Orientation and Job NOT what was promised, want to quit!

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hello all!

I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right place, so please forgive me in advance.

I'm a relatively new RN grad. Dec. 2010. I had been unable to find a decent job for months. I have been LPN since 2003, but not worked steadily the whole time.

I had always been interested in LD nursing/OB and potentially community health/psych/prison nursing, etc.

I do not enjoy bedside nursing/med-surg as it is WAY understaffed in my opinion.

Anyway, before I get off track. After a few months of not finding anything, i got hired for what I thought was an ICU job, so I assumed i'd have 1-2 critical patients, multiple drips/vents, etc.. and a chance to really LEARN and spend time with my patients..

Reality is....it is more or less a med-surg unit and not really an ICU, and on my first night of orientation, my preceptor barely knew that she had to have an orientee... She had no time to show me much of the equipment (iV pumps, monitor screens) or how to do any of the paperwork and whatnot.

It was horrible....we got 6 admissions, and it was just her and one LPN, and 2 of us new RN grads....

all the nurses on the floor when I had my tour had quietly hinted that the staffing was horrible, and they hated their jobs, and that they had went through 5 new grads recently and NONE stayed. That should have been a RED FLAG to me.:uhoh3:

So, I just don't feel like this floor is going to work out for me. i went into nursing wanting to provide SAFE nursing CARE... but it seems that even the experienced nurses (my preceptor has been there 20 years) can't even keep their heads above water, so what hope do I have? It seems like there is barely enough time to assess the patients, let alone give meds, chart vitals, and other numerous things....

there is no unit secretary, NO tele tech, even though most of the patients are on tele, and there is no pharmacy personnel after hours..... basically, there is not enough support to safely take care of the patients, IMO.

I do not want to risk my license just for the sake of having a 'job'.... I want to quit so bad, yes even after one shift, but how would I go about obtaining a new job? Would i have to list this one on my resume?? If so, how would I explain leaving this job to a potential new employer during an interview?

Sorry if this post is disjointed and jumps from thought to thought. My brain is fried, my heart is aching, and I feel there may be no hope for me to find my 'niche'.. I don't think I can survive the requisite '1 YEAR' requirement in med-surg/floor nursing.... I want to specialize. I'd rather work home health/community/dr office/psych/prison....

Hospitals care more about the bottom line and don't care how short staffed the nurses have to work.

I don't know how y'all do it, but I CANNOT be in 6 patient rooms at once!!! How can I safely assess/care for patients on tele/drips when we constantly get new admissions, no secretary, and way too many forms to fill out. There is not enough time and not enough ME to get everything done!!!! am I just a terrible nurse, or what??

I want to quit this job, I know it's not gonna get any better, but then how do I explain it on my work history??

What do you guys think? similar experiences anyone can share? Advice? HELP!!!

I'm a mother of 4 children and want to provide for my family. I worked hard to go from LPN to RN, had a 4.0 GPA at graduation, and I love learning and love nursing theory, but in reality it is impossible to practice the type of nursing that goes by 'textbook'.. I don't like the idea of taking shortcuts and being unsafe. but it seems all the floor nurses are doing it, otherwise they won't get their work done in time before they have to start their next shift!!!!!!

I could go on and on, but you all know what I mean..

My first night,,on orientation, I did not get a lunch break, and I only got to pee once........ i'm sorry, but I can't live like that..

maybe you all are martyrs and have bladders of steel and stomachs that can go without food, but I just can't survive like that... I get lightheaded and just feel horrible if I don't get regular sustenance.

ARe there any jobs out there that don't require inhuman suffering, being pulled in twenty directions at once? I don't want to give up on nursing as I have invested time and money in this, but I do not want to risk my patients or my license...... if i cant' find another area of nursing, I'm thinking of going into ultrasound sonography or something........

Specializes in ICU.
who in the heck answers the phone and checks the tele monitors? :eek:

I agree with the others. Don't even mention this place on your resume.

The manager may have a computerized system in which she must answer the question:

Would you hire this person again: ___ Yes ___ No

One click and you may have big trouble on your hands.

Don't mention it on your resume! (don't ask me how I know this :crying2: )

My first job out of nursing school was a similar nightmare. I could go on for paragraphs about the blatantly unsafe things I observed at a similarly short-staffed facility. Get out of that snake pit and don't look back. It's a catastrophe waiting to happen and it's not likely to get any better.

Wow! I just wrote this post a few hours ago and honestly didn't expect so many replies!!!

Thank you guys so much for your advice. You guys basically reaffirmed what I know in my heart. This floor is not safe.

