Are There Jobs for Inexperienced RNs Besides Floor Nursing?

Nurses New Nurse

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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.

My first job out of school was in case management with an insurance company. The pay wasn't as good as a floor nursing job but the hours were wonderful and it was stress free! Many of the nurses could work from home when they wanted. Because I wanted floor nursing, it took me some time to find a job after this because I technically had experience but at the same time didn't... I was in a strange position when filling out job apps. Since you know floor nursing is not for you, you won't have this issue. You also could perform in home nursing assessments for insurance companies. Or what about school nursing? Camp nurse? Doctors office? I don't know much about it but research nursing or IT nursing.... the options are endless for a nurse and it is not so cookie cutter as many people think. You do NOT need to be a floor nurse to be a great and successful nurse! My own mother was only a floor nurse for 6 months then went on to home care, then got her masters, worked in a management position at a nursing agency and eventually started her own company which now has over 80 employees! Do not let people judge you on this decision!! Best of luck to you :)

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Specializes in Med-surg, telemetry, oncology, rehab, LTC, ALF.
My first job out of school was in case management with an insurance company. The pay wasn't as good as a floor nursing job but the hours were wonderful and it was stress free! Many of the nurses could work from home when they wanted. Because I wanted floor nursing, it took me some time to find a job after this because I technically had experience but at the same time didn't... I was in a strange position when filling out job apps. Since you know floor nursing is not for you, you won't have this issue. You also could perform in home nursing assessments for insurance companies. Or what about school nursing? Camp nurse? Doctors office? I don't know much about it but research nursing or IT nursing.... the options are endless for a nurse and it is not so cookie cutter as many people think. You do NOT need to be a floor nurse to be a great and successful nurse! My own mother was only a floor nurse for 6 months then went on to home care, then got her masters, worked in a management position at a nursing agency and eventually started her own company which now has over 80 employees! Do not let people judge you on this decision!! Best of luck to you :)

How did you manage to get a job in case management right out of nursing school, if you don't mind me asking? Most of the positions I've seen listed have required at least 3-5 years of clinical nursing experience.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
My first job out of school was in case management with an insurance company. The pay wasn't as good as a floor nursing job but the hours were wonderful and it was stress free! Many of the nurses could work from home when they wanted. Because I wanted floor nursing, it took me some time to find a job after this because I technically had experience but at the same time didn't... I was in a strange position when filling out job apps. Since you know floor nursing is not for you, you won't have this issue. You also could perform in home nursing assessments for insurance companies. Or what about school nursing? Camp nurse? Doctors office? I don't know much about it but research nursing or IT nursing.... the options are endless for a nurse and it is not so cookie cutter as many people think. You do NOT need to be a floor nurse to be a great and successful nurse! My own mother was only a floor nurse for 6 months then went on to home care, then got her masters, worked in a management position at a nursing agency and eventually started her own company which now has over 80 employees! Do not let people judge you on this decision!! Best of luck to you :)

I honestly do not understand how a new grad could function as a Case Manager. Did you have strict protocols to follow?

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Specializes in Neuroscience.
The last thing I wanted to do was get into controversy over an internet post, but I take that remark VERY offensive.

First off, it's "I take offense to that remark." Secondly, who cares if you take offense. No one.

Your first job is going to be difficult no matter where you are. We just had a nurse with five years of experience in ICU start in progressive care. She feels lost, because the specialty is new to her. You'e going to be lost anywhere you go until you experience nursing in that position, and for most new grads it takes at least a year before they feel comfortable.

Follow the suggestions of those on the thread, you can look for other jobs not in the hospital, but know that you're going to "be lost" on any job.

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Thank you for writing this post. I feel the same way as a new grad. After speaking to experienced nurses on the units, most of them say that they have also felt the same way when they first started out (although many can't relate to my immediate subjective feelings of anxiety that I have learned to hide and can only provide an empathetic and understanding response). I also find it even more overwhelming when I see nurses who are on the units almost every day for several years and still find challenges and days where they can't cope due to the busyness of the hospital and various complexities that come with our profession. It's been a learning curve for me and I have also learned things about myself that I didn't know - such as having anxiety and unable to handle stressors. I like to feel as if I am in control and maybe hospital nursing isn't for me too. It feels nice to speak out in an open forum.

I believe that there are jobs out there for us that isn't on the floor, but not for inexperienced - unless you get lucky. Most people want nurses with a few years of experience to be able to think critically about their patient's diagnosis and interventions. That's my 2 cents. If you would like to chat privately, please contact me. :)

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

I'm following this thread with a great deal of interest. It's enlightening to see how well everyone is articulating his/her own frame of reference.

