Considering leaving hospital after new grad internship

[GypseyGirl]

Hi all. I finished nursing school in May 2011 in California and have been looking for a job as a new grad RN, which as all new grads know has been really difficult in this economy. Before I did my RN program, I worked in the home health setting for a couple of years as an LVN. I worked as a private duty nurse and my patients needed more help with ADL's than serious medical treatment. Since the job market is so terrible in California for new grad RN's, I've been looking all over the country.

I was accepted into a new grad internship in the midwest, so I moved across the country by myself for this 13 week internship in MedSurg. The pay is very low compared to California (less than $20 an hour). But honestly, I don't care much about the pay- I feel like I needed the experience and it's been awhile since I've been in the hospital setting so I thought it would be good for me. I did not sign any contracts with the hospital since there's not a guarantee of a job after the internship, but I think they intend to offer a job if I do well since they are training me. I'm in the Float Pool right now and doing classroom training and working with preceptors on the Med Surg unit.

My main concern right now is that after being in a hospital setting on the unit, I feel so uncomfortable and like it's not the right place for me. It is very different than home health and the nurses here have 8-10 patients. It is so stressful and chaotic and I feel completely overwhelmed. Every day I come home so stressed out and overwhelmed. Honestly, I never really wanted to work in the hospital setting but many jobs I've applied for all want a year of acute care experience. I felt like maybe this is something I need to do to get that experience and then move onto an area outside of the hospital (like community health, outpatient clinic setting, etc.) The patients are so acute in the hospital and I'm not used to dealing with so many time management issues, and knowing how to treat these patients. It's so fast paced and I feel lost. The other interns in my class seem to all enjoy the challenges and the fast pace, but I feel overwhelmed and like I really don't want to be there! I know everyone says your first year in nursing is the most stressful, but I wonder if some people are just not cut out for floor nursing. I felt very confident and happy working in home health, but feel completely the opposite on the Med Surg floor.

Part of these feelings may be emphasized by feeling homesick- I really miss my family and friends and lifestyle in California (and the mountains!). I am 3 weeks into the 13 week internship, and I do intend to stay for the internship because I DO want to learn more clinical skills and grow as a nurse. But honestly, I really don't think I want to work in a hospital setting. My question is- if I left after the internship, do you think I could possibly get a nursing job in another area (outside of the hospital) and the internship would be valuable experience? Or do you think employers would frown upon leaving after an internship? I think if the hospital offers a permanent job on a unit (not on float pool) after the internship, we have to sign a year contract.

My question is- if hospital nursing is something I really don't want to do, should I leave after the 3 month internship and just put the internship on my resume, or try to stick it out for a year for the experience and just be really stressed out and unhappy? I can do it if I really have to, but if the hospital setting is not really what I want, is it really necessary? I want to do the right thing, and feel so confused right now. I don't know if it's worth the mental stress and also the risk of losing my license. (I have heard on the night shift that they sometimes have up to 12 patients, which really doesn't seem safe to me for any nurse- let alone a new grad!) I would really appreciate any advice! I don't want to keep bouncing around from job to job, but it is really important for me to find an area of nursing that I can do well in and have some enjoyment. I just really don't think it's in Med Surg!

[lovetogarden]

I graduated in May 2010 and started to work at local hospital in med surg. I got a 6 week orientation and the whole first year was really stressful, but I only had 5-6 patients most days and 6 evenings, nights would be 7-8. It sounds to me like you are not in a good learning environment and miserable. I would try to find a better position where the staffing ratio is not so high. There always seem to be some openings at hospitals in Southern Indiana and better staffing ratios. Good luck.

[NurseJenny:-)]

Gypseygirl, have you tried anything to help you with time management? For example, some nurses use "brain sheets" so they don't forget to do important things for their patient. You can't remember everything at the top of your head.

[Aurora77]

At three weeks in, you can't know whether you'll like your new job or not. It's just too soon to tell. Actually, I would be shocked if you did feel comfortable. Only you can make the decision to stay or not, but I would bet my next paycheck you'd be just as miserable at your next job. It's hard because it's unfamiliar.

[sauconyrunner]

3 weeks is too soon. You actually sound like most of the new graduate nurses here. It really is just too soon. You are supposed to feel overwhelmed, and stressed out. If you didn't you would be missing something. Clinicals are not like nursing, so you are really just experiencing what many many new grads experience.