As for my LPN experience, I worked on a med/surg/tele floor for 6 months as my first ever nursing job. I had to quit due to being pregnant and having terrible morning sickness and unable to adjust to being on night shift....

So, after a while being off work, I started doing agency LPN work, mostly at LTC facilities, passing meds and whatnot........ it was okay, but there is no way to humanly do the medpass in the time allowed, but that's another story! I worked at that type of work for about a year..

THEN, my husband got abusive, I had to get a PfA, moved out of the area, and did private duty for nine months, with one client, a pediatric trach/vent case, which I liked, but ultimately I had to move again......

So, in early 2007 i began a job in an inpatient rehab facility for ortho/neuro......

I loved that job honestly. I was always paired with an RN and we had a max of 6 patients, usually only 4-5 though. The RN got to do the assessments and dr. orders while I did med passes, caths, etc....... and we usually got breaks and got out on time.....

so, why did i leave that job???? Well,,,, i have a history of back problems. I had a back surgery (microdiskectomy d/t herniated disk) back when I was 20, before I even went to LPN school..... but mostly my back was okay.. however, doing this rehab nurse job, the lifting was getting too hard on my back and I ended up on light duty twice due to back injuries from that job............ anyway, I ended up pregnant, and that exacerbated my back condition, so I ended up resigning on good terms after 1 and 1/2 years on that floor. The staff were great and the working conditions were excellent. There was a unit secretary at all times during the day. We had no admissions on night shift, as we were not an acute unit, just a long term rehab. we had a 24/7 pharamacy if we needed drugs that weren't in the pyxis......... you get my drift..

these people were great, gave me a baby shower, a going away party, etc... and the unit manager said she'd rehire me in a heartbeat.... but my back can't handle ortho rehab :(

so, in the fall of 2008, after having no job for 3 months, I landed a cushy dr. office job, no weekends or holidays,,, learned a different way of nursing, how to sort of 'triage' patients over the phone, how to call in scripts to the pharmacy, how to insert IVs for infusions, etc... I LOVED that job..

Problem???? STupid me, got pregnant again.... morning sickness again (i don't know how any of you can work when nauseous, but I CAN't. I'm sorry.. i have emetophobia, I don't mind other people vomiting, but I literally get panic attacks if i feel nauseous or vomity), so I ended up having too many attendance occurences.... the manager liked me and said that I could either resign or be terminated.... I chose to resign.........

So,, i decided to focus on the pregnancy and then after the baby's birth in 2009, i went back to school and worked hard, and got my RN license in dec 2010...

So, that is the extent of my nursing experience.....

I know jobs are hard to come by... I've put in 40 apps, had 3 interviews, and only one offer, which is the job I have now.....

I also have a hx of severe depression and anxiety/panic disorder but I worked hard to overcome those issues to finish school, but now feel my anxiety and depression creeping back.

I want a new job so bad, but given my 'limited' experience.....do i have a chance?? especially since i haven't held a job for more than a year and a half... I mean, i do have decent reasons for leaving my other jobs in the past, but I fear that future employers will look at me as a job hopper..

i really wanted to do good at this job, i really did!!!!!!!! I know how to insert Ivs, i know how to do basic nursing care, but it is impossible to do when you are getting 6 admissions on a night shift, with NO secretary, no pharmacy to draw up an IV abx that needs mixed, etc..... and a patient on a cardizem drip, another one coming down off delirium tremens precautions and trying to get out of bed...... and this facility has NO computerized charting.... way too much paper, and my poor preceptor had no time to show me where anything was, or to explain any of the paperwork..... I know it was only my first night, but she said it's like that nearly every night, and she usually has to stay 2 hours over her shift to just finish charting!!!!!!

I don't want to give up on nursing, but i am so discouraged. I became an RN because I wanted to do L/D or OB nursing, or maybe work in a same day surgery clinic or psych nursing.. I thought that having an RN license would make me able to get those type of jobs, but every place wants the year of acute care/med surg experience and I don't really have it, and honestly the way I hear things are on the medical floors today, i don't think it is safe to try to stick it out for a year...........

I want to resign, but I'm afraid of being left jobless, and with all these student loans to pay back...........

i'm at the point where i'd rather go to walmart, or as mentioned, go back to school for something less stressful, like cardiac echo technician or sonography. I want to use my medical training, but with one patient at a time, and not be expected to be a GLORIFIED SECRETARY or WAITRESS.

