First RN job

[ydnewrn]

Hi everyone,

I apologize in advance for the long post, I just need to let my frustration out a bit...

I graduated in June and took an RN job in a dental anesthesia clinic, I applied to all hospitals in my city and even outside the city, but I only got called by this place. The pay is the same as a hospital and it is a full time, but I hate the job… I feel like I barely do any nursing… monitoring patients throughout anesthesia, taking blood sugar, airway management, drawing up IV meds, but they also expect me to learn all the "dentistry" part and do the job of a dental assistant while practising nursing. I have very little contact (bonding) with patients, they are mostly asleep (duh) or too drugged up after anesthesia, I mostly just make sure they are okay to go into the recovery room afterwards.

My number one reason for going into nursing was because I love helping and feeling like I make a difference. I feel like a dentist's tool in this place…..

The economy is horrible here in Toronto, Ontario, most new grads have no job and I am thankful for this one, but at the same time I am super scared I'll never get into a hospital. I never imagined ending up in a place like this.

I don't like private places, I can tell the difference in the Dr.'s attitude when treating patients that pay out of pocket vs patients that the government pays for treatment. It goes against my ethical principles… I can't advocate for my patients or get involved… It's soo limiting.

I know I have to suck it up for now, to gain some sort of experience, but I would like to know what you guys think, has anyone every been hired in a hospital after working in a clinic?

Any advice to cheer me up? I feel super down

[llg, PhD, RN]

I am not in Canada ... so keep that in mind. But where I live in the US, we are desperate for peri-operative nurses. I would think you would be a prime candidate for those kinds of jobs. That would at least get your foot in the door of a hospital. If you developed a good reputation after working in peri-op for a while for a particular hospital, you would probably have a reasonable chance to switch into a different specialty.

To increase your "feel good" moments in peri-op ... once you have developed solid skills in that area ... maybe you could look for enriching experiences using those skills on a temporary basis. A lot of RN's at my hospital go on "medical mission" trips of various sorts for a week or two at a time. Peri-op skills are often valuable on such teams as they go into medically under-served areas around the world and perform various procedures. (e.g. "Operation Smile" or various church groups) That type of thing can be very fulfilling.

[ydnewrn]

I never got back to you! THANK YOU for this post, it did cheer me up! :)

[cocoa_puff]

Your job sounds awesome, just saying.