Discouraged new RN

Nurses New Nurse

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I can read threads until I'm blue in the face in search of comfort that I am not the only new RN on a medsurg floor who loathes her job and going to work but at the end of it all (because there are many threads on this topic) I am the only one struggling through my14-15 hour shift. I feel so alone.

I have applied and applied other places but no one wants a measly ADN RN without experience. All the tears and almost failed marriage through nursing school and now I hate my job more than any mean nursing instructor or long study nights. Does it get better? I've been at a teaching hospital for 4 months and I hate it!

...If you can't enjoy the work, why bother? There's a million different kinds of jobs you can do with nursing. I have a friend working at a blood bank. No stress, low-ish pay, but she loves her job and coworkers. I got psych part-time and thoroughly enjoy it. Again, low stress. Low pay yes, but I'm getting experience and that is what counts for later on down the road.

I think the point many are making is that OP CAN enjoy some aspects of the work if they choose. Med/Surge IS a great training ground and teaches autonomy, prioritizing, organization, critical thinking and skills to care for a wide-variety of common ailments. I think M/S experience serves most nurses who have it well, despite being a pressure-cooker. We get to choose what we learn and take away from difficult experiences, as well as their degree of miserableness for us.

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Specializes in CICU.

I don't personally know of many nurses that truly enjoyed the first 6months - 1 year on the job (in acute care). I surely did not, and often wondered WTH had I been thinking.

Two years later, I do truly enjoy being a nurse and am much better able to weather the stresses and chaos, maybe even thrive a little when things are going nuts. I could do without the charting, but there is a downside to everything.

How can anyone enjoy that first year on MS or tele? Its usually bonkers and one-does-not-know-what-one-is-doing. For me, nothing is fun when I feel like an idiot doing it, and that is basically how I felt at first.

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You are so lucky to have gotten hired by a hospital. Starting in SNF would make you appreciate your dreaded 14-15 hour days. In the end of a year you will be marketable. Many times what we hate is what we aren't good at. I don't think any new grad is a fab nurse in 4 months. I have heard it takes years. Hang in there, they haven't fired you so you must be progressing, its just not very comfortable to be learning all the time...

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Specializes in None yet..
Hi , yes it does get better...However..ive learned alot of things along the way..Here are a couple of things that has made nursing better for me and many other nurses, I still see nurses struggling today who have no clue.

1) wear a watch and check on it constantly, you will be surprised at how you can spend a half an hour or more in a patients room and not realize it. 2) Prioritizing is so important along with your watch..plan your hourly moves and try to accomplish it. For example...I will give meds between 7 and 8, wont pass 8 because i have to do so and so..Hustle to make that happen cause you know there will be interruptions. 3) Avoid unecessary repitition... I see nurses do this all the time..they go to the supply room, get something and are back and forth in there the whole night...Plan ahead assume what you may need, and get as much things as possible in advance so your making less trips. 4) look for short cuts or ways to make things easier, all nurses do it, just make sure when you do its safe and legal. 5) Dont waste time..6) Make sure you take a break, and if you cant make sure you snack on foods through out day or when you feel you need the most boost of energy. 7) Challenge the things you are afraid of or dont know...meaning when you have free time, learn how to use machines that you have used but have issues with, go to codes on your free time, to learn what they do.., look for patterns during the code. If you have never done cpr or been in a serious code, make it a priority that you do.. so that way you can destroy that anxiety. 8 ) And finally learn to say enough is enough, nursing is 24 hours, Do your best and then go home, My limit of staying back is an hour and 15 minutes, after that I am out. Pass it on to the next shift. Cherish the patients that see your hard work and look towards seeing you, these are the ones that are more then thankful for what you are doing for them, these are the ones that can say one word that will remind you that your hard work is appreciated ...:)

Some really useful and sane stuff in here. Thank you!

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Hang in there.... it will get better. I started in a hospital, too, and then moved to inpatient hospice after about nine months in the hospital. It is still busy and is still floor nursing. But I enjoy it more. After more time in your current job, maybe you will get to float to other floors -- or switch floors altogether. That may help you feel better about work. In the meantime, just hang in there and learn as much as you can. Know that you are not alone!!!!

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I'm not even off orientation yet and I have days where I leave thinking what the heck did I get myself into!?

Good days and bad days. But def a lot of stress and anxiety leading up to my first day back after a few days off.

I work in the ICU, an ICU where we have 2-3 codes a week and withdraw on about the same amount per week; so I drive to work terrified that my patient will code that day.

