I'm leaving my first nursing job after 6 months, any advice?

Definitely -- resign before you are terminated. If you allow yourself to be terminated, you will have to say that on future applications for the rest of your life as it is a common question on applications. If you resign, you can simply say that you left your first job after 6 months because critical care was not for you. The fact that your employer kept you around (investing in you) will actually look good in that they thought you were worth that big of an investment. Ironic, isn't it?

So ... for the immediate future ...

1. Immediately (Monday. Don't wait until Tuesday.) Find out if there are available positions on other units in the same hospital. Talk to the Nurse Recruiter: don't just rely on the publically posted positions. After investing 6 months in you, the hospital may prefer to transfer you to another unit rather than have you walk out the door, taking their investment in you with you. They may have the ability to give you an unposted position on a med/surg floor or something that will give you a 2nd chance. That would allow you to keep your benefits, keep your seniority, etc. and allow you to have continuous employment on your resume.

2. Step 2 is to put in a request for a transfer if that is going to be a possibility.

3. If transfer is not possible, resign. Make sure you resign before they terminate you.

4. If you resign, take a week or two to pamper yourself, cry, etc. and get that work of grieving done. Then pick yourself up and start job hunting.

It is MORE than OK to be open and honest with the ICU Manager about your hopes and plans. Unless she is evil incarnate and stupid, she will see that it is her best interest to allow you to leave gracefully. Tell her that you realize that ICU is not for you and that you would like to explore the possibilities of transfering to another unit before the resignation paperwork is completed.

The transfer process (and paperwork) is the easiest and least emotionally distressing for everyone. Your manager should understand that. The 2nd easiest and least distressing is resignation. The messiest and most distressing is termination. She'll want to avoid that if possible, too. So, work with her to make it easiest and least distressing for everyone. She may even help you arrange a transfer. That helps her feel good about the situation in that she helped you to land on your feet. It's what a lot of managers prefer to do.

By giving you a "2-week warning," she is indicating that she doesn't really want to fire you ... she wants to give you a chance to avoid the "involuntary termination" label and move on to have a successful career somewhere else. Let her know that's what you want to do and give her a chance to guide you gracefully out of her unit in a way that will allow you to move on with your career.

Keep in touch with us here on allnurses. A lot of people have been through this as it is common for new grads to struggle in the ICU. People can share their stories and give you good suggestions for moving forward. Good luck to you.

yng65,

I am soooo sorry that you are going through this. Each type of clinical setting has it's own unique stressors. Critical Care can require an incredibly high level of multi-tasking that is just not achievable if that's not the way your brain is hardwired. Transition to ICU is challenging even for experienced nurses.

Just because this is not your cup of tea doesn't mean you are not going to be a fabulous nurse in another clinical setting. Just chalk this up as a learning experience. I have always learned more from my 'mistakes' than from my successes - that's a good thing because there are so much more of the former than the latter.

Good luck. Take a deep breath and go get 'em!!