Drowning on the floor...only 2 months in. HELP!

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Hello there! I finished my BSN in May 2016 and was unable to find a job until 2 months ago. I started in a med/surg floor. The patient ratio is usually around 1:10 and all I got where 10 days of orientation on the floor(9 of which were spent as a CNA because they were short staffed). So after my one day with an RN, I was let go to do it all myself. I was so scared, but decided my best ally would be a good attitude and willingness to learn. Quitting is not an option. I love this job too much. But after 2 months, I can't sleep (without dreaming about being in the hospital) my stress levels have affected my health, I barely eat and I just feel like a total failure. I struggle to keep up with the workload, I feel horrible asking so many questions (I want my patients to be safe) I worry I can't handle this, and find myself wondering what have I done by becoming a nurse. This feeling fades when I get to make a difference. But as a new nurse, I feel more like a burden. I'm 37 and have never felt so incompetent in my life. Will this ever go away?

Specializes in school nurse.

Curious, is it a corporate chain hospital? Sounds like it with those outrageous ratios and a piss poor orientation to boot...

Hi! That is the regular ratio. My coworkers are just very fast with their rounds. They have been doing it for years now.

Is 1:10 your regular ratio, or your "short staffed" ratio?

That is our regular. My coworkers just sort of work super fast all the time.

Hello! I was working retail that was the only job available. There is a huge need for jobs where I live. This is a small town and most new nurses just leave. But I wanted to see if I could find something here. When you are married and have a home, relocating is not that easy. I am also afraid that if I leave, it will take me another 2 years to get another job.

Just out of idle curiosity, how could you love working for an employer who didn't train you and puts you in a situation where you can't hope to care for your patients in any manner of an acceptable way thus putting your nursing license at risk?

Quit these fools before the inevitable happens. Something bad will happen to one of your patients and you will be hung out to dry. Don't say you weren't warned. Its your responsibility to protect your license. Clearly your employer cold care less about you or the patients they "care" for

1:10 is a ridiculously unsafe patient ratio. How do you or any of the other nurses on your floor even pass meds consistently on time? How many techs do you have? Is 1:10 your regular ratio, or your "short staffed" ratio?

My floor is like that as well usually 1:8-1:10. Med surg/Tele. Mostly with 1 or no aid. The pts are very sick too. Very unsafe. But we have no choice, we can't say no, the hospital said it is abandonment if we do not accept the pts that are admitted to the floor.

My floor is like that as well usually 1:8-1:10. Med surg/Tele. Mostly with 1 or no aid. The pts are very sick too. Very unsafe. But we have no choice, we can't say no, the hospital said it is abandonment if we do not accept the pts that are admitted to the floor.

Talk with a couple of attorneys to make sure, but I don't think it's abandonment for you to refuse what you know to be an unsafe assignment.

How can you abandon a patient whom you have not accepted? Your employer won't be pleased, but it sounds like it's time you AND YOUR COWORKERS stood up to them.

Yes, it's all about money.

Specializes in ER.

I was going to say that the feeling of drowning is baseline at two months into your career, but I take it back. You are in an unsafe job. If you had ten nursing home patients...still unsafe. That give you about forty minutes of bedside time for each person. Get out of there.

Specializes in ED, Cardiac-step down, tele, med surg.

You need a union or push legislation in your state. Your ratios are unsafe, especially with sick patients. If anything happens to a patient, the hospital will throw you under the bus. I know this wasn't the topic, so don't mean to derail the thread, but if it were me, I would not want to practice under those conditions because I would not be able to provide adequate care in a safe manner.

You need a union or push legislation in your state. Your ratios are unsafe, especially with sick patients. If anything happens to a patient, the hospital will throw you under the bus. I know this wasn't the topic, so don't mean to derail the thread, but if it were me, I would not want to practice under those conditions because I would not be able to provide adequate care in a safe manner.

This November the state had a vote on safe PT limits and it didnt pass.

Specializes in Medical Surgical, Orthopedic Trauma, Wound Care.
I should also have mentioned the sleep problems. I can't work full time in a hospital because I have nightmares about it. When I was a new nurse, it took me several years to figure this out. I honestly just have nightmares all night long, waking up in a panic, and then would have to go in and do another shift of work. I currently only have occasional nightmares working one shift a week and am trying to assess whether even this is ok, since I am so much older and need my sleep so much. I have never had nightmares about numerous other types of jobs I've had. I think it has to do with the beeping and the lights and seeing the horror of mangled bodies everyday that disturbs me subconsciously or something.

Julie, I too am having this problem working 3/12 hr shifts. My sleep is horrible for all the same reasons you stated. My mind is constantly thinking about pt situations and having to go back to work the next day. Even my days off are fill with anticipated dread. I am thinking of switching to 1 day of week just like you. I am more concerned about my health and longevity than the money.

Run from this employer!

Any management that puts a new RN on the floor with really ONE day of orientation is nuts.

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