[inthesky]

I have just finished my 8 week new grad psych nursing orientation. I have been extremely lucky that my preceptor is an incredible nurse and human being.

I actually do enjoy working with psych patients and I am pretty good at it. buttttttt There has been some upheaval in the unit.. changes which are well..hostile to nurses.. Everyone is overworked.. irritable and stressed. More mistakes are being made.. You can practically taste and feel the negativity!!

I recently had a shift where i worked for 13 hours with no breaks!! and i was still chewed out by the AM nurses for not doing enough!!!!! I came home and cried.

i feel ABUSED and EXPLOITED!

is this what nursing is??? as much as I like caring for patients.. I refuse to be overworked to death.. i'm young and have a bachelor's degree.

[Miami NightNurse]

It has it's bad days and good days

[inthesky]

yeah. it seems like i walk out that door.. either energized and happy about what i did or leaving wanting to quit..it's draining >_<.

thank you <3

[carebearRN08]

Ugh, I have had those nights where you work your a$$ off and then here comes the day shift asking why certain things weren't done last night?? My preceptor told me "well you weren't sitting on your butt all night, so don't feel bad if something low priority wasn't done". They'll get over it. It goes both ways, there will be times when you pick up their slack, and times when they pick up yours. Just don't stress on it when you get home!!

[ranaazha]

Originally Posted by inthesky

I have just finished my 8 week new grad psych nursing orientation. I have been extremely lucky that my preceptor is an incredible nurse and human being.

I actually do enjoy working with psych patients and I am pretty good at it. buttttttt There has been some upheaval in the unit.. changes which are well..hostile to nurses.. Everyone is overworked.. irritable and stressed. More mistakes are being made.. You can practically taste and feel the negativity!!

I recently had a shift where i worked for 13 hours with no breaks!! and i was still chewed out by the AM nurses for not doing enough!!!!! I came home and cried.

i feel ABUSED and EXPLOITED!

is this what nursing is??? as much as I like caring for patients.. I refuse to be overworked to death.. i'm young and have a bachelor's degree.

Been there, and I thought it could NEVER get better. But, to my surprise, it has -- on some days. There are always bad days. I still cry at least once a week. If I do something wrong, I'm so hard on myself -- even if my co-workers or charge nurse isn't as hard on me. On the other hand, there's a night charge who seems to get pleasure out of scolding and belittling me. I've learned to listen what she tells me I've done wrong, then brush her off.

I had a shift where I didn't eat at all. One of my great CNAs told me I can NOT do that. How can I be expected to care for my pts if I'm not caring for myself??

If I haven't finished charting (or anything), I still go to lunch. The only thing that matters is that my patients are stable and safe when I left them. If other things are left undone when I go to lunch, I don't care. I may end up getting things done late, but they will get done.

I remember reading people saying that it does get better. I would want to believe them so badly but couldn't bring myself to. I do now. Before, I could not even believe there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Now, I can see faint glimpses of it -- on most days, anyway.

Good luck!

[carebearRN08]

Originally Posted by ranaazha

Been there, and I thought it could NEVER get better. But, to my surprise, it has -- on some days. There are always bad days. I still cry at least once a week. If I do something wrong, I'm so hard on myself -- even if my co-workers or charge nurse isn't as hard on me. On the other hand, there's a night charge who seems to get pleasure out of scolding and belittling me. I've learned to listen what she tells me I've done wrong, then brush her off.

I had a shift where I didn't eat at all. One of my great CNAs told me I can NOT do that. How can I be expected to care for my pts if I'm not caring for myself??

If I haven't finished charting (or anything), I still go to lunch. The only thing that matters is that my patients are stable and safe when I left them. If other things are left undone when I go to lunch, I don't care. I may end up getting things done late, but they will get done.

I remember reading people saying that it does get better. I would want to believe them so badly but couldn't bring myself to. I do now. Before, I could not even believe there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Now, I can see faint glimpses of it -- on most days, anyway.

Good luck!

Ranaazha, I'm glad to hear you're doing better. I've read some of your other posts that sounded like you were having a rough time.... I'm still on orientation (for another week) so I'm not quite to that point yet, but I am really glad to hear you're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel

[ranaazha]

Originally Posted by carebearRN08

Ranaazha, I'm glad to hear you're doing better. I've read some of your other posts that sounded like you were having a rough time.... I'm still on orientation (for another week) so I'm not quite to that point yet, but I am really glad to hear you're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel

Thanks! It is still rough a lot of the time! I seem always to feel better the day AFTER I work. I guess just knowing that I have a break from it all for a few days makes it better -- temporarily, at least. The day before work (like today), though, the anxiety breaks back in!

I think nursing is a special discipline that is so unlike any other that it takes some special getting used to. I definitely think a longer orientation (with a good preceptor) helps the transition. Fortunately, I'm working with good nurses, most of whom are willing to help when I need it.

In any case... although I still feel overwhelmed about 1/2 of the time, it's nice to know I have more self confidence than when I started. That's a lot for a neurotic perfectionist

[inthesky]

i have definitely heard that new grads tend to want to crawl in a ball and cry until the 6 month mark >_<. i have had issues with two nurses trying to belittle me.. nurses eat their young i guess >_<. luckily, i had 4 good shifts after this shift from hell. so in my book.. that crap shift was well compensated. i dont think i could work like this for 30 years tho.. my health is already getting crappy.

thanks so much for all your responses!!!!!

[Ayvah]

Originally Posted by inthesky

i have definitely heard that new grads tend to want to crawl in a ball and cry until the 6 month mark >_<. i have had issues with two nurses trying to belittle me.. nurses eat their young i guess >_<. luckily, i had 4 good shifts after this shift from hell. so in my book.. that crap shift was well compensated. i dont think i could work like this for 30 years tho.. my health is already getting crappy.

thanks so much for all your responses!!!!!

This has always bothered me - what other job besides nursing do you hear of people routinely crying?

my health is already getting crappy.

Be careful on this, a job is not worth ruining your health.