Facing a dilemma! Help!?

Sour Lemon · Nov 16, 2018

I am 26 y.o. I graduated with my ADN in 2017 and got my BSN at a seperate program in May 2018.
After graduating from ADN program I found a laser hair removal job and I loved it. I was working there because it was easy, fun job while I was still going to on campus classes for my BSN.
Once I got my BSN i became per diem at the hair removal clinic and found a new grad hospital job which I didn't like and left after a month and a half. The pre work anxiety that i would get was wearing me down and I was crying every night before work. I became heavily depressed and it was affecting my work. It became hard to focus.
I really like my job at this laser clinic and want to stay here but I don't have at least a yr experience in acute care and I'm afraid once i'm no longer considered a new grad I will have a difficult time finding a job in the future if i happen to change my mind. I want to keep my options open but i'm unable to work at the hospital setting due to my anxiety. What should I do?

Fear of the future and want aside, if you're "unable" to do hospital work, there's not really much of a choice. I suppose you could work on getting your anxiety under control, but anxiety is pretty common for new nurses ...even "normal" ones. I am not easily frazzled and dreaded work every day as a new grad.

llg, PhD, RN · Nov 16, 2018

You have to make a decision -- and be willing to live with the consequences. If you want the option to work in acute care later, then you have to deal with your anxiety now and stick it out at a hospital job for over a year. It won't be easy or fun, but sometimes in life, you just have to do things that are difficult and unpleasant.

If you decide that you don't want to work in a hospital now, then be prepared to live with the consequences of that decision -- that it will be very difficult (perhaps impossible) for you to work in acute care ever.

The decision is yours.

City-Girl · Nov 16, 2018

There are so many areas as an RN that you can work in that do no involve acute care. There are plenty of out patient settings that the pace is a lot less intense. In your post you stated that you loved your job doing laser hair removal. I am not sure how prevalent the jobs are in your area, but there are positions in medical spas for RNs. Good luck!

Farawyn · Nov 16, 2018

You have to make a decision -- and be willing to live with the consequences. If you want the option to work in acute care later, then you have to deal with your anxiety now and stick it out at a hospital job for over a year. It won't be easy or fun, but sometimes in life, you just have to do things that are difficult and unpleasant.
If you decide that you don't want to work in a hospital now, then be prepared to live with the consequences of that decision -- that it will be very difficult (perhaps impossible) for you to work in acute care ever.
The decision is yours.

This is the answer. Best of luck! Remember, we've all been there.

Sparki77 · Nov 17, 2018

You should be a guide, Sour Lemon. I like your straightforward no BS advice/suggestions

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Nov 17, 2018

You have to make a decision -- and be willing to live with the consequences. If you want the option to work in acute care later, then you have to deal with your anxiety now and stick it out at a hospital job for over a year. It won't be easy or fun, but sometimes in life, you just have to do things that are difficult and unpleasant.
If you decide that you don't want to work in a hospital now, then be prepared to live with the consequences of that decision -- that it will be very difficult (perhaps impossible) for you to work in acute care ever.
The decision is yours.

This is excellent advice.

You can make a career in nursing without acute care experience but it will be more difficult as many of the non-acute care jobs people leave bedside nursing for want acute care experience. I'm not sure I would have got any of my non-hospital jobs (home health/clinical management, school, clinical liaison and case management) without 5 years of acute care experience, for example.

dennis8, ADN, BSN, CNA, RN · Nov 18, 2018

The anxiety is normal. Some will have more than others. I absolutely dreaded going to work on my days off when I first started out in Med Surg. 5 months in I got to know most of my coworkers well, got comfortable with the environment, and started enjoying the unkown as it gave me new learning experiences. Almost 2 years now and I don't feel dread at all (except when I know I will be getting a certain patient back lol). I believe the trick is to have a go to person for advice and help. That definitely helped me during my difficult phase. I say go for the new grad program and stick to the clinic job per diem. Then again, if you have no problem doing non-acute, you can still make that into a career. Best of luck!

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Nov 18, 2018

Hospital nursing as a new grad is very stressful for everyone-until the nurse gets enough experience to finally feel comfortable. Most nurses do get through this period and go on to become confident, competent professionals. If you are unable or unwilling to stick out the early difficult learning phase, then you will have that lacking in your resume. How that affects your career down the line remains to be seen. I personally cannot imagine being satisfied with doing laser hair removal for the rest of my career, but that's me. You do you.