Exhausted in New Grad Residency

Lev, MSN, RN, NP · Sep 10, 2014

There will always be exhaustion in acute care nursing. It does get better as time management skills develop and things become more routine. But there will be mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion. There will be good days and bad days and every once in a while you will have a really awesome day that makes you remember why you chose nursing to begin with. It will get better when you aren't working 4-6 days a week and doing (hopefully) your three 12s. Which shift are you working?

84reyna84 · Sep 10, 2014

I finished an 18 week residency program in July leading me into my spot as an L&D nurse. I really think it helped me a lot. I had such immense support from the coordinator of the program. If we felt we were not getting the training we needed or the support from the dept, she was there to jump in and help us any way she could. We had a mixture of classes on various subjects (not just in our dept) and floor training on our unit. It was very exhausting, but now as I work on my unit, I miss the time I had in that program. It definitely will get better once you finish the program and move to your 3 shifts a week. Just remember those are exhausting too, because you are still so new. At least for me they are. And I am on the night shift. So that is another thing to get used to. I'm curious to see the responses to this since I am still pretty new myself...

dsb_fam · Sep 11, 2014

I just finished the class section of my new grad program. It has been HUGE to only work 3 - 12s. The biggest difference is not studying for tests. I still look up stuff and study, but it is not tested and it is not mandatory. You got this! What a great opportunity we have received to have this added teaching.

Ndnrnbsn · Sep 14, 2014

I finished an 18 week residency program in July leading me into my spot as an L&D nurse. I really think it helped me a lot. I had such immense support from the coordinator of the program. If we felt we were not getting the training we needed or the support from the dept, she was there to jump in and help us any way she could. We had a mixture of classes on various subjects (not just in our dept) and floor training on our unit. It was very exhausting, but now as I work on my unit, I miss the time I had in that program. It definitely will get better once you finish the program and move to your 3 shifts a week. Just remember those are exhausting too, because you are still so new. At least for me they are. And I am on the night shift. So that is another thing to get used to. I'm curious to see the responses to this since I am still pretty new myself...

Hi! I just got into the residency program for L&D. I am so nervous! In October, I will start the perinatal course. I will have class 2 days per week and precept on the floor the other 3 days. Once orientation is over I will be going to nights as well. How are you adjusting with the night schedule?

God is within her, she will not fail.- Psalms 46:5

MrsICURN14 · Sep 17, 2014

I've been off of orientation from my internship program for about 3 weeks, and I'm still exhausted all the time.

From what I understand it's pretty normal, and it hasn't gotten drastically better since I got out of the program and on my own.

84reyna84 · Dec 12, 2014

In response to ndnrnbsn:

Hello! Just saw this...The night schedule is definitely something that takes time to adjust to. Thankfully I can sleep through almost anything if I am sleepy enough, so sleeping during the day is not too difficult. The thing I find tough is trying to sleep the day before a shift after being off work for a while. Usually it is hard to stay awake that night before, so I spend the whole day stressing about how I should be sleeping for the upcoming shift. I have found that bulking my shifts in a row works. It may be hard to work a few in a row, but the off days on a normal schedule at home make up for it. Also, never schedule yourself for one day off in between. (For example, you work mon/tues nights, are off wed night, and back on thurs night). That day off in between doesn't really even count, because you are tired from your night shifts and end up sleeping most of that off day, and then end up having to rest the next day for the upcoming shift. On the plus side, L&D nights has a lot going for it. It definitely does not get slow just because it's nights. People come in in labor at all times! You get to learn a lot without management and Dr's overwhelming you. You still have the support though of all around you. On our unit, there is usually a Dr or two that stays in hospital at all times, especially if they have a laboring patient. I find that night crew are closer and become like a family. We all help each other out greatly. Aside from the crazy sleep schedule, I actually love nights so far!