You can always tell when I've been hanging out on the Allnurses.com forums too much -- I get up on a soap box. I'm amazed, though, at how many new nurses are grasping at straws to find "reasons" to quit their first jobs because they're unhappy and they're just positive that things are going to be better elsewhere. Even if there is no elsewhere in the immediate future. It's not THEIR fault that they're miserable -- it's the job. Or their co-workers are all mean and out to get them. (Probably because of their incredible beauty.) Staffing is a nightmare, the CNAs are all hiding and they're afraid they're going to "loose" their license. They'd better quit RIGHT NOW, so they don't "loose" that license. (I wonder if that one is as transparent to spouses who are looking for a little help with the rent -- not to mention those school loans you've racked up -- as it is to some of the rest of us.) The job is ruining their lives and their mental health -- they're seriously worried for their mental health if they don't quit right now. Where did all of these fragile people come from?
Seriously, folks. The first year of nursing sucks. You have the internet and all of that -- how could you not know that the first year of nursing sucks? It does. We've all been through it. The only way to GET through it is to GO through it, but there's a big group of newbies every year who are SURE that doesn't apply to them. No one as ever been as miserable as they are. No one understands. They HATE going to work every day. Management is targeting them and they're sure they're going to be fired. They're concerned that their mental health might be permanently damaged by the trauma of staying in that job ONE MORE DAY. Given the inevitability of "loosing" that license and permanent damage to their mental health, it's all right to quit that job tomorrow, isn't it? Or maybe it's that their DREAAAAAAAAM job is opening up, and they've been offered the job. It's OK to quit this job to take their DREAAAAAAAAM job, isn't it?
How do they even know their dream job is hiring if they have every intention of making their first job work out? What are all those job applications doing out there, floating around if they're serious about this job? You DID intend to keep this job for one to two years when you took it, didn't you? If not, shame on you!
The first year of nursing sucks. You're going to hate going to work every day, and some of you are going to cry all the way to work and all the way home. You'll be exhausted, both mentally and physically and your normal hobbies and activities may take second seat to the job. You'll be constantly afraid of making a mistake, and you will MAKE mistakes. You'll feel incompetent. You may lose sleep because you're worrying about your job. Switching jobs isn't going to miraculously make you confident and competent. It's just going to delay you on your path through that first miserable year. It may even look bad on your resume, paint you as a job hopper. (I'm always shocked by how many new nurses are on their third or fourth job in less than two years who will assure me that they're not job hoppers. Honey, if you're on your third job in less than two years, you're a job hopper. Really.)
Don't people have bills to pay? Or is it that no one feels responsible for paying their own bills anymore? How is it that so many people feel free to just up and quit a paying job without another one in sight? I guess I'm getting old, because I really don't get it.
this post has struck a chord with most, it appears. I also feel the need to weigh in and let Ruby know we don't all agree with her.
She seems to have some bitterness, no? A little of the "I had it hard, so must new nurses." I don't ever keep up with individual Allnurses members, but I just happened to read a thread before this where Ruby talked about working 2-3 jobs while in school, buying cars for $25 (!!! in all seriousness, how old are you Ruby??) and running them into the ground. Sleep, she explains, was a luxury.
I supposed I'm expected to feel guilty that my wife and I, after finishing our bachelor's degrees, worked service industry jobs, were smart with our money, bought reliable cars and paid them off quickly.
I'm a new grad, coming up on a year at my first job. Like any job, nursing is about supply and demand. I'm being actively recruited by private psych hospitals in my area and am likely to take one up on the offer soon. And guess what, if another hospital offers me something more appealing (money, time off, benefits, a better work environment...) I'll gladly leave.
So many in the older generations have great insight into how nursing has changed, others just seem bitter. Either way, I don't care much, I'll do what's best for me and my family.
