Ever accepted a position knowing it was a mistake?

Nurses General Nursing

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Ever took a position base on money or distance etc. knowing it was a mistake but did it anyway? If so, what happened?

The work was tasky. The clientele have lots of issues, usually due to the fact that their electrolytes are screwed up, but also because most, not all but most, are on dialysis because they were non compliant to begin with and they are mad all the time because you can't 'fix' them.

They want to dictate to you when the go on, get off, who is first, there was even a yelling match once because a guy didn't get off at the right time. Well, sorry, the guy in the next chair was coding. Just not for me.

That makes a lot of sense. In our renal unit in school, our teacher emphasized all the psychosocial/compliance issues that often go along with ESRD. Thanks for the info - it helps me get more of a realistic idea of that specialty. Honestly, I don't think I would do well with that field either.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Neuro/Oncology floor nursing..

Oh yeah. After I got my license my first job at as a nurse was at a clinic(they had all different kinds of specialties). They had an opening for an RN in the internal medicine part of the clinic. So I applied and landed the job. I was so happy. The clinic was about 5 miles from where I live, the hours were mon-fri 8:30-5(dream hours for me), and the pay was on the low side but that didn't matter I wanted to be a nurse my whole life and I was excited I would be gathering experience so I could land a job in a hospital(where I ultimately wanted to work, but the hospital I wanted to work at needed 2 years of nursing experience plus a BSN, which I have). I figured I would stay at the clinic for a couple of years and then go apply at the hospital I wanted to work at.

So they hired me and said I would be the RN for one of the doctors and I would be doing RN things(you know the usual in a internists office-BP checks, temp checks, documenting why the patient was there, any medications the patients were taking, drawing blood if needed, etc). In the interview I was told specifically that's what I would be doing....WRONG.

All I did was call the patients name waiting in the waiting room, take the patients file and walk the patient into the exam room. Oh and of course say "someone will be with you shortly.' I was livid. You don't even need a high school degree to do that job. I was absolutely beside myself. I stuck around for a week and then quit. Apparently medical assistants were doing to BP checks and all the stuff that I was promised to do.

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So they hired me and said I would be the RN for one of the doctors and I would be doing RN things(you know the usual in a internists office-BP checks, temp checks, documenting why the patient was there, any medications the patients were taking, drawing blood if needed, etc). In the interview I was told specifically that's what I would be doing....WRONG.

All I did was call the patients name waiting in the waiting room, take the patients file and walk the patient into the exam room. Oh and of course say "someone will be with you shortly.' I was livid. You don't even need a high school degree to do that job. I was absolutely beside myself. I stuck around for a week and then quit. Apparently medical assistants were doing to BP checks and all the stuff that I was promised to do.

The crazy thing is that they were willing to pay RN wages (even on the low side of RN wages) for someone to do that! I'm glad you got out of there and got a real nursing job :)

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

I've been there, done that. I once took a DON position that paid $12K/yr. more than the perfectly good position that I was in at the time, and I hated it from the get-go. I lasted a whole three months. I still can't drive past that building without feeling like I want to throw up.

I learned from it, though. It also helps to be at a different point in my life, where I know myself better and where I don't need huge amounts of money and prestige to feel like I'm worth something. This was brought home to roost just this week, when I was offered the promotion of a lifetime that would have made me the nationwide Corporate Nurse Consultant for my company. It would've meant a huge salary increase and the opportunity to travel all over the country, working with AL nurses and staff to make sure they were complying with state rules and regulations and doing a good job with taking care of residents.

And.....I turned it down.

It just so happens that I love my current job, and am a homebody who needs to stay grounded, both at work and in my private life. My kids are grown, but my grandkids, husband, sister, and pets would hate it if I were gone all the time......and so would I. Besides, I would have lost all direct contact with residents, and they are the well from which I draw my strength; after all, I didn't go to nursing school to take care of paper!

I am terrifically flattered that my company WANTED me in this position, even with my limited education (I'm an ADN). Yes, I'd have been good at mentoring the facilities' staff members and working with them on site visits, but I already get to do that where I am. And as far as wages go, I'm hardly starving to death as it is, and I just got a decent raise on top of it.

Now, there will undoubtedly be days when I'll say to myself "Remember, I chose this!!", but the facility where I work, and the residents who live there, and the staff who labor there, are where I get my reward.....and as with every decision I've ever made from the heart, I know I won't regret it.

