[Liz'02RN]

I just joined...
I am looking for some advice regarding my nursing career.
I am a "worry wart"! I have worked on med/surg/tele floor since I graduated nursing school in may 2002. Every one said to "work with the heart for a year and then you can work anywhere." well the year is over, I never liked the heart, it has always scared me, and now I find that I am addicted to the adrenaline, while I hate it in the same sense, I find my self getting off work and unable to sleep, calling back often, staring at the television thinking about all the should have's and why didn't I's.. My husband reminds of all the good things, but I can't get past the other thoughts. I am scared of hurting someone, and losing my license I have worked so hard to have. I thrive on practicing safely and when anything goes wrong I feel incompetent. Will this feeling ever go away, and how do I deal with it with out driving myself crazy.

[efiebke]

First off, I want to say "Welcome"!!

Now I want to say, "Don't take your job home with you! "

I used to work in the oncology (still do per diem). I came close to burn out around year 2 of my nursing career. I sat down with a seasoned nurse who I respected and who never showed too much worry or any signs of burn out and asked, "How do you do it? How do you keep on going here???" (Mind you, lots of people died on this particular floor! ) She replied, "I give these patients the best 8 hours of my time and the moment I leave the hospital's doors, I forget about this job."

Simple advice that I took to heart.

Another thing I want to add. . .

Yes! It is important to be safe at work! But we're only human! And despite ALL precautions, unintentional and innocent mistakes ARE made! Please take this to heart as well when you make your mistakes! It seems like you put forth great effort to be safe. That is to be respected! But I would sorely hate to see you crash if/when a mistake comes your way. Learn from the mistake and carry on!

And finally. . .

This time, Listen to your husband! Take stock on ALL THE WONDERFUL CARE you provide your patients! The positive force you provide them is real and precious! Noting your strenghts and patting yourself on the back every now and then is JUST AS IMPORTANT as putting forth great effort in providing safe care.

Burn out comes easily in this profession! Taking care of yourself as noted above can help prevent such burn out!

Peace!

Ted

[mittels]

Liz
your not alone, most every good nurse feels this way esp at the begining of their nursing career. It takes time to get comfortable with any thing new. Being their for a year really isnt all that long. It takes years to understand just the basics. Routine too. You will eventially have your good days and bad days. Always remember, you have to cont to be a little afraid. If your not then you need to get out of that feild. Even after 10 years of working a step down/tele unit and being charge there is fear of the unknown, or a forgotten this or a should have done that, but your human. You do the best you can with the education and experience youve received if that fails you ask for assistance. Remember this, Your profession is a type of love hate relationship.

[Agnus]

It crossed my mind one day patients live and get better inspite of us. And they die no matter what we do.

Relax hang up your patients on a bush or tree as you go out the hospital door or at least before you enter your door at home.

[Woodufish2]

The advice you have received thus far is excellent. I only graduated in '99 and for a year was on tele (wanted more of a rush...) worked in the ER for 1.5 years and got burnt. I used to feel like a failure many of times. Remember we are our own worst critic. One key I learned in nursing school was to "know your limitations." If you don't know something, ask for help from your superior - and document, document, document. That has given me the best piece of mind. I worked as a cop prior to my nursing career (the "rush" still had me....still does in many ways"...). I decided that if I can make a difference in each person I come in contact with each day, that day was worth it! Be kind to yourself. Look at your own, self-expectations as a nurse, keep them in check (i.e. NO, You aren't super-woman), and continue to do what you do best - care and provide for those that can't.

Hang in there.
email me if you wish.
kward@ohiohealth.com
Sincerely.

[jakesmom]

Liz,
I too graduated in '02 started working on the medical/cardiac stepdown unit I had worked on for 3 years as a tech - now facing an early burnout. I also questioned why I became a nurse and then realized I just needed to find my "nitch". I am starting a new job soon in Phase I Cardiac Rehab. There are so many wonderful jobs for nurses - you just need to find your nitch. Take some time and evaluate what you love about your job and what you don't love and then look around your area at what type of jobs are out there - contact nurse recruiters in hospital systems and talk to them - there is something wonderful out there for you, you just have to find it! Good luck!

[kateRN]

I also graduated in 2002, and began my career on a cardiac stepdown tele unit. I have had a lot of good experiences since I've started, but I'm also beginning to feel frustrated. I can definately understand why nurses get burnt out so easily. Some days I drive home and feel so good about myself, and others I feel so incompetent. On the good days, I am so excited to be a nurse, and on the bad ones, I ask myself why I ever chose to do this! I just want to let you know that you are definately not alone in feeling this way. What I've found is, once you start to talk to the nurses around you, you realize that almost everyone has days where they just want to turn around and never ever come back. But we really do know what we are doing, and we really are good nurses, because if we weren't then we wouldn't even care if we were doing a good job or not. Keep doing your best, and try not to be too hard on yourself. That's what I'm doing.... I'm just hoping for a good day to come VERY SOON!!