I don't think Ruby is saying that all new nurses must have it hard....I don't get that at all from this thread. She is saying that a lot of new nurses quit jobs simply because they don't like it, find it hard, or feel that their co-workers are bullying them....when in reality...nursing (ESPECIALLY the first year) is HARD and like some previous posters said, the older nurses are trying to help the new nurses...but people's lives are on the line here so there's really no time for coddling. I don't think it's acceptable for ANYONE to treat ANYONE with disrespect or be rude...but many times people perceive things to be said in a rude manner when that wasn't the intention. I think new nurses need to stick it out and suck it up...not pick up and leave when things get hard. And I can say this because I AM a brand spankin' new nurse in my first year, who is basically dripping behind the ears. I am SO blessed to have gotten a hospital job right out of school that no matter how hard it gets, I'm not going anywhere! Sorry but I think my generation has been coddled and expects everything to be easy and comfortable. Of course, if you're crying every day, and are literally depressed over it then get some help. But I don't think anyone should expect it to be easy or comfortable. We can learn a lot from experienced nurses, I learn about 1000 things per day from them.
Ruby talked about working 2-3 jobs while in school buying cars for $25 (!!! in all seriousness, how old are you Ruby??) and running them into the ground. .[/quote']
I'm cracking up so bad! LolI saw that too and was like what junk yard? Cause that is cheap! And then I realized this is 2014...
Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.
I think it's apparent that emotions are getting "high" here. It's important to remember that this is an open Internet forum where any individual with an account can state their opinion. Their posts are nothing more than their personal view, no matter how wrong or right we may think they are. I digress, I can say I agree and disagree with arguments on both sides of the matter. I have been working as a CVICU nurse for 8 months. I became and started working as a RN at 20 years old (21 now). Moved out on my own, pay my own bills (every single one) and the some of the bills of some family members.
I have found nothing but freaking joy in these months I've been an RN. I love going to work. Do I like my time off , yes of course , but going to work had NEVER been burdensome. I am blessed to work with an amazing group of nursing staff. We have the incredibly intelligent experienced nurses who teach us sooo much and make us think. They also learn from us, new wats of doing things. We also learn together as we all are constantly reviewing new EBP and literature. I thinks that's why we work so well together we have a symbiotic and functional relationship. We even go out to eat with each other outside work. I think it's absolutely preposterous to think that one's first year as a nurse will automatically be "horrible" or even worse " that you should expect it to as much " (which I know Ruby, the OP did nog say, but some other posters did) .
As a new nurse, Will you make mistakes? Sure. Will you need correction and learn how to do things better or differently? To be sure. Do I think that you should quit because they "going gets tough " freak no! Do I believe one should stay somewhere they know, without a shadow of a doubt and a true effort to make the best of their situation, and be miserable. No.
I've found in the past that working with miserable people makes for a miserable work day. I do after that you should make the best of your situation until another legitimate opportunity presents itself. I just don't like the idea of leaving something for nothing. (That's just me) I believe that certain aspects of this thread are identical to many posts from new grads who say they have difficult workmates, just from a different perspective. It's interesting if you think about it. Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
there also seems to be a ton of negativity whenever someone else tries to get into a better situation. Whether it's leaving a job after only a few months, or planning on NP or CRNA school, or wanting to move into management/away from the bedside...some of the negative comments seem very much like a case of sour grapes, like everyone else should suffer abuse because they had to, and if someone manages to get something better then they've somehow gotten away with something.
If your co-workers or people on here quitting their jobs makes you angry, ask yourself WHY you resent them so much. Are you jealous? Are you unhappy in your situation as well but haven't had the courage to change it? If you ARE content with your job and your life in general, then enjoy what you have and don't waste your time and energy criticizing other people.
When someone leaves a job after just a few months, it means that their preceptor just spent a few months training a new nurse they expected to have around for a couple of years, and now has to start training ANOTHER new nurse. Who may also leave in a few months. Continuously training new nurses is exhausting. And sometimes, there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. We train seven new nurses for six months and three of them leave, plus half of the cohort ahead of them . . . we never STOP training. Preceptors are exhausted. Add to that the fact that we keep hearing that people are leaving because we're just mean old bullies, after we've bent ourselves over backward trying to be welcoming, encouraging, nurturing . . . . It gets old.
Believe me, job hopping doesn't always land you into a better situation, no matter how much greener you thought the grass was. And it doesn't mean you're managing your career better than we managed ours. It may mean nothing more than that you lack focus and determination.