Does that make sense??? I want to focus on my assessment and nursing skills, not have to do everything else as well with not enough resources... i did not go to school to do secretary type paperwork or waitressing..... I don't mind meeting patients' needs, but if i wanted to just do that, (toileting and bedmaking and fetching water) I would have been a CNA instead of an RN with a license that could be in jeopardy.

Oh where do I go from here???:chair:

Oh, and I want to add..... I applied for a different position at this facility(not an Icu position). When I interviewed, the NM said that the other position might not be available, but that they needed help in the ICU.... she didn't go into details about the job itself, and I left the interview still hoping i'd get the position i origianlly applied for.

the NEXT day, I got the job offer, but for 'ICU' and I was so excited to have a job offer, that I accepted over the phone.... then I did the HR paperwork, etc.....but when I get on the floor , I find out that it really isn't the ICU i envisioned..... we do get occasional vents and drips, but it is basically what would be a regular tele floor or stepdown in another hospital..

I accepted the job thinking i'd get great critical care experience and 1-2 patients, and then I find out that it is mostly med/surg/tele patients....... they only have like 3 real nursing staff that are full time, and they use the one per diem girl so much that she has over full time hours!!!! there are more new grads being trained on this floor than there are preceptors.......

so, yeah I"m disappointed. I don't want to give subpar nursing care or risk my patients and my license........

I won't say they intentionaly misled me when interviewing/job offer, but maybe i'm to blame because i didn't ask enough questions about the job before i accepted....... blah...

Sounds like a dream job. Sorry this has been your experience, but they do say it's easier to get a job when you have a job. If you can manage without the income....quit. This place will forever sour you on nursing, but I highly suggest you look for a new gig, but keep this one until then.

You are not too blame, no ICU unit has a 1:6 ratio. They lied

Ok, so now my question is:

If I want to apply to other jobs, do I need to list this on my application or resume?

I only worked officially ONE shift so far.....

I know I can't stay on this floor. It's not because I'm a 'new grad' and need to learn to 'hang in there' or 'manage my time'... HOW can somebody manage their time to physically be in two places at once? I can't be preventing a delirious patient from falling out of bed while at the same time trying to toilet another patient and trying to adjust monitor leads on someone whose leads are falling off, and trying to hang an Iv abx on a pt whose IV line blew.... do you know what i"m getting at???

I have had hospital jobs in the past and I felt nowhere near the stress I had from this ONE shift at this facility..

but, again, do I need to mention/list this job on a resume/application/interview in the near future??

Thanks for all your help!!!!!!:bugeyes:

Personally I would list it and place your start date and say that you're still working there. It would look very bad if you stay for only one shift, especially with your history of not maintaining a steady employment with one facility for no more than two years. If asked why are you still seeking further employment I would say that you feel that your new job is great but with all it has to offer this current place is truly where you wanna be because of.....(how great that current facilities reputation is and the room for growth it offers RN's). You still have to acknowledge your current job because if you received a W2 from them it will show up on any background check done on you. You don't want it to look like you made a royal f!ck up on your first day and you're running away.

Thanks for your reply about including it on my resume/application... From what i've read from other threads, it seems that it is best to not omit a job, even if held for just a brief period.

Let's say I get called in for an interview next week. At this point my new/potential employer/interviewer will then notice that I've only been at my current job for 2 weeks...

how do I explain why I'm looking for a new job so soon?

i just dont' see a good explanation that will go over well with interviewers/potential employers..

even if i say that I enjoy this current job (which I don't, it's unsafe!) but want to work with a bigger, more respected hospital with better opportunities for growth, the interviewer might still say 'oh that's great, but why aren't you sticking it out with your current job for at least 6 months?''

Well, I don't think I CAN stick it out... it's not safe there, there are not enough regular RNs, let alone necessary ancillary staff (pharmacy, unit clerk, tele tech, etc.) to be able to humanly get the job done each shift and keep the patients safe. :down:

How do i get out of this jam??

I wish I woudn't have taken this current job and just explained that my lack of work history since graduation in DEC 2010 was due to looking for jobs!!!! :crying2:

Hello all!

I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right place, so please forgive me in advance.

I'm a relatively new RN grad. Dec. 2010. I had been unable to find a decent job for months. I have been LPN since 2003, but not worked steadily the whole time.

I had always been interested in LD nursing/OB and potentially community health/psych/prison nursing, etc.

I do not enjoy bedside nursing/med-surg as it is WAY understaffed in my opinion.

Anyway, before I get off track. After a few months of not finding anything, i got hired for what I thought was an ICU job, so I assumed i'd have 1-2 critical patients, multiple drips/vents, etc.. and a chance to really LEARN and spend time with my patients..

