I am new to nursing but I don't want to do this anymore

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ruby_jane, BSN, RN

3,142 Posts

Specializes in ICU/community health/school nursing.
Whoa, whoa, whoa...

You have to take it easy there!

You mentioned "even though the most patients I've had is 5"...do you understand how crazy it is you're even able to do that? Taking care of five acute patients for 12 hours is badass, no matter how well you pull it off.

PREACH. Well said!

Specializes in CPAN.

Yes, give yourself more time. You seem very conscientious and that's a good quality in nursing. I cried a lot my first year. On the floor is very overwhelming, but after some experience, you can move to a specialty area if you wish.

ZenLover, MSN, RN, NP

1 Article; 132 Posts

Specializes in APRN / Critical Care Neuro.

I have felt exactly like you and agree with almost everything posted here. Everyone did great at responding to your stress and not shaming you for having it.

I worked in healthcare on the business side long before becoming a nurse. I realized I was helping people that didn't need help. I worked in healthcare to help those who couldn't help themselves. You have prioritize WHO you are there for. It can get easy to get overwhelmed with what the "shirts" want you to do or listen to....but remember deep down who you are there for. Learn to say no to whomever is not your priority...respectfully and be prepared to back it up with a why.

Learning to prioritize who you are concerned with at work and who will be your priority may not make you poster child for promotion, but it will save your sanity and in some cases your license. Your sanity and safety first always, then patient....then whomever else IF you have time. Don't worry about caring for those who can care for themselves. :)

Specializes in ICU.

What you are feeling sounds very normal, and I think nursing school does not really prepare you for feeling that way, even though I would say most of us went through the same thing. It takes a while to get your groove. Like others said, after about a year, you prob wont feel this way anymore, or at least it will be less often. You have to give it time. Make sure your having check ins with your manager and educator and tell them how your feeling. If they are any good they will validate you and tell you its ok. There were many times as a new grad I felt so overwhelmed I wanted to cry. You are literally still learning to be a nurse, even though you have graduated. Nursing school does not actually prepare you for the real world. Things take you longer because you are inexperienced. It just takes getting more experience unfortunately.

I just started a new job as an experienced nurse and even that was a bit overwhelming to me for the first few weeks. A whole new computer system, new staff, new doctors with their quirks etc. I was very frustrated for the first few weeks. It has gotten better. It will for you too.

Lane Therrell FNP, MSN, RN, NP

18 Articles; 192 Posts

Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Are you keeping a journal? Not only can a journal help you release those intrusive thoughts that keep you up at night, but it can help you remember, specifically, what was good about the good days. When you re-read your journal entries, you'll start to see patterns over time that can point you in the right direction in case you still feel doubtful after giving it your best shot for 6 more months.

That first year is terrible but it calms down and then one day you realize you are fine, getting your breaks, charting all done, etc. After the first 30 or 40 times I came home and said, "What a day!" I realized that what I was experiencing was baseline and not worth commenting on to my spouse.

This happened to me, too! My first 6 months or so of hospital bedside nursing were so stressful and unfulfilling. I would come home and vent/unload for an hour or longer every night! I NEVER took a proper lunch and my work phone would ring off the hook. After a few months I realized these "crazy" days were normal. So I made coming home a safe place. I took my shoes off outside, and hid my bag in the closet, changed my clothes immediately and enjoyed my evenings cooking and talking about anything except work (well, 99% except work!). I created a little routine that helped me separate my work life from my home life. That helped a lot.

And, as many people have discussed here, it was like one day it all fell into place for me. I was having more "good" days than bad (all still crazy busy, but just less stressful or dramatic). After about 8 months I was able to effectively manage the flow of the floor, had formed good relationships with doctors and support staff, and generally felt like I was doing a good job. But I still didn't like the work. So after I had about 11 months' experience, I applied for a couple jobs. It was a TOTALLY different experience than when I was a new grad. Every job I applied to called me for an interview. I accepted 3 interviews and was offered all 3 jobs. I took a school nurse job because I'm interested in community health and didn't want to work bedside anymore (maybe never again!).

It's been a great change for me. A new challenge is on the horizon for you, OP. With each shift you will become a better nurse. Eventually every shift will not feel like a hot mess (some still will). And after a year, you can look for something that suits you better. I would encourage you, OP, not to ditch nursing yet. This job just might not be right for you. There are SO MANY other avenues you can pursue after you have just a bit more experience.

Best of luck! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions!

kat7464

69 Posts

Specializes in Hospice, home health, LTC.

