Am I too stupid to be a nurse?

[iconicqueen]

Hi,

I am a very new nurse and quit my last and first job after 2 months due to EXTREME ANXIETY. I know it sounds rash, but I don't even regret it. I was unbelieveably miserable...it's now hard for me to want to try again. I feel like at my last job, all these nurses could multitask like no other and were very detail oriented. The new nurses with me did not have a hard time like me, which leads me to believe I may not be suited for this job. It's like my brain can't process/handle dealing with so much at once. I don't want to put patients in danger, so I'm just really scared to try again. idk why it seems so much harder for me than other people in my cohort. I get very anxious and nervous in fast-paced environments, which is why I think I may not be a good fit for nursing in general. I know people are gonna tell me it's bc I'm new, but compared to my peers throughout nursing school and my last job, I was always significantly slower... Any advice is appreciated. Do you think I should switch careers?

[Nunya, BSN]

17 hours ago, AmIDumb said:

I think I'm an anxious person in general (I was never diagnosed with an anxiety disorder but I probably should be haha). i think my problem was I was just too slow and my preceptor was getting annoyed with me. That made me more anxious and it made me feel like I wasn't cut out for the work. I'm trying not to give up, but the idea of going back to inpatient gives me rashes and flashbacks from my last job...idk if I can live like that again, but at least I moved closer to my family after i quit!

So there are people who can help you with your anxiety...? Maybe that's what you should start on, v and then try again. Not every job is a fit for every person, and do you really want to waste the last few years of your life?

[Cowboyardee]

I think anxiety is more likely your problem than intelligence. A panicky mental state is not at all conducive to clear thinking, focus, and organization.

For whatever it's worth, the mental demands get easier with practice. For everyone, most definitely including those who think it never will. Your brain just eventually reorganizes itself to do what it needs to do - I was super slow, forgetful, and foggy when I started, and now I can remember full panels of lab results on patients I had last month but still need to check my phone to remember my mom's phone number. Still, the problem you describe has nothing much to do with intelligence or memory, and everything to do with anxiety and frame of mind. Please talk about it with your provider to see what your options are.

[iconicqueen]

16 hours ago, Pixie.RN said:

First, I would recommend seeing someone about your anxiety. If you truly do have an anxiety disorder, there are things that can help you — but you have to see professionals first.

Do not quit. You will look back at this time at some point in the future and marvel at how much you have grown, and how your fears were your biggest issue. You know you're smart; you're just equating "smart" with "magically able to do everything on day one," and that is not how it works. I am going to suggest a user name change to reflect who you are inside, not a name that reflects your self-doubts (which we all have, in reality). Stop getting in your own way with this negative stuff. ?

There are also non-bedside jobs for new nurses. You might not get as high a salary as you would in the hospital, but sometimes a reduction in pay is a good trade for your sanity. Hang in there, it gets better!!

I would love to see someone for anxiety, but without a job how could I afford it? I'm trying not to quit but something in me is telling me I'm not cut out for this work...I would love to work in an office or for a pharm company so that's what I'm trying to do!!

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

3 minutes ago, AmIDumb said:

I would love to see someone for anxiety, but without a job how could I afford it? I'm trying not to quit but something in me is telling me I'm not cut out for this work...I would love to work in an office or for a pharm company so that's what I'm trying to do!!

Look for low-cost clinics in your area. NAMI is a great resource:

https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions/Anxiety-Disorders

[Meagan, BSN, RN]

20 hours ago, AmIDumb said:

I think I'm an anxious person in general (I was never diagnosed with an anxiety disorder but I probably should be haha). i think my problem was I was just too slow and my preceptor was getting annoyed with me. That made me more anxious and it made me feel like I wasn't cut out for the work. I'm trying not to give up, but the idea of going back to inpatient gives me rashes and flashbacks from my last job...idk if I can live like that again, but at least I moved closer to my family after i quit!

You made some really good points here, and I can tell you from my personal experience with anxiety and my first nursing job felt the same in many ways. Try to find a little bit of light if you can. Maybe you needed a different preceptor, or a different unit, but most of all, you need to give yourself time. I had many sleepless nights, and even considered getting out of nursing myself. Your path will show itself to you ?

[lovingtheunloved, ASN, RN]

If you think you genuinely have an anxiety disorder, for the love, get treatment. Been there, and my quality of life is so much better in general, not to mention work.

