Am I doing the right thing? New nurse getting butt kicked

Nurses New Nurse

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I am a new male RN, BSN. I graduated in August of '12 and started at my job on a neurology/med-surg unit. I never really wanted to do med-surg, but many nurses told me that it is a great place to start because you can hone your time management skills, prioritization, and whatnot. Where do I ultimately want to end up? I have no clue. I don't know what the end game is.

Anyway, as many new nurses have stated on this forum, I am truly miserable. I work nights because the pace is generally slower than days (our floor is extremely busy), and I care for between four to five patients (less than other med-surg floors in other hospitals in our city, but often higher acuity than what they see, I'm told).

I just feel constantly behind. It takes me forever to chart, to see all of my patients, and give a comprehensive report to day shift. I feel sick on the drive to work, and suffer 'GI distress' once there. At work I feel constantly on edge and snap at co-workers (definitely not a good thing). I just feel like I should be better at this job than I am. I feel like I should be more confident and comfortable. I know I should be grateful to even have this job, but I truly resent it. Am I expecting to much at this point? Is year one of nursing truly just this gauntlet of misery? (Sorry for getting emo there!)

I opted for med-surg post graduation. Was this a wise choice? Are there other areas in which a newer grad could also do well in? What are they? I have never left a job in less than one year of service, but this one has gotten me thinking that perhaps I should.

Ultimately, even if no one responds to this post, I'm happy that this forum exists so I can at least vent.

Thanks!

Specializes in Dementia & Psychiatry.

I do know that I"m eternally grateful that I didn't work full time at first (frankly, or ever). I would have gone mad.

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Specializes in MICU - CCRN, IR, Vascular Surgery.
You stated you took a job in a unit you had little or no interest in. For me personally that would be a major stressor on the job. I have no interest in L&D and a great interest in ICU or ED. I feel I would be much more successful in a unit I desire to work in rather than one I know from the start I have little interest in.

This was a big thing for me. I took a med/surg job as a new grad and that's not what I wanted to do at all, so I had a lot more trouble with it because I just wasn't interested in it at all. After a year I switched to ICU which I wanted in the first place, and now I'm off orientation again, and while I'm still nervous and stressed, I look forward to going to work, so it helps to balance out the GI distress mostly.

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I still felt very anxious at 4mos into my job, somewhere around 6mos things started clicking and I felt better. I still have nights that are bad, but I feel like I have the flow of things down better. I no longer want to throw up when I walk off the elevator onto my unit. The biggest help to me was developing relationships with my coworkers I feel like I have friends at work who will back me up and not look at me like an idiot when i ask a question. if someone asks me for help I make it a point to help them even when I am in a time crunch. Quid pro quo and all that. The first time I had to run a rapid I had 4 nurses helping me and I didn't have an anxiety attack on the spot like I thought I would.

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

Don't be so hard on yourself. You have only been on your own for 4 months now. It gets better with time. Med surg is a great place to start. I started out in med surg and really am glad I did. I wish you the best.

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In nursing school our teachers gave us a research study to read that showed that new nurses are at their lowest point in morale from 6mos-12mos out of school. The newness has worn off, you start feeling inadequate and burnout and question why you are doing this. It sounds like you are this point. It is not uncommon and if you stick with it, it will get better - you may not want to stay on this floor or unit forever, but you should feel better as a nurse as you gain experience.

Keep on truckin - the grass isn't always greener...

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many nurses told me that it is a great place to start because you can hone your time management skills, prioritization, and whatnot.

Translated to mean: "We had to start out in med/surg and be completely miserable and so should you!!!

Anyway, as many new nurses have stated on this forum, I am truly miserable
.

Mission accomplished!!

I debated whether or not I should start out in med/surg because I felt that pressure from other nurses, but I decided to go to work where I wanted to work instead. I LOVE my job and I feel lucky every time I read a post like yours. When nursing students ask you if they should start out in med/surg....tell them NO! :)

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i'm also a new nurse, still struggling... at peak times, i would get so stressed out, but i started some subtle deep-breathing exercises, positive thinking/imagery, and basically told myself that being stressed makes everything WORSE, calm down, etc. it's been helpful. also, if you tell your co-workers- the very ones you're afraid of alienating- why you're snapping, how badly you feel about it, and ask for their help- you might get the understanding you really need.

if the patient ratio is too much for you (we all have our limits & comfort zone), why not consider OR? it's a much more focused environment, although with stresses of its own.

bets of luck to you!

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Specializes in Med/Surg,Cardiac.