You either love nursing or you don't. Loving it doesn't make it easy. But if you are not called to it please leave. Very difficult decision to make for many nurses. Why did you become a nurse in the first place? If it was for convenience, money, or status, forget it. You have to love your patient (and their families) and be willing to show up, serve their needs, and forget about yourself (to a large extent). If you can't do this move on. Blessings....

marpee

15 Posts

The way you are feeling is not abnormal for the amount of experience you had. I cried in the shower before going to work for 2 years. If you feel like there is more to do than you can handle, well there is. Hardest thing to learn in nursing is triaging. You are not going to get everything done. You need to prioritize. Stat orders first, visualizing all of your patients every 2-3 hours so you know they aren't in trouble or in unbearable pain. If you have to leave a patient in their own feces for an hour because your aids are busy and you are in the process of administering all your insulins before lunch. Well that is what you have to do. You aren't going to feel good about that, none of us do. All you can do is keep eyeing your aides to see if they can get in there and putting that as your next task after safely doing your insulin. And if you are in cleaning that patient and only half way done when the secretary buzzes in the room or calls you on your phone to tell you that your other patient down the hall was just found unresponsive, you may have to take a pillow case throw it over the poop, lay the patient back in it, put the bed down, this their covers over them and make sure they have their call light and leave. It really, really, really sucks to have to disappoint patients, because you care. You don't really ever get over this, you just kind of come to a realization that you are doing the best you can to keep everyone safe, out of pain, and clean and comfortable. I would suggest you hang in there for another 6 months or a year before you decide to get out of nursing, it does get easier once you get your time management down. But I would also tell you to go ahead and put out your resume on zip recruiter. Like don't write it as a nurse, list all your skills that you have to do as a nurse : good with time management, work independently as part of a team, good phone etiquette, etc. but don't make nursing your only marketable quality. Because it is easy to get cornered in nursing so getting out early on is a good idea. Also realize that you will be, most likely, taking a pay cut initially to get out of nursing. But yes, it is worth it to not feel sick all the time. Also nursing pay stagnates and so in 10 years you will be making pretty much the same amount of money that you did when you started unless you go into management. I would also suggest home care and doctor's offices, less stressful but the pay is again crappy. You will not find help on this website about non nursing jobs with nursing degrees because we are all employed as nurses here. We don't know what else to do or we would have gotten out a long time ago too...well about half of us anyway.

Well shared.

MSNMPHPhdNMD

189 Posts

Specializes in Hospice,LTC,Pacu,Regulatory,Operating room.

Med Surg sucks!!! It is a specialty that i disliked about nursing the most. But you need just a few more months and you can find a speciality. Let me ask you this, when you started nursing school what did you envision your nursing career to be? I want you to do this everyday at work. Take care of your patients,do it and get it done ask for help if needed. Then Go home and think no more about it ,bathe,watch TV,hang out with friends and family.

You may have developed some anxiety and going into another career option 6 mos in is not going to help that as you may carry that same anxiety into the next career as well.

sphinx99

4 Posts

I agree with others that you should stick it out longer.... But find out your hospitals policy for transferring. While other areas can be just as intense, they may be more to your liking. Stick it out a year, by then you will be more "marketable". You can try clinics, urgent care, doctors office, etc. I've been a nurse 22 years and have done many different things: vascular surgery unit, birthing center, home care (as CHN but also as, case assist and then was lead educator when an agency was switching from, paper to computer charting), clinic, SICU, rehab,weekend/evening supervisor at a nursing home and now I'm back where you are, on a tele, cardiac med surg unit. After 20 years of nursing, 10 of it out of the hospital environment, it was so hard! It took me over a year to begin to feel comfortable again. I cried, I wanted to quit, my gut twisting with stress. After all this time, the job certainly has its share of stressful days. First, leave work at work. Easier said then done, but find a way to blow off steam between the time you clock out and when you get home. Yoga, exercise, meditation, etc. Whatever works for you (I personally get home, change Immediately, get cleaned up, then take no more then 10 minutes to vent). Whatever you do, It doesn't need to take much time. But since I learned to do that, I've found my job to be less stressful. The great thing about nursing is that there are so many career paths. Second, do not be afraid to ask for help. That took me years to get used to. Everybody needs help sometimes. Learn to delegate. It take time to get used to all this, but before you know it you will feel more, confident.

NurseNeLz

71 Posts

You need to hand in there. The first year is the hardest. You will find your groove. Its not a good freeling to quit at something you worked so hard for.

I'm 31, only been an LPN for almost 3 years but I remember feeling like you. I agree with what everyone else said. It truly will get better. Time management & prioritizing are huge. My tip would be to find an older experienced nurse and ask her for suggestions, watch her and learn from her. There is nothing more valuable to a new nurse than a seasoned one! They are like gold! All you can do is just do your best, and rest in that. No one is perfect. I remember feeling like I was never going to "get it". Everything is new and overwhelming. But one day, it will start to click, and you will be more confident and enjoy it more. Hang in there! Like other people suggested if after a year you really don't think bedside nursing is for you, try something else! There are so many options. good luck! :)

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