Did I do the right thing?

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Hello everyone,

Its been a while since I have posted here , sorry about that, things have been quite stressful for me at the moment. I've come on here to ask for some advice and to see if anyone else has been in the same boat as me... in feb 2006 I qualified as an RN and managed to secure a job in an acute observation ward...however i managed to stick it out there just a little over 4 months, my last shift was on the 8th july 2006. I had a lot of stress whilst on that ward and very little support from management and it got to the point where I was dreading going in and ended up being physically sick after each of my shifts... Now I am unemployed (have joined the bank for some shifts around the hospital) and am finding it reallllllly hard to get another fulltime nursing job in the NHS and private want quite a few months experience, am reallly worried and have even sent off applications to other non-nursing jobs....I continuously wonder if i did the right thing leaving..at the time it felt the right thing to do as i was so unhappy and it was affecting my family life...but now i'm really unhappy as i do not have a job, has anyone out there been in the same boat as me at all? ... i'm still newly qualified but with only 4 months experience i have a feeling it will be hard for me to get another post somewhere as most places ask for 6-12 months... im not sure what to do..

Tina K

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Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.

I am sorry to hear about your worries, I think you did the right thing because you stood to lose a lot more if you stayed. Your sanity, your family and your health. I found myself in the same situation as you a few years ago, and I left without a job-fortunatly I did have many years of experience so it was easier to find another job. I am sure something will come along but this time you need to ensure that you get support from your team leaders, by asking about what support mechanisms are already in place for junior staff.

Good luck and keep your chin up you did the right thing

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Hi Tina

sorry to hear that you have been having problems and no support from your management. Would suggest keep applying for jobs but have you tried ringing your local PCT's and see if there are any GP nursing jobs going some take on treatment nurses which usually means you don't have much experience but they will train you up.

Sometimes you have to do what is best for your health... something I think management in hospitals forget about

Good luck

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I am sorry to hear about your worries, I think you did the right thing because you stood to lose a lot more if you stayed. Your sanity, your family and your health. I found myself in the same situation as you a few years ago, and I left without a job-fortunatly I did have many years of experience so it was easier to find another job. I am sure something will come along but this time you need to ensure that you get support from your team leaders, by asking about what support mechanisms are already in place for junior staff.

Good luck and keep your chin up you did the right thing

Thanks for replying madwife and silverdragon, your comments were reassuring, most of the time I do think I did the right thing as I feel a lot less stressed than I did whilst I was working on the ward that I wrote about, I think it is a lot easier when you do have a lot of experience as you did yourself , its a huge help when it comes to the competition from other nurses applying for the same post. I have also tried my local PCT's silverdragon, however they all ask for nurses with experience , I was invited to an interview at one GP's surgery and that was a very nervewracking experience, they all said i interviewed very well and were quite impressed but they had to offer another applicant the post as she had 3-4 years of experience...

Am in the process of applying to non-nursing posts as well as nursing as i reallly need a job, half of thinks perhaps a non-nursing post would be good for me for a while because the ward i was on really knocked my confidence into my boots... :(

Thanks for replying guys!

Tinak

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Specializes in Surgery, ICU, Emergency Care, NP.

Don't give up hope on nursing yet, keep applying for jobs you fancy and you will get one. It would be a shame for you to leave nursing before you have really had much of a chance to find your niche

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Specializes in renal,peritoneal dialysis, medicine.
Thanks for replying madwife and silverdragon, your comments were reassuring, most of the time I do think I did the right thing as I feel a lot less stressed than I did whilst I was working on the ward that I wrote about, I think it is a lot easier when you do have a lot of experience as you did yourself , its a huge help when it comes to the competition from other nurses applying for the same post. I have also tried my local PCT's silverdragon, however they all ask for nurses with experience , I was invited to an interview at one GP's surgery and that was a very nervewracking experience, they all said i interviewed very well and were quite impressed but they had to offer another applicant the post as she had 3-4 years of experience...

