Any new grads thinking of leaving nursing?

kakamegamama · Dec 2, 2010

Hang in there! How long have you been looking? Are you currently working as a nurse in another job, or are you looking for your very first nursing job? Just curious.

Miller86 · Dec 2, 2010

I waited 5 months (felt like eternity) before finally finding a job. Somewhere, some door will open up for you. Just keep looking and don't lose hope. Go back to or keep your old job in the meantime if you really need the income. Best of luck and I hope you find a job real soon, I know how frustrating it is waiting and hoping for a job.

BettyBoop01 · Dec 2, 2010

I have a nursing job, but it is crushing my soul. Between the rotating shifts, the 7-8 patients with no support staff, I dont feel like I am in a place where I can succeed. I dont feel qualified to care for the amount of patients I am given and I feel the pressure every day. When I am not at work, I dread going back. When I am at work, I am just trying to keep my head above water. It has been a few months, I was hoping it would get better. I love my patients and I really wish I had the time to give them the care they deserve.

RaziRN · Dec 2, 2010

I'm in the same boat as the above poster. Next week I will have been working for a year and I've been contemplating leaving nursing.

grasshopper7780 · Dec 2, 2010

Could you really go back to the office job that you didnt care for either? Maybe you should look for a diff job in a diff setting (home care, school nurse, etc). I know as someone who has been in the office job that she didnt care for for 6 years now where I wish that i could say I like or love any one bit of my job, you should think really hard before you jump ship.

BettyBoop01 · Dec 2, 2010

Could you really go back to the office job that you didnt care for either? Maybe you should look for a diff job in a diff setting (home care, school nurse, etc). I know as someone who has been in the office job that she didnt care for for 6 years now where I wish that i could say I like or love any one bit of my job, you should think really hard before you jump ship.

It paid more than double what I make now. If I am going to hate my job, I might as well get my benefits back and 4 weeks vaca. I hate to give up on nursing so soon without giving it a fair shake because I know I will love it if I work in a different setting. I do love the patients and the care. I just feel trapped right now in a bad job, but there arent any available for new grads. I am not sure I can stick this out for a year. I am interviewing elswhere and trying to find something else, its just a tough market right now. I cant get ANYTHING in a different setting. As a new grad my options are take it or leave it. I've got bills to pay.

badphish · Dec 2, 2010

I would try to get a nurse job elsewhere. I love my place of work and the people I am working with and I feel supported. But let's see how I feel 6 months from now. Have a dear friend that is leaving her first rn job. To get another one where she is treated better.

Peace out

Brett

Care&Joy · Dec 2, 2010

I have a nursing job, but it is crushing my soul. Between the rotating shifts, the 7-8 patients with no support staff, I dont feel like I am in a place where I can succeed. I dont feel qualified to care for the amount of patients I am given and I feel the pressure every day. When I am not at work, I dread going back. When I am at work, I am just trying to keep my head above water. It has been a few months, I was hoping it would get better. I love my patients and I really wish I had the time to give them the care they deserve.

I totally know what that feels like. Go to California or some other state that has a lower nurse to patient ratio. The day we changed from 7-8 patients to 4-6 patients. I was in heaven because I KNEW I was able to take much better care of my pt's!!! Get out of that place until they learn to treat their own pt's right & tell them why you are leaving. These medical facilities need to learn :). Burnout in nursing stinks when it comes. I've been there & almost went back to looking into original plans, but I rerouted myself, stuck in there & it's better :).

martymoose, BSN, RN · Dec 2, 2010

did you say you made more money in an office position? after tasting how bad nursing is, i guess you can compare the "i hate job- nursing" to the " i dont care for- office job". i must say if i was in your shoes- i would absolutely go back. esp. if it made more money. what did you do as an office job, if i may ask? office jobs around here pay like 9 bucks an hour.

Its things like this that i wish they would have told us in nursing school, so we could make more educated decisions before wasting time and money, and risking our license every day we are on the job. Id say the old job is a win-win situation...

ImThatGuy, BSN, RN · Dec 2, 2010

I plan to if the right kind of nursing job doesn't open up, yet I do have a way to go before I reach that point. Regardless, I want to stay affiliated with my current career in some capacity. If I go back to an entry-level patrol job somewhere I'll probably try to get some off hours as some kind of floor nurse or other fill-in job just to earn back what I've spent on school expenditures. Once I balance that off I'll be fine no matter what happens.

Quiet_Storm · Dec 9, 2010

Have you thought about going back to school and getting a MSN degree? That might be a good option too. I am currently in RN school for ADN scheduled to finish July 2011 and, given how hard new grad jobs are to come by, have decided to go into a ADN-MSN program and become a NP. I love the nursing field and would not go back to my old office job that I hated. Maybe the shortage is my eye opening to a bigger potential in me as a Nurse Practitioner.