for good nurses and offers many options to rural areas of the states well as the main towns. And I have heard the pay is excellent. Traveling nurses are a big deal here, if that interests you.
Knolli · January 23, 2026 at 4:05 pm
Snort! The only state more away from Florida would be Hawaii….
Knolli
Danny · January 23, 2026 at 6:04 pm
Go for it. You will help people who need someone on their side.
Jester · January 24, 2026 at 1:27 am
Yeah, degrees count to some extent but the hiring officals are looking for trendy or blitzy job positions or titles held before. Or they look at the resume and see lacks of “Gender affirming studies or basket weaving” and pre determine that, well you’re white and thus they don’t want you for the job.
Stealth Spaniel · January 24, 2026 at 1:31 am
I had no idea that ChatGPT was so talented. I need to ask it some questions. My current job has had me so stressed out, so depressed, so angry……that on New Years I made myself a promise. “Spaniel, this is not forever! Let the asshole management do what they do best-which is cause strife, chaos, and dissension. You are here to cash that damned paycheck.” I cut my hours to 30 a week, I apply for other jobs every week, and I DGAF about most other things. My BP has calmed down and my outlook is sunnier. One of my co-workers just transferred to merchandise. The frontend management threatened to fire her because she wasn’t selling enough credit cards. I asked her how she is doing after 2 weeks. She said she loves it-she folds clothes 6 hours a day, gets all of her breaks on time. And the evening manager doesn’t ask how many jeans she folds per hour. There is beauty and peace in simplicity.
Jim · January 24, 2026 at 8:09 am
None of it makes sense. I would much rather prefer experience over youth when my life is on the line. They don’t deserve you anyway. Eff em and their moving goalposts!
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