Good Bye to Nursing for me...

[healer27]

Well, the start of a new year and I'm kissing nursing

good bye after only 5 short months. I graduated in may and started at a hospital in august. My very first preceptor was a nightmare, on my 3rd day on the floor she said I was too slow and put me down in front of other

nurses or whoever was in distance of hearing her. At one

point she even said, "well, I have her she know's nothing I have to show her everything." So being enthusiastic I decided NOT to let it get to me and proceeded to take her C*ap for another couple of weeks. At which time I was moved to a different floor with a preceptor who was great and I learned alot from. PRoblem was at this hospital IF

I wanted to stay I'd have to take a evening position. SO I left a found a hosptial closer to home on days. Well, once again I have the preceptor from hell not only that but the managers In my opinion are nitpickers. ON my first day on the floor they wrote up a nurse who was in charge of making sure all the phones were back at the end of the day, for not having a phone returned. (someone took one home accidentally).. I found this ridiculous, it's a busy med/surg floor with an 8:1 patient ratio and they are worried about PHONES???? I could go on and on about the other horrors but it would be to long.

Long story short I've decide to quit. Luckily I don't NEED the job to support myself or I wouldn't be able to leave. my hubby makes a decent salary. I do feel bad placing all the financial burden on him but I'm planning on just picking up a admin position somewhere. I don't care if I'm making half the money I jsut want to be happy. I'm so SICK of being stressed going into work, stressed coming home, worrying about this, being stressed on the floor. To me its just not worth it. My hubby is worried that I'll change my mind and want to come back to nursing but won't be able to after leaving 2 prior positions. bUt seriously I can't imagine feeling this way.

I also just found out I'm expecting my first child and I really can't imagine the stress level as well as not eating/drinking/peeing an entire shift is good. So I'm gone. I give up, I give in, I just feel like I can't do it. I'm thinking I'm just not meant to be in nursing, or i woudn't have just kept inheriting bad circumstances and preceptors from hell.

Well, I'd love to hear if anyone else has left nursing? come back and any other thoughts you all might have.

Hope this is a good new year for all.

[SAC101]

Don't give up yet. Simply take time out.

[RNfromMN, BSN, RN]

Do what I do. Work part time. I don't enjoy nursing but the money is too good to pass up. I'm good at my job but there's no sense in working full time since I don't enjoy it.

As someone who plans on graduating in May, the idea of working full-time @ a hospital really overwhelms me. Working PT, at least at first, sounds really appealing...do you mind if I ask: Do you have a 2nd job? Or do you make enough to live only nursing PT?

[Squishie Bananas]

i know how you feel but don't give up so easily. there must have been something that drove you to want to be a nurse.

when i entered nursing i thought for sure i wanted to be a maternity nurse, well... needless to say no aspect of acute care did anything for me and i quit nursing school after my second year because i hated acute care so much.

after taking a year of arts i soon realized a was built for nursing just not hospital nursing. i went back into the program and absolutely loved the last year and a half of my degree program. community is where i am meant to be and for a long time i thought in mental health.

i actually did end up working in acute care when i graduated and there are good time and bad times. i don't think its is that i actually like it now just that i am used to it. but my dreams of community nursing are still much alive and as soon as i can afford to then i'm out.

i took time off and worked at a pre-trial centre. i loved the nursing there but i need to love the culture of the place too and its was too much harrassment form fellow colleagues for me. but i will never foget what i learned there and don't feel it wasted time at all. same with teh hosptial.

i have seen my ward go from great to well, really crappy. no staff, the manager doesn't support you, supervisors don't care, unsafe nursing, everything. but the great thing about nursing is you are never stuck anywhere.

you have it good really, if you don't need to work full time just work casual or part time and try things you never would have thought of. there are so many different things you can do as a nurse. what about wellness coorinator at a university, thats my dream job but most people don't know these options exist.

take some time off if you need to but try a little more. it about finding your niche and as far as those preceptors go, its not about them. you know what kind of nurse you are and if you feel you are a good nurse go with it. always be open to constructive criticism but also be assertive when you need to.

it is hard sometimes for those of us who only recently graduated. we come from a completely different paradigm of nursing and not that we are right or wrong it is just that times have changed and nursing has changed so there is resistance between new nurses and thos who graduated 20 or 30 years ago.

those nurses have been practicing a certain way as long as they can remember and may feel they are right and because they have expereience. just remend them you are not there to step on their toes only to nurse as you have been taught and according ot your standards.

i have hada few run ins my self and sometimes it won't be accepeted. just hold your head high and know you are doing what you know to be right. trust me everyday i wonder why i am a nurse but i know that right now i am putting in my dues and doing what i need to in order to get that job i want.

you have the privilege to work part time if you want. use it because fulltime does add a bundle of stress.

i am sorry you haven't had a good few months but just be open to other options of nursing and give it a second try. you are blessed with these abilites to help people for a reason right now it is just a matter of finding you happy place.

good luck and remember to take care of you first

[rmony]

healer27 vbmenu_register("postmenu_1996169", true); ..............i understand why you would say this. i've had my license for 15 years and found a way to solve your problem. i too have a husband who makes a very good living, which affords me the luxury of working or not. my solution.........if a preceptor had made those remarks within my earshot.........you find your manager as fast as you can and request another nurse to train you and tell them why!!

