STRESSFUL first nursing job

shakedwnst924 · Jun 11, 2011

WOW! You described both my floor & my situation, identical! I graduated Dec 09, worked med-surg, & had exact same issues. I put in my resignation yesterday. I just couldn't do it any longer & had enough. I couldn't be happier! :yeah: I feel pure relief.

This may sound bad, but I knew 6 months into the job that I didn't want to be there > 2 years. So the past year has been devoted to saving, & the past 6 months has been devoted to preparing, pondering, looking.

I'll share what I've learned (will be A LOT of info, but will save you SO much time, confusion, & frustration, I promise!)

1) First, figure out what you DON'T want to do (you said no poop, no psych. Take it from there).

**If you aren't sure where to go from there, make a list of the aspects of your job that you disliked, from the most to least stressful. (i.e. the #1 thing I will NEVER do again is night shift). After you've soul-searched about what you don't want to do, it's easier to figure out what you do want (and moreover realize what aspects of nursing you value most in a job).

2) UPDATE THAT RESUME FROM NURSING SCHOOL (if you haven't done so already). You will probably run into the exact same issue as I did....I learned so much and experienced so many things on that medsurg floor, I struggled narrowing all of it down, & essentially had to just redo my resume. Most jobs have online applications, & the "good ones" get taken before you can even being to fill out the application. So if your resume is current, you can just copy, paste, then tweak it a little to gear it toward each individual application (instead of spending 2 days scrambling to update your resume only to find that job you wanted has been taken)

3) How flexible are you? Would you be willing to do travel nursing or relocate? If the answer is yes, then expand your job search, because the possibilities are freaking endless. The more open you are to other locations, the more you will be able to find what you want specifically.

4) If you are not flexible location-wise, there will be less options, so try to stay open-minded, remember your list of things you DON'T want to do, and go from there.

5) Be wary of sign-on bonuses. Many times those jobs have > turnover rates & you may not be happy in the long run.

Good Luck! I know not only will you find what you want to do, but you will get the job you want! :) Let me know if you have any questions or if I can help in any way. :clown:

WIN007 · Jun 12, 2011

Unfortunately I suspect that's how it is too frequently. I worked two units where the tech's were similarly surly and felt all you did. though I can see where two techs for 40 or more patients makes just getting vitals and to the bathroom a full-time shift for them, et al, the fact is if you have to do THEIR job (answer call lights, fill water jugs and get your patients to the bathroom) then you can't do YOUR job (charting, assessments, knocking off orders, physician consults, chart reviews, et al) and your license is at risk.

There's no job, I repeat none, worth losing your license over. Don't regret leaving. You more than likely did the right thing. Network, look at the outpatient surgery centers, physicians offices, et al. And learn to do something else for extra money that would not cost too much or be too time-consuming that you can do on your own schedule. Massage therapist maybe?

sophistomommaRN · Jun 27, 2011

Hi I am recent out of school (last winter) and after a long search landed my first position also... :crying2: It was a nightmare! I had to immediately discuss my concerns with training with management day 1.

My preceptor first day left me alone within minutes of the first day to do patient care in LTC...no ID bands, no real guidance, just "you're a NEW nurse??? and sigh"...Then got upset that I looked for her to obtain guidance instead of just doing what I had no instruction in. I was only taught by preceptors my 3 days how to run through paperwork without having to actually do the care (basically falsifying paperwork...not the type of nurse I want to intentionally be). I voiced my desire to do best pt care/policy and was told that I would just get used to it. So I left without any regrets. Better a new nurse with a license and integrity than one only seen as a dispensable license number.

It has taken me 3 months since this but have finally gotten a break with the area's best hospital system. I was honest about where I came from, why I left (want to have a position that offers a broad variety of nursing experiences/that facilitates my maturation as a professional nurse, and why I didn't put a notice in (prefer to leave immediately early on if I sense the potential of endangering patient safety). You are a true nurse at heart when, at the end of the day, patient safety is held in highest regard while in the position. Going out there for you're next position, think hard about what type of nursing gets your blood pumping. Many say that you can't get what you want because of the market. I will say that you can; I got my first choice!!! It takes time, patience, and holding to your values as a nurse. Let the recruiters at hospitals see that you are dedicated to all positions in your choice area/specialty once you find it...that's what I did!

Hold true to what you learned is best practice/professionalism...I hope it takes you far!

And my old place is now advertising huge hiring bonuses so I believe that!....

scnurse28 · Jul 28, 2011

Thank y'all so much for the helpful comments!! Still no job bc my old manager has bad mouthed me to every hospital in the area just for leaving her unit. Hopefully ill figure something out! Just trying to stay positive

Guest717236 · Aug 3, 2011

Why not go to school for esthetics nice combination with nursing and start your own business

working for plastic surgeons or dermatologists...:balloons:

Would get you out of the hospital stress environment...

Just a thought!

morningland · May 17, 2012

Don't ever let a freakin' PCT talk down to you as a nurse. As a nurse you are higher on the food chain and it is your absolute right and responsablity to deligate tasks when needed. If my PCT said that to me I would have said "I am deligating this task to you, if you decide not to do it then the next step is the two of us having a conversation with management". If management didn't have your back, I'd leave. I used to be PCT, so I know how hard the job is and I don't feel better then anyone else. However, there is a chain of command and if the patients see the tech ordering the nurse around, the whole system breaks down and Pts will start to lose confidence in the nurse, where the real care comes from