my first year was awful .....now what?

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Hello all, this is my first time to visit this website. i was reading some of the posts on "first year nursing" and was so relieved to see i am not the only new nurse feeling hopeless. i graduated in my 2003 and took a telemetry job in a huge hospital in louisville ky and it didnt take 2 weeks for me to start thinking i had made a huge mistake in choosing nursing. i stuck it out for 9 months but everyweekend when i headed to my night shift job i cried the entire hour drive to work, then during report it was all i could do to hold it together and not let my coworkers see how scared to death i was to face the coming night ahead. i am an army wife so when my husband got orders to move overseas i was soo relieved because now i had and excuse to quit this job. its been a year and a half and i still make excuses not to get a job. i finally broke down and told my husband how miserable i was and even thinking of looking for another nursing job makes me absolutely sick to my stomach. i have flash backs to all the stress and anxiety.

the most upsetting thing to the entire situation is i never doubted this was what i wanted to do. since i can remember i wanted to be nurse and now to realize i have spent years chasing a career i cant stand has almost depressed me as much as anything.

should i give up and start a new career or should i have given it more time. any advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated.

thanks for listening

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Specializes in Ultrasound guided peripheral IV's..

Opes,

Just my thoughts here, but I think where you might of made a mistake is going into Tele right off the bat. As alot of folks have posted in the past, starting off on Med/Surg gives you a very strong base to work from. I for one could not have imagined going straight from school to cardiac meds, monitors, strips, and all of that Tele stuff. I had a hard enough time remembering which end was up let alone all of that.

So I guess what I am saying is this. Don't quit until you have gone back and tried Med/Surg, or some other area of nursing. All is not as bad as what it sounds like you went through!

Take Care & Good Luck,

Dan

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Specializes in ICU, telemetry, LTAC.

My advice would be to keep your license current, no matter what you decide. That way, if a less stressful nursing job should come your way, you'll be able to take it. You worked your tootie off for your license, keep it.

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Specializes in Med/Surge.

Opes-

I think that before you give up totally on nursing you should look at all the other avenues that nursing has to offer that might be less stressful like Dan said. There are so many other avenues to pursue like school nursing. I think nursing does require some degree of stress no matter where you end up b/c peoples lives are in your hands but if you want less stress I don't think MS is the place to get it. MS will help reorient you to skills etc, but definately a high level of stress but probably different from the tele unit you were on. I can't imagine starting on a tele floor.

Good luck on your decision.

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.
My advice would be to keep your license current, no matter what you decide. That way, if a less stressful nursing job should come your way, you'll be able to take it. You worked your tootie off for your license, keep it.

I agree with this post. Also, you never know if you want to come back. Best of luck to you in whatever you decide. :)

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Hello all, this is my first time to visit this website. i was reading some of the posts on "first year nursing" and was so relieved to see i am not the only new nurse feeling hopeless. i graduated in my 2003 and took a telemetry job in a huge hospital in louisville ky and it didnt take 2 weeks for me to start thinking i had made a huge mistake in choosing nursing. i stuck it out for 9 months but everyweekend when i headed to my night shift job i cried the entire hour drive to work, then during report it was all i could do to hold it together and not let my coworkers see how scared to death i was to face the coming night ahead. i am an army wife so when my husband got orders to move overseas i was soo relieved because now i had and excuse to quit this job. its been a year and a half and i still make excuses not to get a job. i finally broke down and told my husband how miserable i was and even thinking of looking for another nursing job makes me absolutely sick to my stomach. i have flash backs to all the stress and anxiety.

the most upsetting thing to the entire situation is i never doubted this was what i wanted to do. since i can remember i wanted to be nurse and now to realize i have spent years chasing a career i cant stand has almost depressed me as much as anything.

should i give up and start a new career or should i have given it more time. any advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated.

thanks for listening

I'm so sorry that your first year of nursing did not turn out better. One of the things that attracted me to nursing was that you can do so many different things with your degree. If one area does not suit you, there are 20 more to choose from. Since you have basically had your year of experience, have you tried to work in a doctor's office? The hours are daytime, 9-5, weekends and holidays off. A lot less stress than in a hospital, i would think. I won't graduate until this December with my BSN, so I am not a nurse yet. But, I would hate for you too give up on nursing altogether, because I know what a long rough road it takes to get it. Good luck.

Brina

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Specializes in Behavioral Health.

A few things...maybe telemetry was just not the right postion for you. Also, maybe working nights was not right for you. Don't jump ship just yet.

I, too, graduated in 2003...took a job in telemetry/ICU working 1900-0730. I was flippin' miserable. Hated the facility, never really bonded with my coworkers, had lots of erratic thoughts, etc.

I took a leap of faith and applied for a postion in L&D at another hospital...started out on the 1500-2330 shift and made it to day shift after 6 months. Almost 2 yrs. later, I definitely don't regret my decision...L&D is where I belong.

I agree with the others that you should definitely keep your license current. From one military spouse to another, here's a great big(((((hug))))). Best wishes!

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Don't give up. The first year of nursing is very hard, you feel like a fish out of water. They teach you enough in nursing school to get by, the real learning comes after graduation. There are lots of options in nursing. I for one do not like the hospitla setting. You just have to find what works for you. You worked too hard to become an RN do give that up.

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Hello all, this is my first time to visit this website. i was reading some of the posts on "first year nursing" and was so relieved to see i am not the only new nurse feeling hopeless. i graduated in my 2003 and took a telemetry job in a huge hospital in louisville ky and it didnt take 2 weeks for me to start thinking i had made a huge mistake in choosing nursing. i stuck it out for 9 months but everyweekend when i headed to my night shift job i cried the entire hour drive to work, then during report it was all i could do to hold it together and not let my coworkers see how scared to death i was to face the coming night ahead. i am an army wife so when my husband got orders to move overseas i was soo relieved because now i had and excuse to quit this job. its been a year and a half and i still make excuses not to get a job. i finally broke down and told my husband how miserable i was and even thinking of looking for another nursing job makes me absolutely sick to my stomach. i have flash backs to all the stress and anxiety.

the most upsetting thing to the entire situation is i never doubted this was what i wanted to do. since i can remember i wanted to be nurse and now to realize i have spent years chasing a career i cant stand has almost depressed me as much as anything.

should i give up and start a new career or should i have given it more time. any advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated.

thanks for listening

I agree with Dandif. I think because you're immediately starting out in telemetry which obviously isn't an area of nursing that you like, you're generalizing that every nursing field is like that. I'm here to say it is not. I started out in med/surg for two years and that gave me a great opportunity to enhance my skills and build my knowledge up. Granted, I knew med/surg was not where I wanted to be the rest of my career, but I knew the importance of building a solid foundation. Once I got those 2 years of experience under my belt, that gave me the freedom to branch off into many different areas of nursing. I'm now and RN Case Manager and I love it! So my advice to you is - HANG IN THERE! You never have to settle working where you're not comfortable, and most importantly...where you're not happy! Best of luck to you!

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Opes,

Just my thoughts here, but I think where you might of made a mistake is going into Tele right off the bat. As alot of folks have posted in the past, starting off on Med/Surg gives you a very strong base to work from. I for one could not have imagined going straight from school to cardiac meds, monitors, strips, and all of that Tele stuff. I had a hard enough time remembering which end was up let alone all of that.

So I guess what I am saying is this. Don't quit until you have gone back and tried Med/Surg, or some other area of nursing. All is not as bad as what it sounds like you went through!

Take Care & Good Luck,

Dan

THANKS FOR THE ADVICE. I WILL TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION AND I APPRECIATE YOUR THOUGHTS.

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THANK YOU TO ALL WHO RESPONDED TO MY FIRST THREAD. YOU ALL WERE SO SUPPORTIVE AND GAVE ME ALOT TO THINK ABOUT. IT HELPED JUST SAYING TO PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND WHAT ITS LIKE AND WHO HAVE BEEN THROUGH IT TOO (I NEVER REALIZED SO MANY HAD) I FEEL MUCH BETTER NOW AND I HOPE TO FIND MY NITCH IN NURSING. THANKS FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT. :balloons:

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Hello all, this is my first time to visit this website. i was reading some of the posts on "first year nursing" and was so relieved to see i am not the only new nurse feeling hopeless. i graduated in my 2003 and took a telemetry job in a huge hospital in louisville ky and it didnt take 2 weeks for me to start thinking i had made a huge mistake in choosing nursing. i stuck it out for 9 months but everyweekend when i headed to my night shift job i cried the entire hour drive to work, then during report it was all i could do to hold it together and not let my coworkers see how scared to death i was to face the coming night ahead. i am an army wife so when my husband got orders to move overseas i was soo relieved because now i had and excuse to quit this job. its been a year and a half and i still make excuses not to get a job. i finally broke down and told my husband how miserable i was and even thinking of looking for another nursing job makes me absolutely sick to my stomach. i have flash backs to all the stress and anxiety.

the most upsetting thing to the entire situation is i never doubted this was what i wanted to do. since i can remember i wanted to be nurse and now to realize i have spent years chasing a career i cant stand has almost depressed me as much as anything.

should i give up and start a new career or should i have given it more time. any advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated.

thanks for listening

I would definitely give it another try. there are so many wonderful jobs out there!!

Nursing is my second career and it is the best ting I ever did!

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