Am in the process of applying to non-nursing posts as well as nursing as i reallly need a job, half of thinks perhaps a non-nursing post would be good for me for a while because the ward i was on really knocked my confidence into my boots... :(

Thanks for replying guys!

Tinak

i dont know if this helps at all

a staff nurse came to work on my ward and couldnt deal with the stress of qualifying, she found it very hard and wanted to leave the job.

she now works as a hca on the ward and really loves it shes a level 4 hca, she says she gets more satisfaction out of doing this than beiong a staff nurse as she felt bogged down by all the petty and stressful things that seem to come with the job these days.

its a terrible time when you first qualify, i remember being scared to death of it all, i felt insecure, unsure of myself etc but eventually i settled in.

it was a brave descision to leave your job and one im sure you didnt take lightly

good luck

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Specializes in MSc in Anesthetics.

hi there tinak

hope your are feeling abit better?? i empthasize with you greatly. i am a senior staff nurse on acute medical admissions unit which is kinda the same as observations unit. the patients are generally very unstable and the pace of work is a hell of alot quicker than actually any other ward in the hospital.

a good percentage of the patients once we stabilize them enough go to either icu,hdu, or ccu. this is a ward that you will get burnt out on emensely quickly. i was lucky enough to have this as my management placement (NOT) before i quailifed therefore had an emense head start over every other new team member.

we can not retain staff and ill tell you exactly why lack of support from senior management. we also have a very high amount of sick leave and again its for the most the same reason. if you ask any other nurse in the hospital would they work there theyd say no way .. too much stress.

so my friend if i wasnt going to the usa i would not stay for that much longer myself, i love it dont get me wrong and the fast pace suits me BUT you can only work like that for so long.

i hope this helps abit

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Specializes in Stroke Rehab, Elderly, Rehab. Ortho.

I also think you did the right thing - if things were that bad you were throwing up after shifts - your body & soul can only take so much...your confidence is in your boots at the mo and until you find another job that will take time to get back up again....

I am sorry your first nursing job wasnt the best but you can and will find something else you can do with the proper support....just keep searching even if it means you have to go a little further afield than you anticpated....

I moved all the way to the USA and didnt like my first job out there because of a couple of reasons - one of them being the management being unsupportive (and putting my License at risk every night)...I was there 5 months in a new country, feeling completely out of sorts thinking I may not get another job becasue of my lack of experience in the USA (even though I have 17 yrs in the UK)...but someone did take me on and they gave me enough oreintation for me to feel confidence....

If you go for another job - dont be afraid to ask for some training etc and say your are newly qualified....but be careful not to bad mouth your previous Employer too much as that doesnt look good in interviews...going for a HCA position until you get your confidence up maybe another direction for you...

Wish you well and welcome to the world of Nurses!

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Hold your head up high and keep applying! I think you did the right thing.

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Hold your head up high and keep applying! I think you did the right thing.

Hello ,

thanks to all of you who replied my post about me leaving my job recently, everybody's comments were really supportive and i don't feel as worried now as i did when i first left. I have gained a job out of nursing for the time being...working in the department for work and pensions (complete career change i know) I have looked for other nursing posts that were of interest to me , but there were far more experience nurses who got the job in areas like primary care. I really would like a theatre nurse post in my town (i can't leave my town due to my beinga carer for a relative) and as there are no posts like that yet then i will work out of nursing for a while till a post that suits me comes up... im hoping time away from the nhs will help me get my self esteem and confidence back ...

Tina k

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Specializes in General Med & ITU.

Good for you Tina - and congrats on recognising that you needed to get out of it, and then going for it. Hoping to do the same soon, but not sure I'm brave enough to jump ship without another job to go to! :uhoh21: I really hope the new job works out well for you - if you enjoy it, you'll be sat in a nice office chair looking back and cringing at the memories of shouting doctors and yelling relatives! hehe

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