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.
Thank you for your comment, but please be careful who you advise to get "treatment" unless you know their whole story. The last thing I wanted to do was get into controversy over an internet post, but I take that remark VERY offensive. Not everyone is the same and just because one does not have a "personality" to be a floor nurse is certainly not a reason for psychiatric treatment, assuming that is the type of "treatment" you are referring to.
You're probably going to see red and holler at me when you read this, like you did to Libby, but oh well. Being holistic is my job as a nurse, right?? So that's what I'm going to do :)
Personally, in your original post, it sounded like you had an anxiety problem (like I, myself do). I was so scared that I was going to harm a patient that I refused to apply at a hospital until I had a year of experience elsewhere. Then I only applied at a "crappy" hospital. After a year there, I finally applied and got hired at a beautiful, newer hospital that I never want to leave! You know what helped me get to that place of confidence in my career? Treatment! I was in counseling for a couple other things (childhood crap), but she severely helped me get over my self doubt and anxiety. I also started Lexapro about a year ago. That was a game changer for me. I was never depressed, only EXTREMELY anxious. The Lexapro calmed me down and I don't constantly feel on edge anymore. My anxiety is very appropriate now.
So, there is my concern with your original post. Now onto your response that I quoted here^^^.
I am greatly concerned with how defensive you sounded in your response to Libby's suggestion. "Treatment", in any fashion, is not a bad thing, yet you seem to have a very negative view on it. As a nurse, we are supposed to care for people physically, mentally, and emotionally. "Treatment", whether with therapy and/or medications, is treating people mentally and emotionally, and ultimately physically, isn't it? We all know that data shows that stress leads to heart attacks and stress. So what is wrong with treatment? I sure hope that you don't talk to your patients about treatment (therapy or meds) in that sense. You would be denying them from fantastic resources that they could greatly benefit from.
And that YOU could benefit from. So I am going to reiterate what Libby said. I strongly suggest getting treatment. Maybe from different avenues. And there is nothing wrong with getting that help. You'll be a better nurse because your self doubt and anxiety will fade away, which will ultimately make you a better nurse. No one wants a nurse full of anxiety and angst.
You're probably going to see red and holler at me when you read this, like you did to Libby, but oh well. Being holistic is my job as a nurse, right?? So that's what I'm going to do :)
Personally, in your original post, it sounded like you had an anxiety problem (like I, myself do). I was so scared that I was going to harm a patient that I refused to apply at a hospital until I had a year of experience elsewhere. Then I only applied at a "crappy" hospital. After a year there, I finally applied and got hired at a beautiful, newer hospital that I never want to leave! You know what helped me get to that place of confidence in my career? Treatment! I was in counseling for a couple other things (childhood crap), but she severely helped me get over my self doubt and anxiety. I also started Lexapro about a year ago. That was a game changer for me. I was never depressed, only EXTREMELY anxious. The Lexapro calmed me down and I don't constantly feel on edge anymore. My anxiety is very appropriate now.
So, there is my concern with your original post. Now onto your response that I quoted here^^^.
I am greatly concerned with how defensive you sounded in your response to Libby's suggestion. "Treatment", in any fashion, is not a bad thing, yet you seem to have a very negative view on it. As a nurse, we are supposed to care for people physically, mentally, and emotionally. "Treatment", whether with therapy and/or medications, is treating people mentally and emotionally, and ultimately physically, isn't it? We all know that data shows that stress leads to heart attacks and stress. So what is wrong with treatment? I sure hope that you don't talk to your patients about treatment (therapy or meds) in that sense. You would be denying them from fantastic resources that they could greatly benefit from.
And that YOU could benefit from. So I am going to reiterate what Libby said. I strongly suggest getting treatment. Maybe from different avenues. And there is nothing wrong with getting that help. You'll be a better nurse because your self doubt and anxiety will fade away, which will ultimately make you a better nurse. No one wants a nurse full of anxiety and angst.
Good luck to you, Jack.
Thank you.
I had a series of anxiety and panic attacks years ago. I took advantage of both rx and counseling for several years. They helped immensely and then we found an underlying hormonal cause and I have felt great since sans rx and counseling.
I'm very open about it in my real life and have shared my experiences with many people who were afraid of stigma. It's given me insight into what patients might be experiencing with their anxiety and depression.
Coming from that perspective, it never occurred to me that encouraging treatment for anxiety would be offensive.
In all honesty, I was slightly offended that the OP suggested therapy or meds was such a bad thing. I'm no less of a nurse, mom, wife, or person because I sought help. Actually, it made me a million times BETTER! I finally realized that my anxiety was out of control when my husband yelled at me "I don't know what's going on with you, but you need to figure your **** out!" (even though I thought I was doing a good job at only internalizing it and not taking it out on anyone else). I was mad at him for calling me out and pointing out that I wasn't hiding it as well as I thought I had been, but then I realized that he was absolutely right and I needed help.
