From deadening boredom to high anxiety

[garciadiego]

I transfererd from a LTC RN position that I held for many years to a MED SURG position about 4 months ago, I had never worked Med Surg before

Now I have gone from LTC boredom to Med Surg anxiety.

My anxiety stems not so much that patients are going bad, shock etc., although that happens a few times, but from the fact there is so much to do, I feel I'm ALWAYS behind and never get caught up. As a result Im constantly stressed for the majority of my 12 hour shift. Co workers say I sigh alot, which is true, I'm contantly deep sighing out of anxiey with the discarges, admits and every other damn thing going on.

Will it always be like this? Is there any way I can look at the job so Im not so stressed? a change of perspective? how do you all view your Med Surg job? I want to stay here cause I see it has potential for growth.

Sorry for the long post...sigh.

[garciadiego]

I thought by now I would get at least one reply. My plight must be unique.

[JerseyGirl73]

Hi....I came to nursing 8 mo. ago after working many years in another field entirely (i.e., computers) and med surg is where I "hit the ground running".

That is what we do there much of the time, no lie.

Being stressed and anxious for about the first 6 months in NORMAL! You are having to learn new skills, juggle several pts, thier meds, their transfers, the phone calls, the families, and on and on.

I was physically and mentally exhausted ALL THE TIME for those first 6 months.

I am now happy to say that it is better, I'm glad I stuck it out. I think med surg is interesting; each day is different than the one before, and I like it.

It WILL get better, trust me!

[kar212]

No,your problem is not unique! I worked in LTC for the first 2 1/2 years of my career and have worked in med-surg for the past 8 years. For the past 2 years, I have been working only 1,sometimes 2 nights a week, per diem. Anyway, I seldom have a night at work that goes smoothly. There is constant chaos and I almost never get out on time. I guess my time management skills need improvement. (Sigh) I feel for you!

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

BTDT. I felt the same way about it that you do......I was bored to tears as a charge nurse in LTC, but all the excitement of acute care stressed me out so much that I eventually left for a "tamer" position as a DON in an assisted living facility. Now I'm frazzled again, but it's not the same kind of frazzled---at least here, I have some control over my stress levels.

Just my two pennies' worth.

[WSUnurse]

I agree about med-surg being very busy. I have only working as a med-surg RN for about 2 1/2 months and I am constantly busy at work, although I feel like mostly all I do is pass medications and fill orders all day. Does anyone else feel this way?

[Longie]

Let me tell ya, I'm coming up on 2 years of Med Surg working three 12s a week sometimes four and most days it's still Stress City. Feeling behind all day long, meds late, worried I've missed something, family members wanting waited on, questions answered, staff out sick or going to meetings and you have to help cover for them, it never ends. I'm on a small unit, charge takes patients too and each nurse is responsible for signing off her own orders, doing her admissions, discharges, etc. It's really frustrating when you come in and 3 out of 5 pts are being discharged, med reconcilation on computers here is long and complicated and docs don't want to comply, and the CA is calling with admits before the rooms are cleaned, meanwhile you've got your other 2 pts and docs writing orders right and left on them, families wanting answers/waited on, fingersticks to do... What keeps me going is the experience and education I am receiving along the way and most of my coworkers are supportive. I wanted Med Surg all through nursing school and don't regret my decision one bit, and actually feel I've become stronger over time (my manager and peers have said so too) since I've graduated...it's just hard to see the forest for the trees some days. Keep plugging away. :wink2:

[RNSuzq1, RN]

I thought by now I would get at least one reply. My plight must be unique.

Hi Garcia,

Your plight is sadly not unique... I've been in Med/Surg for almost 2 years and no 2 nights have ever been the same. We're constantly busy, get admissions all night long, so "nobody" ever leaves on time - most 12 hour shifts turn into 14. I don't get home some mornings until 10am and have to be back up by 4:30 to get ready and head back to work. That's only 6 hours to grab something to eat and get a few hours of sleep. Starting out your shift already exhausted from lack of sleep just adds to the stress of the job.

As for the "sighing" - we're always short-staffed, so we do a lot of that out of frustration that they won't get us anymore help (not in the front the patients though). Since you'll almost always have several pt's or family members that want/need something at the same time, it's more about prioritizing and delegating than time mgmt (because there never seems to be enough time to get to everything).

I was floated to the ER last week. After the shift, one of the ER Nurses said - I'll bet your not used to this kind of pace on your Med/Surg Floor, you must be tired. I said - absolutely not, We're a Whole Lot Busier Upstairs!!! Anyways, just wanted you to know you're not alone - hope it gets better for you...

[veronica butterfly, ADN, RN]

I stopped throwing up on my way to work after being on Med/Surg about 7 months. I've been there 2 years now and feel much more comfortable. Most of the time it is crazy and partially out of control, but you'll start to have repetition with illnesses/surgeries. Even though each patient and their families are different, you'll have a good base understanding of what to do for the various disease processes (chf, knee and hips, nausea and vomiting/dehydration, ng tubes, etc.).

Do your best when you're there, and remember it's a 24/7 operation. What you don't get done, the next shift will do their best too. I'm lucky to be at a hospital where we have good teamwork and everybody is pretty forgiving.