i myself have run into the same situation in the past. my attitude towards comments i overheard was to pull them out onto the carpet, so to speak and tell them if they had a problem training me, find me someone else who was willing to take on the task.

this happened once.........i was assigned to be orientated to a unit by a nurse who barely had her feet wet........she may have had her license 1 year, to my 12 years. sorry, but i had seen and done more than she had probably ever thought of seeing in her nursing career!!! another nurse overheard her and was floored! of course, i had worked with the other nurse previously and thank goodness.............ripped my body away from her and stated, hell........if you don't want an excellent nurse who could teach you a few things, then i'll take her and you can bet........i won't be doing much because she will just jump in with no problem.

i myself love to get new lpn's or gpn's to train and orientate. you guys are like little sponges.........you suck everything up and if you're unsure you ask questions. i would much rather you ask, then to make a mistake and possibly loose a nurse who would more than likely be a great nurse with a little guidance in the long run.

oh.............my biggest solution for me to avoid "burnout". since i can afford to work or not work........i work prn. you can bet you will be crosstrained, which is ideal and if you're too stressed a particular day......you can always say your unavailable. ;o) has worked for the past 10 years and i'm still nursing, in fact...........i've even started back to school!

good luck

[rnanm]

I wish I could have been your preceptor. I love teaching at the clinical level and new grads are the best! Nurturing, challenge and consistency are needed to develop the nursing process in our new grads. This does not happen in a few weeks or months, but can be destroyed in a few days. Good luck with your future plans, but keep that license active. Who knows what will change down the road.

Enjoy motherhood and stay strong and caring.

[smarter]

Keep up with you license and CEU's. It takes awhile to find the right job. There are a lot out there. Some place, some where there is the perfect job. Not all Nursing positions are in hospitals. Not all are med-surg. Take the leadership position. The fewer Nurses you work with the better. The less management that is around is also less stressful. The more positive remarks you hear the better. The world is a depressing place. You don't need that in your work enviornment. Nursing is a helping caring profession. Happy Nurses are those that don't have the dictators/managers and demanding mean people around them. Life is way to short to have to work like that. Keep your chin up and know that not all areas as you wrote about are like that.

[chickenlegs999]

I've been nursing for 32 yrs and still love it!There is nothing in the world more rewarding than helping someone feel better or easing despair.You've either got it or you havn't-you have to be a tough cookie with a soft heart and if you can't cope then you must let someone else more capable take over.Anyone who disses you as a learner should also be "outed"-we all have to start somewhere!

[RAD72]

I relate to how your feeling. However, don't let several bad experiences change your mind for good. Anyone, who has worked in nursing can relate to what your feeling. After my first year as an LPN I didn't know if I wanted to further my education and become an RN. I just recently gradeuated from an ADN program and am currently awaiting to take my boards. It does get better ....you just need to hang in there....have thick skin and find your niche.

p.s. Remember why you chose to become a nurse:)

[horvie]

That's too bad. I have been in nursing for 35 years....never worked in a hospital. Went directly into a small suburban home care setting, then shortly after that to a big city health department. Became a pediatric nurse practitioner and worked for several years in a community health center.

Aside from taking off a period to stay home and raise my family, I have worked in public health ever since. The pay is not as good as I could make in a hospital, but I love the regular hours, no evenings (unless I choose to run an evening health program) and weekends off. There are definitely tradeoffs for the lower pay.

I hope you enjoy your time with your family but keep in mind that nursing is a wide open field with many opportunities for success.

In my next life.....I want to go into forensic nursing!

[Straycat]

I am a nurse who just retired after 40+ years of nursing and seeing the same kind of politics and new grad learning needs of which you speak for all of those years. I have also seen young grads work through this, learn from it and become fantastic nurses. You are giving up too early and maybe aren't really interested in becoming part of the nursing world.

Good luck in your next career.

[Nurse 1979]

I am sorry to hear of your experiences. Much can be said for the practice of nursing these days-- both positive and negative. I agree may you need to take a step back and re-evaluate. However, I have to tell you that it takes a long time to develop a "tough hide" that will allow things to "roll off". I have been a nurse for 28 years and still have my times when I want to run and scream. I also have many, many times that I have felt so worthwhile and valuable to my patients. I have been a staff nurse, Supervisor and Director. I worked as the Director of Surgical Services/PACU/ Sterile Processing for many years. I now work as the Director of Risk and Quality Improvement. I like my day job, no holidays, no weekends-- however, I do miss hands-on patient care very much. Another point is this-- I can make a very good living and it is now necessary. My husband is now disabled at the age of 51. Thankfully I can support our family and pay our bills on my income. Think about all of these things carefully. There are many options for nursing jobs. And trust me-- not all nurses are so mean to each other. I have worked with many lovely people in 28 years. Good luck -----

[redding-er-rn]

I am sorry to hear that. I guess the saying that nurses eat their young is still true for you. Don't lett al the time and money you spent on your education go to waste. You wil find something that suits you when the time is right. The beauty of nursing is there are so many areas you can go to. Maybe Med-Surg is not the area for you but other areas such as surgery, dialysis etc may be better. Hold your head up, when you least expect it something will turn up. If and when you do ever decide to come back, remember from your experiences and make things better for the next "new grad" that you may have the opportunity to precept.