i feel terrible

[mom2mands]

I graduated from nursing school in in May and started working last month in a OBGyn unit. My preceptor was nice but gave me zero feedback and we were so busy and stayed late so many times that I never had time to ask her how I was doing, but it didn't feel like orientation was going all that well, I was expected to have had lots of experience with IV starts and foleys, when my experience with both is limited. Anyway last week the NM told me she didn't think the orientation was going well; the next few days were really hectic. One day I was placed with another nurse b/c my preceptor was off and it was terrible. She had no patience and was annoyed when I needed to look up a medication in a PDR, and had trouble inserting a foley. Anyway the other day the NM met with me and said orientation wasn't working out and suggested that I resign. Working there was harder every day and I was thinking about quitting last week but now I'm really freaked out, because 1) I feel like I didn't learn enough in nursing school to make it as a nurse, and 2) my first nursing job was a failure. What do I do now? Will this affect my ability to get another job?

[Icess64]

That's horrible. It really makes me appreciate my unit and how great my co-workers are! I'm not saying that to brag, I'm saying that to show that there are places out there that treat new-grads well and set them up for success.

Obviously I can't give you your answer, but I think maybe you should talk to your nurse manager. Without being confrontational, explain the situation from your side and ask for suggestions to improve the situation (like maybe getting a different preceptor, studying clinical procedures more, etc). I would ask her to try and remember when she was a new nurse and didn't know everything (or anything--as it feels most days!) and try to get her to remember how hard it is to be new, especially when you aren't feeling supported. And I mean, come on, they really expect you to have a ton of experience in this stuff? They are seriously delusional if they think nursing school teaches anything but the basics! I don't think ANY nursing school could possibly prepare us for what we face as nurses in the real world. If they don't understand that, maybe you should leave.

Unfortunately though, if you leave under these circumstances, I think it would be hard for you to get another job. Not impossible, but definitely harder. Maybe you could talk to your NM and ask her if she feels you would be cut out better for another specialty--esp one that isn't so busy. If you had her blessing, maybe she'd be more likely to give positive references (people love it when you take their advice--and hopefully it would actually be a good fit).

You could also try looking for work in a clinic vs. a hospital, that way you could slowly get into nursing, without being bombarded!

These kinds of stories are so disheartening to hear, don't these people know there is a nursing shortage and they need to help new nurses succeed so THEY don't have to work so damn hard? Sheesh.

[PeaceonearthRN]

It seems to vary from place to place as to how orientation and preceptorship occurs; OBGYN is a tough place. As a student we were treated like germs that needed to go away.. ALL OF US.. adult students.. I think they are being way too hard on you. I would go to personnel and education. Your nurse manager should not have all the power. How long did you say you've been at this orientation? They should have told you up front what skills were required if 'they were required' for a new nurse. And they wonder why people do not want to be nurses.. Honey, get some support outside your unit. You should not be FORCED to resign just because they are incompetant with their 'non structured' preceptor program.

[jjjoy, LPN]

Please look up other threads on this... you are by no means having an exceptionally harder time than others in your transition from school to work. It appears to be a quite normal experience, in fact. Reading others' similar experiences might help you like less of a loser... and I say that as someone who also was asked to resign after several weeks of orienting/precepting. There's also lots of support on those threads as well.

A reasonable nurse manager recognizes that this isn't uncommon and won't look down on you for it - and that's the kind of nurse manager you want to work with.

[joseash]

Wow, sorry you aren't getting the support a new nurse deserves. Talking to the nurse manager might be a good idea in order to cultivate a positive reference for a transfer but I would be leery of staying on that unit. They aren't treating you right at all! Maybe a good med-surg floor with a more understanding NM would be a good fit because you would be exposed to a variety of different things. But above all, you need a good preceptor and a supportive NM who can remember what it's like to be starting out. Good luck to you.