Getting help doesn't make anyone less of a person. I wish people would recognize that mental health is EQUALLY AS IMPORTANT as physical health.
What are you doing in your clinical placements while in uni if you can't look after 5-8 patients on your own ? We do it from year 2 and once qualified we get patients allocated to us straight away , there's always a senior nurse on shift if we need help but they're not there to hold our hands , that's what the over 2000 hours clinical practicals are for You have finished, you got your degree you should be able to work on your own.
You're probably going to see red and holler at me when you read this, like you did to Libby, but oh well. Being holistic is my job as a nurse, right?? So that's what I'm going to do :)
Personally, in your original post, it sounded like you had an anxiety problem (like I, myself do). I was so scared that I was going to harm a patient that I refused to apply at a hospital until I had a year of experience elsewhere. Then I only applied at a "crappy" hospital. After a year there, I finally applied and got hired at a beautiful, newer hospital that I never want to leave! You know what helped me get to that place of confidence in my career? Treatment! I was in counseling for a couple other things (childhood crap), but she severely helped me get over my self doubt and anxiety. I also started Lexapro about a year ago. That was a game changer for me. I was never depressed, only EXTREMELY anxious. The Lexapro calmed me down and I don't constantly feel on edge anymore. My anxiety is very appropriate now.
So, there is my concern with your original post. Now onto your response that I quoted here^^^.
I am greatly concerned with how defensive you sounded in your response to Libby's suggestion. "Treatment", in any fashion, is not a bad thing, yet you seem to have a very negative view on it. As a nurse, we are supposed to care for people physically, mentally, and emotionally. "Treatment", whether with therapy and/or medications, is treating people mentally and emotionally, and ultimately physically, isn't it? We all know that data shows that stress leads to heart attacks and stress. So what is wrong with treatment? I sure hope that you don't talk to your patients about treatment (therapy or meds) in that sense. You would be denying them from fantastic resources that they could greatly benefit from.
And that YOU could benefit from. So I am going to reiterate what Libby said. I strongly suggest getting treatment. Maybe from different avenues. And there is nothing wrong with getting that help. You'll be a better nurse because your self doubt and anxiety will fade away, which will ultimately make you a better nurse. No one wants a nurse full of anxiety and angst.
Good luck to you, Jack.
You know what, I totally agree with you 100%. After re-reading how I responded, I overreacted most definitely. Honestly am sorry I came across as yelling. That was not my intention. But it stems back to some issues that occurred in my past that I won't get into. But again, I do agree that I probably do need to get some help with my anxiety. Since posting, I have applied for many positions only to be told, "sorry, you don't have experience at the bedside." That is so frustrating. I have seriously considered giving up on nursing. I am not good at it and it is completely obvious to everyone around me. Thank you for your response.
Just an FYI: there is an 8% vacancy rate in nursing positions in the U.S. currently. We're going to be 1:3 million nurses down by 2020. Many markets across the nation are already short. We're in the beginning of a shortage, and it's getting worse. I'm getting weekly calls from agencies for jobs paying crisis rates.
Even Philadelphia hospitals are hiring travelers and we have like 8 BSN programs in city limits. We're not in the thick of it yet, but it's coming.
To the OP:
Every single nurse is scared. I don't know how anyone is suggesting home health or private duty to someone with no experience. How on earth is a nurse supposed to work on their own with a patient having never cared for them? How are you supposed to detect subtle status changes when you haven't worked on a hospital floor? No nursing job is easy or without stress. Quitting a job where you'd never been on your own, had support, and no idea what it was actually like on your own was a rash, and poor decision on your part. There's no pretty way to say that, it was poor decision making on your part. The best thing you could do for yourself would to be to contact your old manager and ask if they would be willing to hire you back. luckily for you, any job held for less than 3 months doesn't need to go on a resume.
Psych nursing is stressful and absolutely not easy. Corrections nursing is difficult as well. There is literally no easy way out when it comes to this profession. The highly coveted jobs away from the bedside are highly coveted, and usually earned by nurses with significant experience. Maybe an evening or overnight shift at a sub acute, rehab, nursing home or somewhere similar may be better to find your footing. Those jobs are not easy, but generally the patients are less sick and many GNs are able to find their footing.
Who would want a nurse with no experience to care for a loved one in their home? How are you supposed to be responsible for someone who is seriously ill without any backup? We interviewed my MIL's. nurses extensively when we brought them on. I can't believe people are suggesting those areas.
Do your best to go back to the previous hospital. If not, try a sub acute. This entire field is high stress. The only way to learn how to care for patients is by caring for patients. You aren't the only nurse who was scared during orientation. The rest of us just worked through it, asked questions, and became nurses. It takes a year to be a novice, and 2-3 to become independently competent. Sometimes, as adults and professionals, we just need to deal with it.
