Feeling defeated

Sometimes it takes a few months before a new nurse could get used to the groove of acute care nursing. Depending on how long u've been practicing at ur hospital, how u are feeling is normal.

However, i have also seen nurses with a lot of experience on their backs (non-hospital) who were unhappy with acute care due to the same reasons u have stated. I hope you feel better soon!

I have been with the hospital almost four months. The patients are very complex with many needs. Trying to meet all the demands is a constant struggle and has only seem to get harder as time marches forward.

1) delegate some appropriate tasks to your techs (potty, snacks for patients,...)

2) don't be afraid to ask help from your coworker nurses, especially charge nurse

3) always offer your help when you have a small free time so tip 1 and 2 can work

3) think ahead of time (pain meds)

4) always take a lunch break

5) look at how other experienced nurses on your floor function

These are the very basic tips I hope you can utilize. You can do it!

Maybe try another med-surg specialty like ortho, respiratory, cardiac, or neuro. I did oncology as well and that particular job was too overwhelming. I do home hospice now and it's a good fit for me. I did ortho/neuro as well when I started and I liked it, but it can be narcotic city. Oncology pts do require a lot of labs, on several meds, get chemo and radiation plus many are on neutropenia precautions... The list goes on. It's a lot for even the most OCD nurse in the world, but that doesn't mean the hospital is not for you. Try other areas first.

Thank you all for your responses. Seems like I have a lot of soul searching to do.

Hi PixieRN14,

I'm a new RN too and could've written your post! I really have no words of advice since I'm in the same boat! But, I work on very busy neuroscience floor, we see get the patients after they have been in the Neuro ICU and other Med-Surg patients too. It can be narcotic city but I do think that Oncology is harder given all of what rntransition727 mentioned above. Maybe a different type of nursing would help.

PixieRN14, much like the poster thomasphan wrote, I would encourage you to sidle up with a more experienced nurse and see how they do it. There is much to learn by observing others. There is also no terrible shame in admitting you are getting overwhelmed and could use some help.

Hang in there and good luck.

Thanks again for all of your responses. I am beginning to think hospital nursing is just not for me and that is ok because we all have our niche.

Don't do everything on your own. Delegate.

You will get better

Here's something to think about: You left your first job after just a few months. Now you're questioning leaving your second job. That screams "job hopper" and is going to make it difficult for you to obtain employment going forward. If you MUST leave the hospital, the best thing you can do is go back to work at your first job and stay there at least two years before even looking for employment again.

Did you orient on this unit? Did your preceptor get through comparable assignments without getting really far behind? If so, ask her/him for feedback on how you are doing now on your own - maybe they'll be able to pinpoint what is tripping you up.

At my hospital there is a huge education and development office that is always available for help. I have no idea if this is total BS (I've haven't yet had the need to contact them) but it is a resource that is always mentioned to new nurses - maybe see if your hospital offers something similar. As a new grad I have a Nurse Residency program and have met a lot of the education nurses and many have 20 years of experience on the floors so they seem like they would be good resources :)

Oncology nursing can be crazy. I work on a floor that is half hem/onc. Since I'm not chemo certified I don't get the chemo kids but I watch the most experienced nurses on the floor run around like crazy some days with tough assignments... As another poster pointed out hem/onc might not be the *best* fit for you but it may be too soon to leave. Sticking it out might be necessary - but that will also mean more time on the unit = more time to find your groove which may mean things eventually fall into place.

Good luck!

Thank you for all your responses. I have talked to both my NM and Nurse educator. Both have assured me that I am doing well and they believe I will succeed. My biggest issue is my anxiety and the fact that I am very type A. I am very hard on myself and put a lot of expectations on myself.