Feeling defeated

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I graduated last May from an ADN program and passed my NCLEX in July. Finally I found my first job on a sub acute rehab in Oct. Working there wasn't bad but I had always wanted to work in a hospital. Then, in Dec I was asked to interview for a position on an Oncology unit and I was over the moon. I was offered the position and I informed my DON. She was very nice and said she understood why I was making this decision. Fast forward three months... I am completely miserable. I just don't think hospital nursing is for me. At first it was great and I received wonderful feedback. Yet as time has progressed I feel myself struggling more and more. No matter how hard I try I just can't get ahead. I have always been an organized person, so I can't put my finger on what I am doing wrong. I have been told I have a great bedside manner, that I excel in teaching and there are no concerns with the safety of my practice, but time management is a concern. I try to cluster my care as much as possible, prime tubing for bags outside of the patients room and have a brain sheet that is great. Still, my day consistently goes sideways and I can never get it back on track. I hate that I feel so rushed to complete so many things that take away from patient care, but then get super anxious when I start seeing the clock tick forward and still have so many things left to do. The anxiety I have the day before going back to work is horrible and I feel like I am becoming more and more depressed. I am at the point that I regret leaving my Sub acute rehab job. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

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Specializes in Primary Care, Progressive Care.

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!

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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.

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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!

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Specializes in Rehabilitation,Critical Care.

Don't do everything on your own. Delegate.

You will get better

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

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.

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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!

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