Career doom or new age of nursing?

[Nurse8080]

Hi All,

I'm a new nurse in my late 30s. I graduated from a 1 year accelerated BSN nursing program, after a corporate career in another field. Before school it was a goal to get into outpatient preventative or private practice medicine.

I did well in school and enjoyed my clinical rotations in a resp stepdown unit and the MICU in capstone. Never had a true med surge experience with 5 plus patients. After school I applied to ER and ICU positions/fellowships which I couldn't get with so many applicants, even though good grades, good resume.

At this point, like all new grads I needed a job especially after a year of not working and only studying/doing clinicals in the 1 year program. Throughout my last semester I was given different advice: In today's field you DON'T have to start in med surge, etc....or do med surge for 1 year and you can go anywhere, it's the foundation of nursing, etc. I also had a strong interest in OR but many told me DON'T do that as you will lose skills and even: it's not real nursing which I never agreed with.

Fast forward to today. I accepted a med surge job with acute patients on an oncology neuro and ortho floor with occasional tele patients (many nurses said hardest fl in hospital). Great place to learn and great opportunity and I certainly learned a great deal in orientation and was grateful. However I disliked med surge so much and realized it very early. I may have miscalculated what I was in store for. I was running from room to room for 12.5 to 14 hours with no time to really plan, think or take a break. No time to spend with patients, just mow down meds, prioritize fires to put out. I feel like I settled for an environment I truly never wanted. We also were using a new mobile phone system that was being tested. My phone getting texts and calls virtually every minute from many stakeholders/staff, making my focus on pt care, careful med administration, new orders, and learning scattered. Many new and experienced nurses even felt it detrimental rather than helping. Also was told the floor was harder than when they started.

I'm aware that the 1st year of nursing is overwhelming, with the honeymoon, shock, periods etc but this floor was crazy and one I chose not to continue on. Could I suffer and do it, yes, I simply chose that I did not want to. Mentally, I was anxious and dreaded each shift (on off days) with no desire to want to be on this unit. I would never have accepted this position if I knew what it entailed. With great contemplation, and gut feeling, I resigned from the position after orientation which I know is a HUGE no no in the world of nursing. Am I quitter? Did I miscalculate bedside medsurge nursing? Maybe. But I know the types of units I liked and where I wanted to be. And how can one know if not having tried it? I know most nurses on this website will have went thru similar experiences made it thru and have no sympathy for this post which is totally fair. I'm just moving forward no matter what and seeking solutions so not trying to dwell and live in the past.

I'm just a bit bummed and annoyed that since I mistakenly accepted this position, and it simply wasnt the right fit and I resigned that I'm now a pariah and will be ostracized from getting another inpatient hospital job where I can build skills and learn. I've rarely come across an industry where you have to stay with a job at all costs or risk ruining your career. So on a way, I feel like after all this work, I've doomed my career before its even started. I'm a hard worker, hustle and was told I was doing a good job and possess a great bedside manner on this unit too. I also have had challenging jobs in the past that I stuck out and fought thru. I just did not want this. The turnover on this floor also very high.

I'm currently interviewing for some outpatient ambulatory surgery jobs thru an agency. I'm also submitting resumes to inpatient ORs, and occupational health jobs. I've also been separately taking phlebotemy/IV therapy/nutrition courses to get really good at those skills. I'm planning to keep learning and take other certs. no matter what I do. Staffing agencies also have been more receptive and are willing to help you get in somewhere without the obligatory 1 year med surge. I'm also looking at per diems if they will take me so I can keep skills up and keep learning. I'm also looking at non traditional RN jobs too.

-Anyone have a similar experience where they left first job early?

-Are inpatient opportunities now not possible after resigning a little over 3 months?

-Anyone ever get oriented in a position then get oriented again elsewhere?

-Have people built skills outpatient then backed back into inpatient elsewhere?

-Any other environments to volunteer and keep building skills?

Thanks for reading this. I know I'll land in a good spot but wanted to see what others thought. Grateful for any feedback.

Thank you! ?

[Golden_RN, MSN]

I don't think you're "doomed" but a lot of it has to do with the job market in your area. You'll have to look for work at a different organization/hospital system than your med/surg job.

If med/surg is not what you want to do right now, look into SNF/acute rehab/outpatient surgery-type jobs, where you will still be using similar skills that will help you get back into acute, if you think that's what you'll want later on.

I don't think you have enough experience to do agency work, as the organization will expect you to be up and running quickly. If you do not meet that expectation you may end up burning more bridges.

[Nurse2001]

You will find another job. Just have a very good speech when they ask you what happened?

Been there, done that many times in my career. As a matter of fact I just walked out on a job 2 weeks ago. LOL. And it was my dream job.

Sometimes it just doesn't fit from both sides, you will find your place in the nursing world, I am still looking after three years in med surge to find that unit where I fit in.

I noticed a lot of units keep nurses or hire nurses based on personality and not really our clinical skills. It is all about connections, who you know, where your friends work, and how wide your smile comes up to your ears. LOL.

If someone doesn't like you they will bad mouth you and before you know it your dream job turns into a nightmare. Nurses are not compassionate human beings as they should be, nurses are survivors, and those that adapt well to a jungle environment survive. And now that they have so many applicants, and huge at hand available workforce, employers do take advantage; as they are very picky, many nurses fail orientation just because one person in the unit just has something against the nurse.

So be careful. Keep looking and don’t be afraid to ask about the culture of the company during the interview? As you have the right to know. I know I will ask on my next interview.

[rookieRN123, BSN]

Wow, I understand your frustration.

It may be difficult to find another job, as I have seen that recruiters scan applications for specific "key words" related to specific experience that can sort of pigeon hole you into getting a different sort of position. I have had a broad range of experience, and could do many different types of jobs, but unless I am willing to move to a new location sight unseen and take a grunt 12-14 hour travel nurse position and start blind, I am passed over for many desirable jobs. When you get ready to apply, you may need to keep a working copy of your resume to modify with each job you apply for to pull out the key words that will pertain to the job description you are going for.

Good luck!

[TheLastUnicorn]

Honestly I wouldn't worry about "building skills outpatient". You're not able to actually build skills. You're just leaning about them. You can't practice phlebotomy by taking a local or online course for it. You need hands on for that. Honestly, I wouldn't even bother because for the most part, wherever you are going to be hired won't care that you took that course. Say you get hired at a hospital where labs are nurse drawn, they are gonna look at that certificate and go "oh that's nice, you're still required to take our 6 hour lab course on phlebotomy regardless." In other facilities where nurses don't do the draws and they have lab that comes and does it, that certificate won't matter. The same can all be said about IVs. Without hands on practice on the actual equipment that the facility you work for uses, some class or online certificate won't mean much and they will still require you to take their class and get a "certificate" through them.

Look into skilled nursing facilities, like SAR, to build your skill set and time management. Do I think you jumped the gun up and quitting? Yes. I think you should have worked with your manager, worked with your facility educator, or stuck with it three more months in order to maybe see about transferring to another unit. Are you doomed now because of it? No. It's very easily explained; you didn't fit in, the pace was too fast, you needed somewhere to build skills and learn time management. You'll find another job, it just might take a bit, or it will be someplace you're just gonna have to deal with till you get the experience to get back into the setting you want.