I've been at the bedside for 35 years, and I've loved most of it. I'm not jealous of newbies who are moving on to "better" things. (I AM jealous of crusty old bats who are retiring, but that's another thread.) Those who insinuate (or outright claim) that older nurses resent job hoppers because we're jealous are ludicrously mistaken. If I could speak for all my peers, we resent it because it makes OUR jobs more difficult, with a steady stream of brand new orientees to train and because it makes YOUR transition from student to professional so much MORE difficult for you.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
I actually didn't say that at all. Sorry you couldn't read and comprehend what I wrote. And if you're "venting" is going to be trashing people because they annoy you then just keep it to yourself. Like you said, you might have been browsing allnurses too much. No matter the causation, don't come back at vulnerable people with insults. Seriously you're going to attack people who are insecure and call it "venting"??! There's something wrong THERE, sister.
Actually, you pretty much DID say that. And you've just said it again.
Venting was very therapeutic for me as I'm positive it's key for every other new nurse on this board. Posts like this are destructive to that process and it's sad to see so many in support of it. On top of that, many of these new nurses come from different situations that we simply can't understand. Everybody handles stress and depression differently. The whole discussion brings two childhood lessons to mind:
1) Treat others as you would want them to treat you.
2) If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
I dont get this mentality many older nurses and parents have..."I had it hard, so should you!" Very unnatural. Shouldn't we want things to be better for future generations? Isn't it a human instinct to want the younger ones to thrive and not struggle?
I am not a mother, but when I have kids, I want them to have better (not necessarily easier). If the entire human race had the mentality of some of the seasoned nurses, we would still be in dark times where humans didn't progress or advance.
I won't speak to parents, but I don't know many older nurses who have the mentality that "I had it hard; so should you." I find that's a perception of those who don't bother to listen to the MESSAGE, but instead want to nitpick about the way it was delivered.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
I'm cracking up so bad! LolI saw that too and was like what junk yard? Cause that is cheap! And then I realized this is 2014...
Yup. Bought 'em from the junk yard. One time I splurged and spent $100, and that car lasted me two years! When I graduated and got my first job, I bought a brand new car . . . .
People should learn to just type "lol" when they feel people are on shenanigans. Life is too short to argue with people who live inside your phone/computer.
Every generation thinks that they had it so much harder then the ones that come after them. "These young people today, don't know what hard work is". I have heard that statement so many time over the years, that it makes my eyes roll. I am approaching middle age now, but I was young once, so that statement was directed to my generation at some point in time. Just as it was told to the generations before me. I don't think it really matters what someone's age is. They either have strong work ethics, or they don't. There are lazy people in every generation, just like there are hard workers in every generation. I just don't like it when folks generalize people by their age.
I think that if folks work hard in their 20s and 30s, then they can take it a little bit easier in their 40s and 50s. In my younger days, I worked a lot of overtime. Usually averaging around 70 hours a week. Now, I work just 40 hours, and am able to have a life outside of work. Things are paid off, and money isn't so tight anymore. However, if I hadn't put in those hours back then, then I wouldn't be reaping the benefits from it now. I have never burned bridges with an employer, and have always given a two weeks notice before leaving. I do not consider myself a "job hopper", but do realize that life is too short to be miserable.
I am not jealous of the younger generation. (I have been there, and done that!) Nor am I envious of the older generation. I will be there someday, myself. I am at a good point in my life and am happy. If more folks were happy with their lives, they would worry less about what other people were doing.
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SoCal student
52 Posts
this post has struck a chord with most, it appears. I also feel the need to weigh in and let Ruby know we don't all agree with her.
She seems to have some bitterness, no? A little of the "I had it hard, so must new nurses." I don't ever keep up with individual Allnurses members, but I just happened to read a thread before this where Ruby talked about working 2-3 jobs while in school, buying cars for $25 (!!! in all seriousness, how old are you Ruby??) and running them into the ground. Sleep, she explains, was a luxury.
I supposed I'm expected to feel guilty that my wife and I, after finishing our bachelor's degrees, worked service industry jobs, were smart with our money, bought reliable cars and paid them off quickly.
I'm a new grad, coming up on a year at my first job. Like any job, nursing is about supply and demand. I'm being actively recruited by private psych hospitals in my area and am likely to take one up on the offer soon. And guess what, if another hospital offers me something more appealing (money, time off, benefits, a better work environment...) I'll gladly leave.
So many in the older generations have great insight into how nursing has changed, others just seem bitter. Either way, I don't care much, I'll do what's best for me and my family.