Help!!! Did I Make A Mistake in Becoming a Nurse!!!

Nurses New Nurse

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I have been stalking the AN forums since nursing school, and I finally decided to become an active member. I know this topic has been discussed ad nauseam, but I need advice with my own specific situation. I graduated May 2015, and recently accepted my first nursing job, which is at a nursing home last month. The first few weeks of my floor orientation was spent shadowing my preceptor and assisting her with her patients. A few weeks ago, I was given a four resident assignment. Last week, my resident assignment was increased to six.

I have been struggling tremendously with time management and organization, even though I try to organize myself in the beginning of the day. I have a "cheat sheet" listed with the names of all of the patients on my preceptor's assignment including my six. I determine who needs blood sugar, vital signs, skin assessments, restorative nursing notes, weekly summaries, etc. However, I am still missing critical things. For example, today I missed a morning blood sugar on a resident who only gets it done weekly. Despite this, I still manage to get all of my medications, treatments, and documentation completed by the end of the day, but I'm late with passing out my meds a lot of the time. My preceptor mentioned that this is typical.

In the morning and afternoon, me and my preceptor are first to manage the dining room. We are only suppose to be there for 30 minutes but sometimes we are in there for the entire duration. I have some residents that go down to the main dining room. Some residents that eat in their rooms; sometimes, I take their food trays to their room. The equipment, by the admission of my preceptor, sucks and my vital signs are always off. I have already bought a wrist blood pressure cuff and am contemplating purchasing more medical equipment of my own. I am not trying to pass the buck here, but these things make my job harder. I have intense anxiety, and I'm having trouble sometimes sleeping. I left work early today due to GI issues.

The icing on the cake is that my preceptor is being switched, so I have to learn her resident assignment and get into (or try) a routine with her residents. By the end of orientation, I must be able to manage an 18-22 resident assignment by myself. Realistically, I don't see that happening, and I'm currently looking for another job. I would like to add that my unit manager and the facility administration have been supportive throughout this process, but I'm not optimistic. I need advice!!!!! Please!!!!

Specializes in Emergency Nursing, Pediatrics.

That's most long term care/nursing homes in a nutshell.

Lisa.fnp

94 Posts

You didn't make a mistake becoming a nurse, but working at a nursing home, maybe. I was a CNA in a Nursing home many years ago. I loved the residence for the most part but it was so hard and so much was required and it was impossible to accomplish all that needed to be done. It removed the my joy, I had to get out. I did and got a job and worked in a hospital floor for years and those where the happiest days in memory. Sounds like you need a change.

Do you have any advice for being successful in this setting as a new graduate nurse?

Lisa.fnp

94 Posts

In a nursing home setting I was not a RN but a CNA. As a new nurse you have limitations and time management is one of them. It will get better, you will get better. What they expect 'management' and what you know you can safely do is a difference between night and day. Don't let it get to you. Remember it's your license and don't beat yourself up. Nurses are always pushed beyond what they can safely do, and as long as you do the best you can do, you should be proud. I left the nursing home Industry because of unrealistic expectations that couldn't be meet and went to the hospitals setting. When it became impossible to satisfy management and I found I lost my joy I went back to school and became a BSN-RN and worked in ICU. I worked nights and had one and once in a while two pts. But then a profit company came and purchased the hospital and we went to having 2 and 3 pts in ICU. I lost my joy and went back to school and attained my MSN and became a family nurse practitioner and left the bedside. Now in primary care away from the hospital industry, I found joy. Now if things change and I learned things always change that's why I am in a online DNP program and I'm ready to go into teaching and research. My health and happiness is more important then the job and career. So try to work 3/12's and work consecutive days so you have 4 days off to refresh your mind and soul. If working days and you hate it change it and work nights. I loved working nights. So my advice is take care of yourself first as you help others because if you don't you won't be their to help others.

In a nursing home setting I was not a RN but a CNA. As a new nurse you have limitations and time management is one of them. It will get better, you will get better. What they expect 'management' and what you know you can safely do is a difference between night and day. Don't let it get to you. Remember it's your license and don't beat yourself up. Nurses are always pushed beyond what they can safely do, and as long as you do the best you can do, you should be proud. I left the nursing home Industry because of unrealistic expectations that couldn't be meet and went to the hospitals setting. When it became impossible to satisfy management and I found I lost my joy I went back to school and became a BSN-RN and worked in ICU. I worked nights and had one and once in a while two pts. But then a profit company came and purchased the hospital and we went to having 2 and 3 pts in ICU. I lost my joy and went back to school and attained my MSN and became a family nurse practitioner and left the bedside. Now in primary care away from the hospital industry, I found joy. Now if things change and I learned things always change that's why I am in a online DNP program and I'm ready to go into teaching and research. My health and happiness is more important then the job and career. So try to work 3/12's and work consecutive days so you have 4 days off to refresh your mind and soul. If working days and you hate it change it and work nights. I loved working nights. So my advice is take care of yourself first as you help others because if you don't you won't be their to help others.

Thank you for your inspirational words.

Career Columnist / Author

Nurse Beth, MSN

146 Articles; 3,457 Posts

Specializes in Tele, ICU, Staff Development.

It sounds like you are doing well in a very stressful, complex environment. It is not you, it's the expectations and workload. Can you re-frame your mindset: "I am doing as well or better than most new nurses in this job" "Even when I forget something, the residents are better off because of the care I provide daily" "This, too, shall pass"

ALL jobs become easier with time. You will get to know the residents which means you will learn which ones you can medicate first and quickly, which ones will take longer, and so on.

Lower your expectations of yourself. If a resident gets a daily medication an hour after it was scheduled....there is no harm. Getting Colace at 1030 and not at 0900 is not an error.

Develop a system (red pen, asteriks) to differentiate routine and non-routine tasks you might otherwise miss, such as the weekly blood sugar.

Trust me, if you are getting everything done in your shift, you are really doing well. They are lucky to have you.

Specializes in Cardiac step-down, PICC/Midline insertion.

Unless long-term care is what you really want to do, I would get a different job. That sounds typical for a nursing home.

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for replying to my post.

Update: Yesterday, I almost quit but I chose to remain. I expressed my concerns to my unit manager. She gave me some words of wisdom that I'm going to take to heart. Some of my co-workers now know that I am stressed and feeling overwhelmed. They have offered words of encouragement, which are greatly appreciated but I don't want to appear incompetent or "soft." I am still apply to hospitals in my area, preferable ones with new graduate nurse residency programs.

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