Reality is....it is more or less a med-surg unit and not really an ICU, and on my first night of orientation, my preceptor barely knew that she had to have an orientee... She had no time to show me much of the equipment (iV pumps, monitor screens) or how to do any of the paperwork and whatnot.

It was horrible....we got 6 admissions, and it was just her and one LPN, and 2 of us new RN grads....

all the nurses on the floor when I had my tour had quietly hinted that the staffing was horrible, and they hated their jobs, and that they had went through 5 new grads recently and NONE stayed. That should have been a RED FLAG to me.:uhoh3:

So, I just don't feel like this floor is going to work out for me. i went into nursing wanting to provide SAFE nursing CARE... but it seems that even the experienced nurses (my preceptor has been there 20 years) can't even keep their heads above water, so what hope do I have? It seems like there is barely enough time to assess the patients, let alone give meds, chart vitals, and other numerous things....

there is no unit secretary, NO tele tech, even though most of the patients are on tele, and there is no pharmacy personnel after hours..... basically, there is not enough support to safely take care of the patients, IMO.

I do not want to risk my license just for the sake of having a 'job'.... I want to quit so bad, yes even after one shift, but how would I go about obtaining a new job? Would i have to list this one on my resume?? If so, how would I explain leaving this job to a potential new employer during an interview?

Sorry if this post is disjointed and jumps from thought to thought. My brain is fried, my heart is aching, and I feel there may be no hope for me to find my 'niche'.. I don't think I can survive the requisite '1 YEAR' requirement in med-surg/floor nursing.... I want to specialize. I'd rather work home health/community/dr office/psych/prison....

Hospitals care more about the bottom line and don't care how short staffed the nurses have to work.

I don't know how y'all do it, but I CANNOT be in 6 patient rooms at once!!! How can I safely assess/care for patients on tele/drips when we constantly get new admissions, no secretary, and way too many forms to fill out. There is not enough time and not enough ME to get everything done!!!! am I just a terrible nurse, or what??

I want to quit this job, I know it's not gonna get any better, but then how do I explain it on my work history??

What do you guys think? similar experiences anyone can share? Advice? HELP!!!

I'm a mother of 4 children and want to provide for my family. I worked hard to go from LPN to RN, had a 4.0 GPA at graduation, and I love learning and love nursing theory, but in reality it is impossible to practice the type of nursing that goes by 'textbook'.. I don't like the idea of taking shortcuts and being unsafe. but it seems all the floor nurses are doing it, otherwise they won't get their work done in time before they have to start their next shift!!!!!!

I could go on and on, but you all know what I mean..

My first night,,on orientation, I did not get a lunch break, and I only got to pee once........ i'm sorry, but I can't live like that..

maybe you all are martyrs and have bladders of steel and stomachs that can go without food, but I just can't survive like that... I get lightheaded and just feel horrible if I don't get regular sustenance.

ARe there any jobs out there that don't require inhuman suffering, being pulled in twenty directions at once? I don't want to give up on nursing as I have invested time and money in this, but I do not want to risk my patients or my license...... if i cant' find another area of nursing, I'm thinking of going into ultrasound sonography or something........

Is this an LTAC by any chance? Sounds an awful lot like Kindred.

Please don't give up based on your experience in one place. This sounds like an exceptionally bad facility.

Specializes in PICU, ICU, Hospice, Mgmt, DON.

I agree, it sounds hideous, but the job market is also hideous...I am not sure what is worse right now, working somewhere where it is hell everyday but you are getting a paycheck..just until you can get another job...or quitting now and risking not finding another job for maybe 6 months or so...and we all know that is not a gross exaggeration...

it's really a toss up....and it depends on how much abuse and crap you are willling to put up with--it will certainly give you a lot of experience in a very short time....

Again, i appreciate all your insights and replies. you certainly have all been very helpful!!! :)

I guess i will tough it out until I can find a new job, but my problem is, how do I explain to a new employer/interviewer why i'm leaving this job?

I heard from other threads that it's best not to 'bash' your job, but I honestly don't know what to say if they ask me why I'm looking for a new job so soon.

And, no this isn't an LTAC unit.. It is supposed to be ICU but really it's just med-surg/tele because our hospital is small and can't really handle the critical patients, so we ship them to another facility. I don't know why my unit is called an 'ICU'..... I mean I heard we do get occasional vents, and many drips, but nobody on propofol or with a swan-ganz or A-line.... I was hoping to get critical care experience, but this is just acute med-surg it seems......... with horrible staffing, no secretary or tele tech, and 5x as much paperwork as I have ever done in any other place I've worked!!!!!:cry:

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