Hoping it'll get better. I wanted ICU, and I think to myself well, you got what you wanted, can you handle it!?

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I just posted that I am finding my groove...I work on a med surge/oncology floor. It's not my dream job, and yes, I do dread going in most days. I am trying to stick it out until we either move next year or I have enough experience to move on to something better. It's tough to get jobs here, so I am thankful for this one. I'd like to do L&D. I know I don't want ICU or anything like that!

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Specializes in cardiac/education.
"Do you know that's blood money?"

LOL!! Love it! This is what I am gonna call it from now on. :yes:

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Specializes in cardiac/education.
I am sorry, but all I can say is that out of my graduating class of December 2011, only three people are working at a hospital. This is out of 50 students. My best friend in our class, who graduated with a 3.8 and speaks/reads three languages is working as a 'Home Health' Nurse... She has up to 3 appointments a day, drives 40+ miles to get to her job sites (no gas reimbursement), if the patient is home, she will make $40 or so for the assessment, if the person is not home, she gets a whopping $20. And the most she can hope to do as far as procedures goes, is to do a blood pressure. And what makes it even more interesting is that SHE IS LUCKY TO HAVE A JOB IN NURSING, being that >70% of our class is unemployed.

I hate to sound preachy, but, be thankful for what you have. It is easier to get through the day if you think about what you have instead of what you don't have.

I don't understand posts like this one. I mean, c'mon, the girl is just venting. She might be lucky to have a job in nursing but it is a super tough gig. Who knows what will happen when all your nursing grad friends FINALLY get a job in a hospital. I bet they too will one day be on here griping because...yeah....it's tough. One day they too will realize that the dream they so hoped for isn't all it's cracked up to be and they don't get paid nearly enough for this crap! :yes:

And yeah, it's easier to get through the day when you think about what you have vs. don't have but when are battling near constant migraines, aching legs, lack of food for 10 hours, and never ending run run run, it clouds your thinking!! Most of the time I am surprised I can even speak in full sentences after my 14 hour shift! ;)

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Specializes in cardiac/education.

Hey OP,

I don't really believe this "it gets better" BS, to be honest. As another poster said, it's the broken system and constantness of working short staffed that is killing us. Sometimes I think being a new grad and not knowing as much is the least of my problems on the floor. Yes, I will get better. Yes, I will learn more. But will the hospital get any less busy? Will they start hiring ancillary staff to help out? No way. Just more cuts. Do more with less. THAT is why I won't be in the hospital forever. I am just one person.....how in the heck can I do the work of 5, get high patient satisfaction scores, D/C my patients within 30 min of orders being written, make sure my OBS patients stay less than 18 hrs, follow up and call EVERYONE and remind them to do THEIR job for MY patient, chart it all, and get out on time? I just don't know how! All the while aides telling you they don't have time to clean up YOUR patient because they need to do some secretary work too and then they skate off to lunch. I have learned to hate every other person in the hospital because I want their job, LOL. All the other ancillary staff looks like they have it so much better, so much calmer. Except the docs of course, but still... I hesitate even going to a different hospital because I don't think grass is greener. I just don't know where I will end up, the place for me. I wish I could be superwoman, but I am not. I got a lot of energy but superhuman...no. Hoping the golden gates of heaven are going to open up when I put one year RN experience on that resume but to be honest, in this market, even that I doubt........:unsure:

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Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.
Hoping the golden gates of heaven are going to open up when I put one year RN experience on that resume but to be honest, in this market, even that I doubt........:unsure:

Unfortunately, no golden gates on this end. Even with 2 years experience it has been hard to transition. The crutch on my end is that I work on a unit that does not offer its nurses critical care training, and that closes out all the job opportunities that prefer nurses that have crit care training or experience. It has been frustrating and I am hating my unit because of that. Our patients are VERY sick at times. Some beds are practically stepdown quality, yet we don't have the training to take care of patients this acute. Had I known this would have been a crucial component I would have take a job elsewhere. My only hope is to find that one position that will give me the chance to enter critical care without having had the class or experience beforehand.

Sent from my iPad using allnurses

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I too am a new grad RN so I can empathize in some ways. I too hate going to my job and feel totally discouraged. I started out in Corrections but left after 4 months and am now in a SNF. I often feel like I made a huge mistake becoming a nurse. I just keep telling myself that it does get better. I can't give any advice but know than you are not alone and just keep pushing on. Best of wishes.

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