I graduated in May and started my first job as an RN in July on a busy surgical floor at a local hospital minutes from my home. It was a perfect set up. The nurses I worked with were awesome, the supervisors were supportive and helpful, and as mentioned before, it was minutes from my house. The problem was I was about to be off orientation and I was terrified! I am definitely not cut out to be a floor nurse. The thought of taking care of 5-8 patients all by myself scared me to death!! I felt overwhelmed and worried that I was going to miss something when I no longer had my preceptor to catch me when I fall. The type of fear I was feeling wasn't normal new grad fear. It was clearly my personality and I can't change that. Anyone who has been a floor nurse should know what I mean. You either can do it or you can't. And it's not safe to "wing it." I recognized this was not where I belong as a nurse. I was always running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. So, needless to say, I decided to leave my job. Now I am unemployed and truly worried I have wasted the past 4 years of my life going to school for a career that I am not going to be able to do. My husband and parents think I'm a failure. I'm beginning to believe it also.
I love patient care and would work a lot better in an environment where I could spend more one-on-one time with my patient, but where are jobs like that when you don't have experience? And now I'm worried it will look bad that I quit a job after 3 months, but I truly felt like something bad was going to happen if I didn't get out now. I have applied at 2 dialysis centers, ECT, and considering correctional nursing. But again, all of those positions state experience required. I applied anyway, but not feeling too confident.
If anyone has any sound advice for me, I would greatly appreciate it.
You also might try public health. I was in your shoes a couple years ago and got so nervous in the hospital. I found a home in public health in a home visiting program. I love visiting moms and babies.
What I can say is that you have to look what is ahead of you and stop blaming yourself for quitting the job, stop feeding yourself that you are a failure because your husband and family said so. It's about time to stand bold on your decisions and try something new, I'm sure you'll land a job soon, what you have to focus on while waiting for a new job is gaining your confidence back. You have to assess and ask yourself about what's important to you and what not.. List your priorities in life, list your goals in a piece of paper , list all your options how can you achieve your goal and work on it. You have to believe in yourself.
My first nursing job out of nursing school was pediatric home health. Did you ever think to try that. I spent my 12hr shift sitting next to the bed of a 3 year old who was total care. She couldn't move, talk, or communicate in anyway with me other than to cry periodically which I took to mean she was in pain if she moaned or seemed restless with it. I was a very fast learner and had great critical thinking skills already which allowed me to be pretty successful and the nurse that trained me made herself available if I needed to call her instead of the home health "charge nurse". You have had 3 months inpatient so that could probably help you with some skills in that setting. Home health was great in that I set up my schedule and you were there one on one with the patient. The mar was there for me to follow along with the schedule for the day which then became very routine. The agencies are always hiring in my area and I am not sure where you live, but if I were you I would check in to that. By the way you are not a failure.
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
I could have written your post 6 years ago. I had to extend my orientation, twice, and was on a type of probation during that time and I saw a counselor to help with my stress.
First, you're not, I repeat not, a failure...the nursing system is. I believe we as a group have allowed our employers to exploit us all to the extent that a huge percentage of new grads quit the profession shortly after working so hard to become RNs. The schools have also failed in not adequately preparing students for what they may encounter on the floor.
Consider going back to your employer and meeting with the director of nursing. Maybe a different unit or starting at nights would help get you through
the hump we apparently all get. Nights did that for me, then I went to days, and eventually I left the floor. Time management is critical and I have a tool I created that saved my buttocks. I used it everyday and it really made me a better nurse. I'd be happy to share it, just message me.
It'll be ok, and this experience will make you stronger in the end.
This whole situation makes me so sad. I think most people go into nursing school prepared to learn to handle some stress. But so many people are finding the stress so overwhelming they get sick or run away screaming.
Why does our profession have to be like this? How did we get to the point where we're so exploited and sucked so dry that we have to run for our lives? I know this post is sounding a bit dramatic, but there are so many threads by new grads who are floundering. They're not all special snowflakes.
We get accused of eating our young; the reality is, the healthcare system is drowning them.
I'm sorry that you are going through this, because it isn't an easy thing. I apologize if I have repeated what you've already heard a million times on this thread, but it would have taken me way too long to read every comment.
If I were you, I would try to go back to your previous employer and ask her for a second chance, and I know I have seen this mentioned. I work on an Acute Medical floor, and I've been there since February. I graduated with my RN in December of '15, so I'm still a new grad. It does take a good amount of time to get in a routine. When I first started out, I had only 11 twelve hour shifts on orientation and I was on my own. I was scared, but I knew if I just jumped right in, that it would be best for me personally. I have awesome coworkers and a great manager and when I first started out, I asked a million questions. The way I see it, if you ask questions, you're always learning. It would scare me if a new nurse though they had everything under control.
One important thing to remember as a new nurse is to ask for help, and to not freak out if something happens. Sure, there are certainly high stress events that occur, but it will help nothing to get freaked out. Just try to prioritize and do one thing at a time - not everything has to happen at the same time. Prioritization is key, and that's something that you'll learn in time. That's probably the hardest thing to learn. Most everything else is typically routine, like med passes, IV's (even though those are tricky as well), basic nursing skills, assessments, admissions, discharges - but you'll do these every day and so you'll catch on to those quicker.
Please try to go back and give it another shot. Med surg nursing might not be for you, but in my mind, it is a great foundation. I have learned so so so much in these almost nine months of being at my job and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
There are other options out there though that do not require experienced nurses, but they are more tricky to get a job in because a lot of places have employees who like their job enough to not leave. But any other job you have, there will be a learning curve. Med surg isn't for everyone though. Best of luck to you in whatever you decide to do.
But remember, ASK ASK ASK! Don't be afraid to ask questions!! If someone gets an attitude because you're asking too many questions, you can simply remind them that they, too, were new once. There's always something new to learn, so there will always be questions to ask.
Most CM jobs require experience and the poster you were responding to had that experience. YMMV
Lol i do know that but i still wanted to find out more about it because it sounds interesting. So i just wanted to know the channels that can be taken to get there because before now i only knew about case managers in the hospital.
I was so relieved to read your post, and so discouraged to read most of the responses. I have known early on that floor nursing isn't for me. I have been so frustrated that when you tell someone your are an RN they instantly place you bedside on a med/surg floor. I am just like you, I am not cut out and have no interest in hospital floor nursing. There are plenty of great nurses who work in other areas, but finding that perfect nitche has been challenging. I graduated last Dec and have continued working in my exisiting LPN role in a urogyn clinic. They do not have an RN position for me here yet so Ive been waiting while I have been working on my BSN. I still have a year left of that. I recently started looking for jobs because I need to make more money and want to feel like a real RN, I feel like I am losing all the skills I worked so hard for in nursing school. The jobs Ive seen most are requiring experience, a BSN and/or full time (I am a single mom with a difficult divorce/parenting situation and school is time consuming so I work part time). I just recently discovered the nurse residency program at my organization and wished my supervisor and manager had recommended it to me a long time ago. I was just accepted into the program but its' only once a month and the next session isn't until Jan and I was thinking I will need to find a new job by then because I am not getting paid enough and not working as an RN. I feel very stuck and not sure what to do. I wish you best of luck and just know there are many, many of us out there like you and we are all excellent nurses and can contribute to healthcare in valuable ways other than floor nursing.
"The type of fear I was feeling wasn't normal new grad fear." You only knew YOUR fear, not typical new grad fear. Any new grad is smart enough to be afraid to fly on their own.
You chose not to use your skills and work through that phase.
I was shaking in by booties, for the first 2 years on my own. I chose to use my resources and become the nurse I knew I could be.
There are still jobs out there that you will love! I found a job in community nursing with a private agency. Some shifts I take are at an RPN level and they are a great opportunity to gain comfort with aspects of the job like the documentation system because the patients
are less acute. I have the choice with my agency to work RN or RPN shifts. I get to spend 8+ hours with a single patient and make sure that they are cared for on levels that would not be possible in hospital nursing. It is very satisfying.
One downside with my particular employer is that the on-call support for my night shifts have not been getting back to me when I call in. On days, the stress of being on my own is mitigated by having that support in the office at any time.
I never bothered applying for hospital work because I have done a lot of self-assessment and reflection and realized that floor nursing will never make me feel fulfilled. I am working with my strengths rather than punishing myself for not fitting into some ridiculously specific mold of what a nurse should be. I am also working towards getting into a public health nursing position in my area.
I am appalled at some of the "suck it up buttercup" responses that I have read in this thread, but you will find that they appear every time a new grad posts something about the challenges of starting out.
Chin up. You have a long way to go before you can start calling yourself a failure. Nevermind the criticisms and do your reflective practice. You will find what you love and THEN the stress will be worth it.
kdancer
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You also might try public health. I was in your shoes a couple years ago and got so nervous in the hospital. I found a home in public health in a home visiting program. I love visiting moms and babies.