Does it ever get better? (Job hopping)

JKL33 · May 30, 2017

In my situation - would you stick it out at the detox facility? I feel like I should but there have been so many red-flags that I am not sure it will get better.

I probably wouldn't. You are not using the skills you enjoy using, and the vibe at the current facility sounds fairly negative. Personally I wouldn't let my hands-on and acute care physical assessment skills get rusty while I worked at a place I didn't enjoy under a cloud of negativity if there were other viable options.

Of course every manager is going to have his/her own opinion about your "job hopping", but if asked about it, it wouldn't be unreasonable to state that you wanted to try a variety of things in an effort to find your niche.

It would make sense, though, to find out what has happened with the 'float to ICU' issue (and any others you may have had serious concerns about) in your PCU job. IOW, have a reasonable idea what you are getting into with your next choice; really investigate it and then take time to consider it.

Have you made any decisions since your OP?

Good luck ~

allnurses Guide · May 30, 2017

I am feeling so lost, frustrated and unsure of what to do in this situation.
I am a relatively new nurse - I will reach my one year in August.
For the first 8 months after graduating nursing school I worked for a Progressive Care Unit. It was busy and crazy but we had a (mostly) supportive group of nurses to bounce questions off. I eventually left once we had gotten a new manager who insisted any PCU nurse was to float to ICU when staffing was needed. They were sending us new nurses to ICU without any ICU orientation or training. We were not even ACLS certified. We brought our complaints up but nothing was ever done.
I eventually left and went to work in home health for a small agency. Things in home health started out great - loved the pace, loved being able to spend time with patients for education, but unfortunately because the agency was so small they struggled with census. It ended up being a $1,000/month pay cut and I simply could not afford it. I resigned after three months and eventually went with the first job that offered me a position - a small mental health/detox facility. I had no experience with either but I desperately needed the money so I took what I could get at the time.
During my interview the job sounded wonderful. I was told I would have reasonable nurse to patient ratios - 1:8 for detox and 1:4 per psych. When I told the nurses' orientating me they laughed in my face. The building is split up into two halls and one nurse is required to take one and the other is required to take the other. Just this morning one nurse had 2 patients and the other had 19. Completely unfair and management does not care about it. The nursing staff are so unhappy with their jobs; they spend the entire shifts complaining. There is so much cattiness between day and night shift staff - always trying to find something the other did wrong. Basically the environment just stinks. I've already been told by other staff that I , "won't last long." Understandably they have an issue with retaining staff.
Overall, the bulk of the job appears to be easy. Most of the doctor's have their own protocol of orders so calling and getting orders is fast and easy. After 11pm the patient's are in bed for the night. Most of the admissions come in between 7pm-11pm but even then it is maybe 4 at most at night. They are all walkie-talkies. It's just a lot of busy work and paperwork - they still are using paper charting. I just find myself bored most nights after my charting is done. I miss the hands-on skills of nursing like starting IVs, wound care, etc...
Before accepting this job offer I had been in contact with my previous manager back on the Progressive Care Unit, who said she would be willing to re-hire me if a job opportunity became available. There are two open positions right now.
I am highly considering applying.
The location was great. It is only a 5 minute drive from home versus the 30 minute drive to where I am now, only working every 3rd weekend instead of every other weekend, familiar with staff and policies. Up until the ICU floating incidents I was really starting to feel comfortable in what I was doing. I've kept in touch with old co-workers who have said they would love to have me back if I were able.
However what stops me is that this would be my fourth job change in less than a year. PCU -> Home Health -> Detox/Mental Health -> PCU?
I am just not sure how bad this looks to future employers. If I go back to PCU I plan on staying. I've gotten a view of the grass on the other side and it hasn't been greener.
In my situation - would you stick it out at the detox facility? I feel like I should but there have been so many red-flags that I am not sure it will get better.

In my humble opinion you will never get truly comfortable until you decide to stick someplace for a year or two. No matter what you need to complete that journey from Novice to expert before you move to another specialty otherwise you risk becoming "a jack of all trades, master of none" a reputation for job hopping will follow you for years. If you feel you must make this move then commit yourself to working for a least a full year plus 1 month before even looking for another position.

Hppy

llg, PhD, RN · May 30, 2017

I would go back to the PCU -- and then stay there for at least a year (if not longer). If you do that, it won't look as much like "job hopping." It will look like you made a mistake, realized it, and went back to your original job. It will also look good that they were willing to hire you back.

If you can stay with the PCU for over a year, I think you will be OK.

My overall impression is that you made a mistake in leaving the PCU -- a generally good place to work for you -- because of 1 issue. It is rarely a good idea to leave a good job over 1 issue unless you are 100% your new place is going to be better. You should have given the PCU a longer chance to resolve issues with the ICU. Maybe the floating thing was not going to be as bad as you thought.

Then you jumped quickly to 2 jobs that you hadn't fully researched because you needed money. That's usually a bad move. Always research first. Those are "forgivable" mistakes -- just don't keep making them. Understand that no job will be perfect and that sometimes, you need to tolerate some imperfection while you work through the problems.

rescueninja1987 · Jun 2, 2017

I would go back to the PCU like, yesterday. Maybe you could obtain ACLS certification and see if you can orient a little bit in the ICU so it won't be so bad if and when you're floated?

brit.pz · Jun 3, 2017

Thank you to all that have replied. I met with my previous unit manager today who offered me a position back on PCU. I submitted my resignation this afternoon to the detox facility. The straw that broke the camels back occurred during my last shift. I walked into work and was told I was going to be the only nurse working that evening with 16 detoxing patients and new admissions coming in. It was an absolute nightmare. Patient's were incredibly irritable and at one point became aggressive toward the techs. There is no security to call if a patient becomes violent. Overall it was just not a good fit for me. It certainly takes a special kind of nurse to do detox and I am not it!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jun 8, 2017

In my humble opinion you will never get truly comfortable until you decide to stick someplace for a year or two. No matter what you need to complete that journey from Novice to expert before you move to another specialty otherwise you risk becoming "a jack of all trades, master of none" a reputation for job hopping will follow you for years. If you feel you must make this move then commit yourself to working for a least a full year plus 1 month before even looking for another position.
Hppy

This! It takes about two years in a specialty to become competent, and you weren't even halfway there when you succombed to the "grass is greener" syndrome and jumped ship. Stay where you are or go back to the first job, but either way put in a full two years.