As an educator, I just wanted to add - if OP's work environment was supportive for new grads, it's highly unlikely that they would go from 'zero to sixty' the minute orientation was finished. In other words, she would have continued to receive support - but probably would have to request it when needed rather than having it continuously. Her assignments would have been appropriate - no one would have expected her to wander away from areas in which her competence had already been validated. Otherwise, her manager/supervisor/charge nurse(s) would have been remiss in their own responsibilities.

But, I absolutely do believe that one's own inherent abilities are largely responsible for achieving full "competence". Some practice areas require phenomenal amounts of cognitive stacking - and not everyone's brain is capable of that. Some people just cannot cope with the level of continuous change/disruption that is a normal state of affairs on a MedSurg unit. Others would be bored stiff working in dialysis. There's a place for everyone.

In my part of the world, there is a significant shortage of experienced nurses - but new grads are struggling to land their first jobs.

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I'm a new nurse on a step-down floor with about 6mo of experience, and I absolutely HATE it. It's disappointing that I went through years of nursing school and hard work to get to this point. So yes, I understand how you feel. I want to quit my job everyday, but don't because I made a commitment to my unit, and I have an awesome manager, charge nurses, and coworkers. I don't have the personality for nursing. I feel apprehensive and anxious all the time at work, not ONLY because I'm new, but because I hate patient/family interaction. I feel like I'm playing the role of a nurse, acting like I actually care when I don't. I hate small talk, I'd rather be working by myself in a corner office somewhere. I honestly want to just leave nursing because I hate my role as a nurse. I'm tired of being everyone's punching bag, getting blamed if the lunch trays are late, the doctor hasn't seen the patient or properly explained things to the family, rehab is running late, respiratory wakes up the patient, the CNA gave the patient too much ice. And of course, I have to apologize, because patient satisfaction. I think I might like working in a doctor's office or maybe doing chart reviews for insurance companies. I'm going to hang on for one year (half way there!), then look for a new job. Eventually, I plan to get out of nursing all together to pursue something with more science/anatomy, for introverted people with no public interaction.

You might do well in a less fast paced environment, maybe extended private duty (taking care of one patient), a clinic, or some type of doctor's office. I definitely think that nursing isn't for everyone though, I know it's not for me. Best of luck.

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.

What exactly would be so offensive if you DID have anxiety? It's not the end of the world, especially when facing the pressure of learning the responsibility that a nurse carries. What is so horrifying about needing - GASP - psychiatric care? Whats the big offense?

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As a "pre-nursing" student on the chart-auditing side of healthcare, I want to thank everyone for their honest comments in this post- I am excited to be (hopefully) starting an ABSN program next summer, but my eyes are opened as well!! I can totally appreciate that I'm going out of the frying pan and into the fire with moving from being behind a desk doing chart audits to patient care, but this is what I've wanted for a long time.

Thanks again for all the different perspectives!

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Please don't give up on yourself or nursing. Many larger health care systems offer new grad internships that last up to six months in specialties with ongoing mentoring. Think about what you are most passionate about and why you went into nursing. Does it feel rewarding to make a difference in the emergency department, or being part of a surgical team, or maybe an ICU nurse where you have an extended orientation and you care for two patients, maybe three. Nursing has so much to offer in terms of specialization. And the old days of spending a year in med surg post graduation are gone in most health care systems in my area. Best of luck! SKR

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I'm in a similar boat. I am about to get off preceptorship and I don't know if I can make it. I don't think I'm cut out to be a floor nurse either but I don't know what else I can do with a lack of experience.

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.

As a new LVN, I started out in PDN. HUGE MISTAKE! I would never recommend PDN/home health that doesn't have at least a year of hands on clinical experience. You are on your own & have to be sure of your skills. There is no one to go to for a second opinion or help.

I have worked corrections as well & the same should be said about that. You need to make major decisions if a code is called & you are the only one there.

I remember when I was a new-ish LVN & worked at a prison. I was working ad seg all by myself when an inmate came to medical in the unit. I took his blood pressure & it was really high. What did I do? Told him we would recheck it later & sent him back to his cell. That was NO a good idea, thankfully I told my charge nurse & they brought him to the main medical building (what I should've done). Again, I had zero hospital experience & only worked PDN before corrections.

If you cant handle 5-8 patients on a hospital floor after a long orientation, I would never tell you to go work LTC. You have 30+ residents under your care & none of the time. I worked LTC (hated it) & remember one time very clearly that I had to literally swallow my lunch whole then get back to the floor.

I don't think any nurse is 100% confident in themselves, which is a good thing. Also it takes awhile for new grads to get a routine down & be less nervous.

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