The move has not helped make this an easy transition for you, but...I'd go for it. I worked as a traveler, and have worked some contracts that were, shall we say, Unfortunate. (As in I will never ever return to the state of New Mexico, hate that place!) But I learned to tough it out, and to look for unique things to do on my off time that helped me see it as an experience, rather than a chore.

Google "Roadside America" and your new current area...You'll find tons of the wierd and unusual to go and see. Invite some people to with you, and have a good time. You will never be where you are again, so you might as well buck up and try to find the fun in it.

[33762FL]

IMO quitting now is the worst idea ever, like in the history of the world (lol). Not only would the hospital internship not count as experience, but it will actually make it harder for you to find a new grad job than a new grad who has never worked as a nurse before because from an HR/Management standpoint, who the heck wants to take a gamble on a flaky employee who takes a job and then quits within weeks? Going back to CA for an LVN job is also a terrible idea, it's a short term gain with long term loss. You became an RN for a reason, not to be stuck in the same job with the same pay you had before. Stay where you are, get at least a year experience, THEN go back to CA and get a hospital job. The pay will be better, as will the career trajectory. Don't do what sounds good in the short term just to handicap yourself in the longer term. The pigs who built their house out of sticks or straw had it easily blown down, the pig who built his house of out bricks reaped long term rewards.

[RNperdiem, RN]

Think of the work as an investment in your career. With a year of experience you will be in a better position to find a job you really want versus one you settle for.

[biblepoet]

Try to find somethings to meet people on your days off. Try to hang in there you get more organized the more you work. Everyone was disorganized when the started. Good luck you eilldo fine.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Not an easy situation, and I can relate because I also relocated. However, you should either leave now, and quit the internship, or, decide you are going to give it your all, and put in the internship time PLUS one year minimum. Otherwise, employers will view your leaving negatively, which will hinder your immediate future job opportunities. An internship alone will not count as experience. Given this economy, I would just suck it up, learn all you can, and commit for at least a year. I'm homesick also, but I'm staying put for 2.5 years, because really, anything less than that (in my view, anyway) isn't really acceptable. You can hang in there a year :)

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I would honestly try to stick it out for a year if you can. With less than a year's experience, you put yourself in a bad position: it doesn't matter how long you've been a LVN, you're still a new grad until you gain that year's RN experience. So there go a lot of job opportunities.

At the same time, if you quit there's no guarantee that you'd find another new grad residency or any new grad level job that easily. And go long enough without working and you'll become an old new grad, which is an even harder hurdle to overcome than just being a new grad.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

[Laura Z. Pam]

Definitely stay for at least a year. 1) You will get skills here that you will not get anywhere else, a knowledge base that you will need even if you don't use it real often. Pumps, IV starts, med basics, line maintenance, workflow organization, even the paperwork, you will need to know. 2) If you quit now, no matter what you tell your next employer, it will look like you couldn't handle the floor, or are unreliable. 3) A year of hospital experience will open up opportunities in many, many other areas of the field, and will increase your hireability immensely, no matter what area you want to go into.

[pgnurse79]

It appears that the honeymoon phase of nursing has passed. It scares me when I hear a nurse say they are "uncomfortable" with PICC lines or IV antibiotics or wound vacs. Why run away from a skill or task because you are uncomfortable with it? It these skills appear in home health, which is what you specialize in, then apparently it is not going away. Perhaps you need the hospital experience. Perhaps you getting the internship at the last minute is a blessing (or luck if you are not religious). No, it will not be easy, but luck will not last forever and one day you will be called upon to use these skills. After all, you are a nurse. Not a CNA (no offense to the CNAs out there).

In any given profession, there are things you may enjoy doing. Like interacting with pts for example. There are also things that you must do that goes with the job which you may not like doing. Like time management. Every job cannot be a dream job. If you want to be paid in this competitive job market, in this challenging economy, you must take the good with the bad in your chosen profession.

In conclusion: Suck it up and learn the skills. Its only for a year or two. Be glad for the opportunity and once its over, you will always have the knowledge you learned at that horrid hospital in the midwest. :)

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Some readers may be wondering...why 2.5 years? Ultimately, it's your decision, and certainly, one year is better than nothing. However, many postings are now requesting 2-3 years minimum. Ideally, 2 years experience is now sought after. Many employers are wise to the fact that new hires leave at the magical one year mark. So really, if you are hoping to increase your opportunities in this economy, one year isn't as accepted anymore. Yes, one year is something, but there are too many new grads with the same "one year." You want to position yourself ahead of that.