I've found that educating myself was a key in feeling more comfortable. After a little over a year of practicing I've gained a lot more confidence and rarely get nervous before work (unless I'm being pulled to ICU.. I'm only leary of going there because last time I had to take 3 patients and felt mildly overwhelmed since I wasn't oriented to work there). I learned from other nurses and mistakes I've made things that I knew but didn't really piece together. Looking at lytes can paint a picture of symptoms. Subtle changes can speak mass amounts of importance. Calling doctors gets easier when you start being able to guess what they'll say or make realistic recommendations of what you'd like an order for. Recognizing symptoms and acting on your instincts makes you feel great if you're correct and teaches you something when you aren't. Skills that seemed daunting become more routine. Knowing how to prepare someone for a test and educate them regarding it becomes easier.

Post its are of daily use to me. I use one per patient to write down any important events from my shift and anything happening that day (tests, labs, consults, drips.. Etc..). It makes report much easier since I just stick them note to the patient summary sheets we use.

I also attempt to chart as it happens or at least make a note on a paper towel or alcohol pad and stick it in my pocket. I'm terrible at remembering times so it helps me immensely. I still ask plenty of questions as do other nurses. I feel great that many times I'm the one they ask and I actually know the answers.

You'll get there. Give it time and don't give up. Even though it sounds like you have great ratios (on my cardiac/icu step down we take 8 each), it can still be overwhelming depending on what's going on. Get your year and go from there. Good luck!

~ No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent -Eleanor Roosevelt ~

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Specializes in Neuro, Med-surg..

I actually got home from work a few hours ago. I was a delayed start due to a low census that stated to pick up later in the evening. Tonight, there were a few times where I called the doctor regarding a patient's pain and asked for an uptick in morphine frequency for pain. From my past experience (albeit limited in time) I knew what to ask for from the HCP that would be reasonable. He agreed with my request and the patient hit the analgesic she needed.

So, I guess I'm saying the learning and acclimation is occurring for me. Small steps are still steps, right?

I hesitated to divulge what my floors' ratios are; I know they are low and I didn't want my posts too sound too whiny (apologies if they do). To me, however, they are still a bit of a handful.

Interesting idea: going into OR nursing. As a tech, I worked in preop/PACU and got to see a great deal of patients before and after surgery. Likewise, surgery clinical where usually my favorites. I always loved A&P!

Thanks for all the advice and support! Please share whatever else you'd like!

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OP, you've received great advice here and you are cool and kind enough to acknowledge that we are paying attention. You're already way ahead of the game. I can only speak from experience about nurses and nursing. For example, one of the strongest and most capable men I know switched careers to become an RN.

I asked him, "What is your favorite part of being a nurse?" He replied, "Driving home from the hospital." Huh!? That kind of shocked me because he had worked so hard to become a nurse. I asked, "What's your least favorite part of being a nurse? He replied, "Driving to work. Me: "Wow."

Today he no longer gets sick in anticipation of going to work. There are other joys in his life. Make no mistake: Floor nursing is horrible but you will eventually find a method of coping.

Maybe someday Nursing conditions will be restored to when we nurses had manageable work-loads and Management provided us with what we needed and had realistic expectations of what one human being can accomplish in one 8-hour (or 12-hour) shift.

I hope to see that day in my lifetime.

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Specializes in School health, Maternal-Newborn.

I think new nurses are told to start in med surg because so many hospital specialties want a year of med surg an because it teaches you stuff that you used to get in clinical under the old fashioned hospital based nursing school. I did two years (part time) and was float, I floated between med surg, LTC and maternal newborn and dipped my feet in corrections nursing and mental health. Now I'm a maternal newborn nurse who's dabbling in school nursing. I will say this, the women who taught me my job 15 years ago taught me skills and organizational habits I use to this day. If you have good mentors it's a good experience, if your mentors leave you to sink...then yeah, med surg is a rocky way to start. Hang in there. One little tip I've learned...go and see all of your patients for a quick "Hi, I'm Autumn, I'll be your nurse tonight, is there anything you need right now?" If the answer is yes, assess and solve problem. if the answer is no? you go on to the next. Then you won't have the aid telling you somebody just vomited and someone else's pain is a 10.

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I graduated from nursing school in August of 2011. I have been working in LTC and in dialysis. I absolutely hated it most days , at least the LTC place since this was new to me. I have HORRIBLE gi distress. But I have learned that: 1. I am new , so I am not going to know everything all the time 2. that i shouldn't be embaressed to ask questions, which I do all the time. 3. to take it one day at a time. 4. i have to take xanax prn( this is very helpful).lol... good luck and give yourself a break , we all make mistakes and no one is perfect

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