Did I already screw up my nursing career?

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I graduated with my BSN in may and got into a nurse residency program in August. I quit after 2 months because I had a terrible experience with my orientation and I struggle with extreme anxiety. My preceptors were straight up yelling at me in front of everyone every time I made a mistake. One preceptor (i had many) yelled at me because a family wanted to speak to her and she said no because she wanted to explain something to me. Idk how that was my fault, as I never told her she couldn't help them. She actively chose to say "I'm helping someone right now" to them and then went around to yell at me bc she didn't help them first and blamed me for them being mad at her ?...but I hope you can see where I'm going with this. I could never have seen myself happy there and I'm glad I quit.

I quit 2 months ago, and have been applying to jobs in my hometown (my original hospital was in another state) but I'm starting to lose hope finding another job. I got an interview with a really prestigious children's hospital in my area, but my last manager told me he wouldn't be a reference bc I was only at the facility for 2 months and he didn't know enough about me. I just feel like I ***ed up big time and i have no idea where to go from here. What should I do?

Specializes in Cardiac RN.

I recently went through a similar experience as a new grad. I had 7 preceptors in my first 6 shifts of orientation on an extremely busy surgical floor at a large teaching hospital. It was insane and my anxiety was through the roof. I was honestly thinking that nursing was not for me if that’s what it was about. It wasn’t safe and it’s hard to learn when everyone did everything differently every single shift.

I hated working there. Despised it. I was wracked with anxiety every day thinking about going back in. It was awful. I quit. I was at the point where I didn’t care if I got another job as an RN, I just needed to get out of there before I lost my mind. I gave myself a full week to breathe and readjust my thinking and started applying again.

I left that position off of my resume, but did explain the situation to my manager during my interview. I didn’t bash the hospital I left, but explained the situation and that as a new grad, I didn’t feel I was able to learn properly and safely. I wasn’t sure how that would go over, but she obviously understood because I was offered the position by the end of the week. I’ve been there for a month now and it’s like night and day. There had been so much support, everyone works as a team and I’ve only had my main preceptor, who is an excellent nurse and teacher. I’ve learned more in this last month than I feel I ever could have at my previous hospital and I’ve gone from thinking nursing wasn’t for me to literally loving my job!

Like you, I was thinking it would be career suicide as a new grad to quit before that magical one year, but it was the best decision I could have made for myself. Sometimes we have to jump even when it’s scary to do so. Your mental health is more important than a job.

I can’t say for sure how every medical facility does it, but I’ve left jobs off of resumes and have never been questioned. From what I’ve been told, the background info they look for is that you have a nursing license, have no criminal background/strikes against your nursing license and that you are who you say you are. I would just leave the residency off of your resume. Residency is supposed to be to see if you’re a good fit for them and if they’re a good fit for you. It wasn’t. No big deal. There are plenty of other places and positions in nursing.

Best of luck! Find something you love and enjoy your new career! ?

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6 hours ago, Nursing2019BSN said:

Thanks you so much for your advice. I appreciate you taking the time to write to me ?

Yes, I am willing to work anywhere!

oof...i left my last job on there bc I was scared they would find out and fire me. Do you think this is why I'm having a hard time? It's also on my linkedin so i feel it's hard to hide

A resume isnt the same thing as a listing of your work history. It is the face you want to present to prospective jobs. Feel free to leave things off if it makes you more presentable.

On the other hand, if a job you're applying to specifically asks you to provide a complete work history, leaving the residency program off of that list might conceivably land you in hot water.

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Specializes in Psych, Substance Abuse, Case Management.

Sounds like your preceptor was out of line, and so were your colleagues who witnessed the behavior and did absolutely nothing. Bullying and incivility should not be tolerated in nursing or any other profession.

I quit my first nursing job after about 10 days. I left it off my resume, and I was offered a much better job one month later.

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2 hours ago, B52 said:

Sounds like your preceptor was out of line, and so were your colleagues who witnessed the behavior and did absolutely nothing. Bullying and incivility should not be tolerated in nursing or any other profession.

I quit my first nursing job after about 10 days. I left it off my resume, and I was offered a much better job one month later.

I'm just hoping I get a job soon. I have been applying non-stop and getting involved in interviews and stuff...Idk the whole process takes forever. I'm hearing back from another place next week but in the meantime i'm losing my mind!

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Infusion, peds, informatics.
On 12/8/2019 at 9:13 AM, Nursing2019BSN said:
Quote

oof...i left my last job on there bc I was scared they would find out and fire me. Do you think this is why I'm having a hard time? It's also on my linkedin so i feel it's hard to hide

You can leave this job off your resume and you can delete it from linked in. A resume is a marketing document and should show why you're a great candidate for the job opening. You shouldn't include jobs that weaken your candidacy.

However, you CANNOT leave it off an application -- at least yet. Most applications require that you include all jobs over a certain time period and make you attest that the information you provided is accurate and complete. You can be fired if you don't include it and they find out about it.

The good new is that most hiring managers are going to look at your resume more closely than your application (it is usually easier to read). HR will generally pay more attention to the application than the hiring manger will, but mostly to check your job history.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

All posters have given you good advice so far. But I'm going to attack this from another angle, because you MUST get your "extreme" anxiety under control before you find your next job. Otherwise you're going to end up in the same soup, over and over again. I know because I fought anxiety for years, and job-hopped for most of those years. It was only when I got professional help in the form of medication and cognitive behavioral therapy that I figured out what was wrong; unfortunately I had other mental health issues, and it was too late to salvage my career, but I got better and am still doing well five years later.

Please, if you don't have a therapist, psychiatrist or psych NP, see about getting one. I won't give you medical advice, just know that there are medications that help with anxiety and there is no shame in taking them. Therapy is also necessary, and sometimes it's all that's needed. Don't let yourself be dragged down by your mental health. You too can get better!

Wishing you the best. Viva

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8 hours ago, VivaLasViejas said:

All posters have given you good advice so far. But I'm going to attack this from another angle, because you MUST get your "extreme" anxiety under control before you find your next job. Otherwise you're going to end up in the same soup, over and over again. I know because I fought anxiety for years, and job-hopped for most of those years. It was only when I got professional help in the form of medication and cognitive behavioral therapy that I figured out what was wrong; unfortunately I had other mental health issues, and it was too late to salvage my career, but I got better and am still doing well five years later.

Please, if you don't have a therapist, psychiatrist or psych NP, see about getting one. I won't give you medical advice, just know that there are medications that help with anxiety and there is no shame in taking them. Therapy is also necessary, and sometimes it's all that's needed. Don't let yourself be dragged down by your mental health. You too can get better!

Wishing you the best. Viva

the thing is, I can't afford therapy without a job. I am going to therapy once i find another one!

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