Amen. And there are many out there who cannot "recognize and intervene" and some do not want to do that. Here is my take tough, these new grads need support for at least the first year from some RN who is competent and can help them navigate the shoals and sandbars so to speak. I worked with an RN who had 4 years in nothing but Orthopedics. She knew nothing of medicine and was placed on a complicated medicine ward with me. I took her with me for everything. Once she mastered one thing we moved on. When she could she transferred to a surgical unit, then a cardiac step down. Her next move is to an ICU. Her 2-3 years on the unit I worked let her learn diabetes, renal, infectious disease, cardiac, stroke, MS, ALS, codes, all the meds, all the procedures that we could cram in. She left with some confidence in "putting the puzzle" together. If nothing else she knew she could call me anytime and ask me. I did this my entire career for numerous RNs. I was a new grad and was treated badly by some diploma RNs because I had a BSN. I was told I did not need help because if I had a BSN I "knew everything". I was isolated by them and left after 6 months to go back to a teaching hospital where I thrived. I practiced for over 43 years after all that in various settings. I vowed that no one who worked with me would ever suffer the same experience. I would at least offer them what I never got. Most took me up on it, some did not and they did not last long. My biggest reason for doing it, the patients. Why would you put a patient in jeopardy because you have an ego issue with a new RN? Like I said some took me up on it, they all became confident and competent. They also learned not to be too big to ask and question. No one ever lost any part of their ego when the stoop to ask another RN "what do you think" or "help me here". It only strengthens us when we help some one else and collaborate. I worked every hospital unit except OR, ER and psych. I was in and out of ICUs and did my last work in palliative care. I might have been rusty some times but I quickly figured it out and most importantly I figured out WHO to ask. The last unit I worked I paired with another RN who was really frazzled all the time. She had experience just no one to team with. When I started to work with her and stepped in to help her and talked to her she looked at me and said "I have never worked with anyone like you." When she was overloaded or had an emergency I quit what I was doing and stepped in to help. Then she did the same for me. We worked 5 years together and always had short leashes on each other. Sometimes our problem is that we do not reach out to the person closest to us and ask. In the case of a new grad, put yourself in front of them and help them.
Agency-sometimes they can find easier work with companies that do not mind working with new-ish grades. I used Maxim when I was a nurse for 9 months.
Blood bank/plasma center
Medical office
Pre-op at a surgery center
Hospice in a facility
Home health-the type where you stay with the same patient 12 hours a day and only have one patient. You can study up front about all of the patients conditions and needs
Home health is a large field of nursing. Home health can be as simple as babysitting a child with a few special needs for a 12 hour shift. If the child has a peg tube and needs medications and feedings throughout the day, a nurse could fill that kind of position.
I have some anxiety issues and realized I would not be able to work in a hospital setting. Something about the beeping and other warning sounds just sets me off. Right now I am school nurse which has it's own type of stress. I have also worked in public health, low stress, great co-workers, excellent benefits, somewhat low pay. It was a very nice job though. I have also worked as an occupational health nurse for a large multinational corporation. It was prn but I could have worked everyday if I wanted. You are not a failure and there is some nursing out there for you.
Heynurselady1
6 Posts
You're probably going to see red and holler at me when you read this, like you did to Libby, but oh well. Being holistic is my job as a nurse, right?? So that's what I'm going to do :)
Personally, in your original post, it sounded like you had an anxiety problem (like I, myself do). I was so scared that I was going to harm a patient that I refused to apply at a hospital until I had a year of experience elsewhere. Then I only applied at a "crappy" hospital. After a year there, I finally applied and got hired at a beautiful, newer hospital that I never want to leave! You know what helped me get to that place of confidence in my career? Treatment! I was in counseling for a couple other things (childhood crap), but she severely helped me get over my self doubt and anxiety. I also started Lexapro about a year ago. That was a game changer for me. I was never depressed, only EXTREMELY anxious. The Lexapro calmed me down and I don't constantly feel on edge anymore. My anxiety is very appropriate now.
So, there is my concern with your original post. Now onto your response that I quoted here^^^.
I am greatly concerned with how defensive you sounded in your response to Libby's suggestion. "Treatment", in any fashion, is not a bad thing, yet you seem to have a very negative view on it. As a nurse, we are supposed to care for people physically, mentally, and emotionally. "Treatment", whether with therapy and/or medications, is treating people mentally and emotionally, and ultimately physically, isn't it? We all know that data shows that stress leads to heart attacks and stress. So what is wrong with treatment? I sure hope that you don't talk to your patients about treatment (therapy or meds) in that sense. You would be denying them from fantastic resources that they could greatly benefit from.
And that YOU could benefit from. So I am going to reiterate what Libby said. I strongly suggest getting treatment. Maybe from different avenues. And there is nothing wrong with getting that help. You'll be a better nurse because your self doubt and anxiety will fade away, which will ultimately make you a better nurse. No one wants a nurse full of anxiety and angst.
Good luck to you, Jack.