[nurseteni]

Hey there OP! New nurse anxiety can be crushing. Anxiety in general can be debilitating. Whenever possible I think therapy, mindfulness, deep breathing, meditation, etc. are all useful tools. It gets better. The thing to realize is that, no matter where you work, the potential for anxiety-producing situations is ever-present. I saw you reference Pharma. Having worked in the pharmaceutical industry I just wanted to mention to you that the stress and potential for anxiety is there as well. It can be extremely fast-paced with unforgiving deadlines ( there's a lot riding on the majority of what you do regardless of what capacity you work in). I'm only pointing that out to say that over time having worked in various roles I've come to realize that I will potentially always be anxious and have to push past the anxiety to reach a level of comfort with whatever it is I'm doing. I may not reach that comfort within one year, depending upon the nature of I'm doing it can take quite a while. I think the key is to find what you're interested in or passionate about and commit to working through the anxiety. If not you may continuously be bouncing around seeking an anxiety-free route which, for some of us, that thing may not exist at least not in the early stages of a new role.

[James36, LPN, RN]

Have you considered working in corrections nursing? In my experience, it was not very stressful. It is a good setting to learn foundational skills like medication administration, EKG, assessments, etc.

[Aliens05, ASN]

23 hours ago, Lurkndmurk said:

Have you tried? Because im a new grad & this is my first nursing job. Only a month in, but i know i hit the jackpot here. Mon-fri, no weekends, paid holidays, 7 week PTO AND its super laid back

Just out of curiosity may I ask what you do?

Responding to the OP, I would say my job is also very low stress. I work with the DD population in a group home setting and its very chill. Most days you just hang out with the residents who live in the home, take them on outings to the movies or something. Of course you are the nurse if anything bad happens you gotta deal with it, but dealing with it is almost always just sending them out. You can wear basically whatever you want to work, and its a relaxed home-like atmosphere, Love it. The residents are on the more medical side (non-behavior) but are really not that medical at all, such as feeding tubes.

[whisperingsage]

Have you tried home health? They are one on one and much better in spending time with your patient.

[iconicqueen]

3 hours ago, nurseteni said:

Hey there OP! New nurse anxiety can be crushing. Anxiety in general can be debilitating. Whenever possible I think therapy, mindfulness, deep breathing, meditation, etc. are all useful tools. It gets better. The thing to realize is that, no matter where you work, the potential for anxiety-producing situations is ever-present. I saw you reference Pharma. Having worked in the pharmaceutical industry I just wanted to mention to you that the stress and potential for anxiety is there as well. It can be extremely fast-paced with unforgiving deadlines ( there's a lot riding on the majority of what you do regardless of what capacity you work in). I'm only pointing that out to say that over time having worked in various roles I've come to realize that I will potentially always be anxious and have to push past the anxiety to reach a level of comfort with whatever it is I'm doing. I may not reach that comfort within one year, depending upon the nature of I'm doing it can take quite a while. I think the key is to find what you're interested in or passionate about and commit to working through the anxiety. If not you may continuously be bouncing around seeking an anxiety-free route which, for some of us, that thing may not exist at least not in the early stages of a new role.

Thank you so much for your response! Right now i have interviews for inpatient pediatrics and outpatient dialysis. I am leaning towards dialysis bc the hospital for the peds interview is very high rated/high paced (Similar to my last job). I think you're right that any job will be stressful. I think being surrounded by my fam will make this next job more bearable hopefully

2 hours ago, Aliens05 said:

Just out of curiosity may I ask what you do?

Responding to the OP, I would say my job is also very low stress. I work with the DD population in a group home setting and its very chill. Most days you just hang out with the residents who live in the home, take them on outings to the movies or something. Of course you are the nurse if anything bad happens you gotta deal with it, but dealing with it is almost always just sending them out. You can wear basically whatever you want to work, and its a relaxed home-like atmosphere, Love it. The residents are on the more medical side (non-behavior) but are really not that medical at all, such as feeding tubes.

wow that sounds so fun!! Sounds like somewhere I shadowed during nursing school

3 hours ago, lovingtheunloved said:

If you think you genuinely have an anxiety disorder, for the love, get treatment. Been there, and my quality of life is so much better in general, not to mention work.

Yeah, after years of ignoring it i may try to go to therapy once i get a job

[iconicqueen]

9 hours ago, Cowboyardee said:

I think anxiety is more likely your problem than intelligence. A panicky mental state is not at all conducive to clear thinking, focus, and organization.

For whatever it's worth, the mental demands get easier with practice. For everyone, most definitely including those who think it never will. Your brain just eventually reorganizes itself to do what it needs to do - I was super slow, forgetful, and foggy when I started, and now I can remember full panels of lab results on patients I had last month but still need to check my phone to remember my mom's phone number. Still, the problem you describe has nothing much to do with intelligence or memory, and everything to do with anxiety and frame of mind. Please talk about it with your provider to see what your options are.

I have a huge problem with remembering the little details. I'm not naturally detail-oriented and it always confused me how nurses seemed to remember EVERYTHING!! And, yeah i don't think my intelligence is the issue. I guess I never realized how much anxiety can affect my subconscious behaviors...