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Specializes in Perioperative Nursing.
Yes! My first day there was a living nightmare and it went downhill from there. It got to the point that when I hit the door to the ambulance bay (where we usually entered the ER from the parking lot) the first time of the day and the smell hit me I would get physically nauseous. It wasn't a bad smell or anything, it was just the association of the place in my mind with the horror of the job that I associated with that particular building.

I quit 3 months in of a 1 year contract. Gave back the bonus gladly, would have even paid them interest on it and been glad to. There was a reason they were offering a $15,000 sign-on bonus. They could take their damn money and shove it where the sun don't shine. If I hadn't had kids at the time, I would have left that first day, but I needed to get another job first.

Oh my gosh!!....i thought i was alone, few months ago i took a position because i was anxious to land a job. Although, i got several call back they were the first to interview so anxiously in need i took the position. It was the worst decision i ever made in my eight and half years in nursing. I had a wonderful interview experience, during the interview it felt more like a conversation with a friend than a manager, a mean it was very relax, the first week of hospital orientation the staff was warm and friendly i thought this was the place to be.....Oh my gosh was i ever wrong!. The second week i started orientation in my department i knew then that it was not going to work out. However, i have kids so i kept convincing myself otherwise. I am now almost four months in and i am frustrated as hell, i can't continue for the sake of my mental health.

They have an extremely high turnover rate, there are very little season are permanent nurses there. Most of the permanent staff are under a year, the handful of season staff are frustrated and unwilling to train new staff; in their words to be exact "i am just a couple of years left before i am out the door", more than half the staff are agency. As if it couldn't get any worst try doing an orientation where you are being trained by agency staff whom have only been there a weeks or two before you.

Thank god for all nurses! I can debrief. :crying2:

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Specializes in Dialysis.
DixieRedHead: I'm a new grad, so I'm really intrigued about your dialysis experience. That's not the area I'm going into, but I am curious why you didn't like it just for future reference in case I see a job opening. Was it dialysis in general that sucked, or just the agency you worked for? Thanks!

I currently work in dialysis and love it. It is one of those fields (and they tell you over and over again) that you either love or hate. You have to decide for yourself.

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Specializes in ER.

Yes. My first job out of nursing school. I had a hunch it was not a good unit because they were so aggressively hiring. This turned out to be true but not for the reasons I had in mind. I took it because er was my dream job and I reminded myself of that every time I panicked before walking in the door.

I finally landed something else almost a year later. This time, I strategically picked a bad job. I want to leave this geographic area in part because nursing in the south sucks big time! Thus, I choose the much beleaguered struggling trauma center so I could gain the street cred to bounce anywhere in the country. Believe me, it's hard won experience. It's the worst of the worst in every way you can imagine but I count down the months till I qualify as a senior/ experienced rn and people can't wait to interview me with the background I have! (daydreaming away!)

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Specializes in Cardiac Care.

LOL... worked there a year then moved on to another one that is a mistake... but 8 months later still plugging along toward another goal. Heck sometimes I think Nursing is a mistake.

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I want to leave this geographic area in part because nursing in the south sucks big time!

I live in the north. What makes it suck in the south?

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Specializes in Family Practice, Urgent Care, Cardiac Ca.

Totally, took a job for my first year that def wasn't my first choice but let me move across the country with my sweetie. I knew in the first 2 weeks it was a big compromise, but stuck it out for a year, and transitioned into the area I love. BUT: I did learn a TON from this job, relearned a lot of the specialty stuff I never though I would need to know again (OB, Peds, psych), and I feel like I'm a better RN and hopefully future NP because of it. But it has been a tough year.

I found it was easier when I stopped trying so hard to make it the "thing for me" and was just at peace with the fact that it was a compromise and not my favorite place. The resistance to any job is the worst part.

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After reading these posts I realize that having a bad job at least once in your career can be a good thing.

You have something to compare other jobs to, and you current job often looks very good in comparison.

You won't hear me complaining too much.

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I didn't know it was a mistake, but strongly suspected it. But in this economy, one cannot afford to be choosy when getting a job offer. Actually, let me back up: I had a bad feeling when I applied for the job (thinking I probably wouldn't get it. Ha!)

My advice: If you know it's a mistake, or even suspect it, or even just have a feeling - don't do it, you will live to regret it.

DeLana

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