Cold quit first nursing job after 3 months

Published

I'm a new grad and I took my first job in a LTC facility. The job market for new grads in my area is beyond horrible, so I had to take whatever I could get until I had some experience under my belt. To my surprise, I only received five days of orientation before I was thrown to the wolves. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I work at probably the WORST facility in the state. My daily patient load fluctuated between 25, on a good day, to almost 40 on a bad day. I understand that a high nurse to patient ratio is common in LTC facilities, but for a new grad with five days of orientation, zero support from fellow nurses, and only on her second week as a real nurse...its hell. Pure hell. We also don't have a unit secretary or admissions nurse, so all paperwork, admissions, discharges, phone answering, message taking, everything had to be done by the floor nurses. We are prehistoric and work with paper charts, so a new admission could take two hours or more depending on their admitting diagnosis. God forbid you get more than one admission on a shift, AND you're still expected to pass meds on time, do all dressings and treatments, deal with CNA drama, family members hovering over you, and deal with any emergent situations in a timely manner. If I had more supportive team members it might be bearable, but I work with the biggest group of backstabbers and bullies in existence. As the new grad, I'm new bait and they can't wait for me to slip up so they can report to the DoN that I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing. I've even gotten written up for something I didn't do. The nurse on the previous shift messed up and it all fell on me. It all got to be too much. It was to a point where I secretly hoped I'd fall and sprain an ankle or something so I wouldn't have to go to work. I had so much anxiety that I couldn't sleep well. And I started having migraines again for the first time in years. The last straw came the other day when I was called into the DoN's office before the start of my shift and told that another nurse had called in and I was to take over her assignment AND mine. When I told her that I wasn't taking the assignment because I was uncomfortable with it (which I'm well within my rights to do so) she tried to bully be into taking it by threatening to write me up and saying she "doesn't appreciate my attitude and obvious lack of respect for authority", and after going back and forth with her for a while, I threw in the towel and walked out and I don't plan on ever going back. Now I just feel frustrated and lost. How am I going to explain to future potential employers why I walked out on a job after only three months? At the time, I was just so frustrated and fed up that it was the only thing I could think to do.

Sorry for the long rant. I guess I just need some advice from the supportive experienced nurses of Allnurses. Reading posts on here is the only real support I've gotten as a new nurse...and that sounds kinda pathetic, lol.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

I am so sorry you found yourself in such a horrible situation, especially right at the very beginning of your career.

If your former employer is truly that bad, I am sure that everyone knows it - and this will have an influence on how prospective employers react to your abrupt resignation. When they see 'that' organization on your resume, they may even have a more positive impression of you because you refused to work in such a bad place.

At any rate, you can't change history so you just have to move on. I'll bet you've learned some valuable lessons and know what questions to ask the next time you are choosing whether to accept a job.

Wishing you the absolute best of luck on your job hunt.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'm a newly licensed LPN and my facility is the same way. I have upwards of 50+ patients a day. I never get out of work before 4 am. And they have already shorted my paychecks $800. They're paying me the rate of a CNA($10/HR) instead of the WAYYYYYY higher LPN pay. I'm putting in my two weeks today.

Also, just explain what a toxic environement it is. I've quit jobs before and explained the reasons such as bad management. And I will do so again. I only made it a little over a month at this facility and I am done. Not worth it.

ETA: I was given 2 days of inservice and then dropped on the floor by myself. My facility also has the nurses pass an entire hall of medications plus narcotics and then your other hall of narcotics. Each nurse gets two halls and we have one MEDTECH. No time to even look at patient let alone give them their pills. It's insane.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Ped ED, PICU, PEDS, M/S. SD.

That is okay i cold quit about 5 years ago when a freak of a manager used her cronies (cna) to spy on everyone. It was a teaching facility and a second year resident wanted to cath a baby. Mom okayed, I was supervising, I have done probably over thousands, working in peds for 10 years, 8 being in a peds er. It was a boy, so only one hole to go for. Well there was no urine. The cna reported to the manager, that I was too scared to cath the patient and asked the resident, he didnt get it. Come to find out this has happened frequently with this patient. He was a sickler, so he has multiple cath's.

The ghetto manager belittled me,questioned my ability over a cna. When I told her I what really happened, she called me a liar, because her spy would not lie. She told me I needed to pull my big girl panties up and deal with it. I informed her after my shift, she would never see me again. For 2 hours after the incident she would come by, harassand insult me. I knew if I left, she would report me for abandonment. I still to this day, will never feel bad for cold quitting.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thanks guys, hearing your equally miserable experiences makes me feel better. Since I stopped working there, I feel so much better. No more anxiety, no more migraines, I'm sleeping like a baby í ½í¸ƒ The paycheck was nice, but it wasn't worth putting my health, my license, and my patients health in jeopardy because of horrible conditions and management. I am soon moving to a different state with much better new grad opportunities, so cross your fingers for me that I get in with a good company.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion