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.
Specializes in ER, NICU, NSY and some other stuff.
You could try another area. Sit back and think about what area you think would be enjoyable for you. The great thing about nursing is that there are almost no limits to the different ways you can practice.
If you do take another job make sure that you get an orientation that YOU are satisfied with. If you want to work in house you could look at one of the specialty hospitals. Nurse/patient ratios are lower so a little less hectic and overwhelming. Maybe you would enjoy something like home health or hospice.
Another thing you might want to do getting back in would be to take a part-time, ECB or PRN position. If your finances do not demand you work full time hours.
I agree w/the other posters: you just haven't found your niche yet. There are sooo many different things to do in nursing. If there is a hospital near your husband's station, ask to shadow some nurses in a few departments. Maybe something will click as the "right fit".
Also, doing long distance continuing ed in different fields might give you a taste, too.
I agree w/the other posters: you just haven't found your niche yet. There are sooo many different things to do in nursing. If there is a hospital near your husband's station, ask to shadow some nurses in a few departments. Maybe something will click as the "right fit".
Also, doing long distance continuing ed in different fields might give you a taste, too.
Good luck!
It wasn't long after graduation from nursing that I too was hired on to a tele floor. What I found out is that tele nursing is like one of the hardest areas to work in a hospital. Of course, most areas in nursing are challenging - this is something that I can't explain, but can definitely identify with where your anxiety comes from. I eventually got married and relocated. Then, started a job in ER/Trauma and felt much better about my career.
I think this is a matter of finding your niche in nursing, once you find this - you will feel a bit at ease with your decision to go into the profession. Hope this helps.
I agree, always best to go back to basics and gain confidence from there. Tele nursing is like drinking from a firehose. For a formula for success try med surg nursing and look for mentors / preceptors with characteristics that feel warm and comfortable to you.
I agree with the posts above and want to add an additional thought....
What did you learn about yourself during that first year? In particular, what did you learn about yourself -- as a nurse, as an employee, as a person -- that can help you make good choices in the future?
As you reflect upon your experiences in your first RN job, try to learn something from those experiences. Maybe you can identify certain aspects of nursing that you did enjoy. Maybe you will discover that there are certain aspects that you want to avoid in the future. Identify your strengths and your weaknesses. Think through what it is that you want most from a job -- and what you don't want -- being realistic to remember that while we should not have to miserable in our work, there will almost always be some aspects of a any job that we don't like.
It wasn't long after graduation from nursing that I too was hired on to a tele floor. What I found out is that tele nursing is like one of the hardest areas to work in a hospital. Of course, most areas in nursing are challenging - this is something that I can't explain, but can definitely identify with where your anxiety comes from. I eventually got married and relocated. Then, started a job in ER/Trauma and felt much better about my career.
I think this is a matter of finding your niche in nursing, once you find this - you will feel a bit at ease with your decision to go into the profession. Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Ginger
I agree. I recently started working on a m/s tele floor, and feel completely out of my league. I have not yet finished orientation, and wonder what the heck I'll do when I have to handle the patient's problems entirely on my own. Another point I've struggled with is reading the monitors/EKG. Anyone have any advice? I thought that this med/surg tele floor would be a good starting point, but I have doubted my choice since day one.
I also had a horrible start to my nursing career. My first job I was always behind, felt overwhelmed most of the time, and after 2 mos I was asked to go back on orientation because I just wasn't cutting it. I found a solution-I quit and started over at a different hospital. In 3 mos I was serving as a mentor for new staff and comfortable in my position; I've been here 20 years. Every hospital has a different nursing philosophy. You may just need to find one that is a better fit to your skills and personality/ or one that provides a more supportive new grad orientation. Hang-in there, a nursing degree is a terrible thing to waste!
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.
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
Here's an idea for you. Make an appointment to talk to a nurse recruiter at a larger hospital where you live. Sit down and talk to the recruiter about what went on during your year of working. Ask her what she would advise you to do. For one thing, she might give you some very valuable ideas on a kind of nursing position you should be looking for. She might think you would be a good employee for their facility and make a job offer. In any case, if you don't get a job offer you won't have lost anything and, hopefully, you'll have gotten some free advice from a professional hirer (is that a word?)
I would also think about taking a little trip back to your alma mater and telling one of your old instructors what has happened since you left school. They may have some other valuable advice for you. They will not treat you like a student now that you are licensed. They may have heard these kind of experiences from other graduates and have some words of advice and encouragement for you since you are now colleagues.
Everybody agrees, give it another shot but even if you don't want to, you should at least keep your license current. What is nursing like in Germany? I know there are people here at allnurses that can give you info. Tele is a crazy crazy area. I am agency and do a little bit of everything but I hate tele. I still have to control my breathing sometimes in report. I did burns as a new grad in an inner city hospital. It was trench nursing at its worst. Makes me sick to even think about it. When I moved on I thought that's what nursing was. I had no idea that I could be happy and enjoy my job. But I am very satisfied with the profession I have chosen.
babynurselsa, RN
1,129 Posts
You could try another area. Sit back and think about what area you think would be enjoyable for you. The great thing about nursing is that there are almost no limits to the different ways you can practice.
If you do take another job make sure that you get an orientation that YOU are satisfied with. If you want to work in house you could look at one of the specialty hospitals. Nurse/patient ratios are lower so a little less hectic and overwhelming. Maybe you would enjoy something like home health or hospice.
Another thing you might want to do getting back in would be to take a part-time, ECB or PRN position. If your finances do not demand you work full time hours.
Just some thoughts. Good luck to you.