Well, the start of a new year and I'm kissing nursing
good bye after only 5 short months. I graduated in may and started at a hospital in august. My very first preceptor was a nightmare, on my 3rd day on the floor she said I was too slow and put me down in front of other
nurses or whoever was in distance of hearing her. At one
point she even said, "well, I have her she know's nothing I have to show her everything." So being enthusiastic I decided NOT to let it get to me and proceeded to take her C*ap for another couple of weeks. At which time I was moved to a different floor with a preceptor who was great and I learned alot from. PRoblem was at this hospital IF
I wanted to stay I'd have to take a evening position. SO I left a found a hosptial closer to home on days. Well, once again I have the preceptor from hell not only that but the managers In my opinion are nitpickers. ON my first day on the floor they wrote up a nurse who was in charge of making sure all the phones were back at the end of the day, for not having a phone returned. (someone took one home accidentally).. I found this ridiculous, it's a busy med/surg floor with an 8:1 patient ratio and they are worried about PHONES???? I could go on and on about the other horrors but it would be to long.
Long story short I've decide to quit. Luckily I don't NEED the job to support myself or I wouldn't be able to leave. my hubby makes a decent salary. I do feel bad placing all the financial burden on him but I'm planning on just picking up a admin position somewhere. I don't care if I'm making half the money I jsut want to be happy. I'm so SICK of being stressed going into work, stressed coming home, worrying about this, being stressed on the floor. To me its just not worth it. My hubby is worried that I'll change my mind and want to come back to nursing but won't be able to after leaving 2 prior positions. bUt seriously I can't imagine feeling this way.
I also just found out I'm expecting my first child and I really can't imagine the stress level as well as not eating/drinking/peeing an entire shift is good. So I'm gone. I give up, I give in, I just feel like I can't do it. I'm thinking I'm just not meant to be in nursing, or i woudn't have just kept inheriting bad circumstances and preceptors from hell.
Well, I'd love to hear if anyone else has left nursing? come back and any other thoughts you all might have.
It sounds like you have had a rough go of it as a new grad. that sucks. Have you thought of going into a different area of nursing? Hospital and LTC aren't the only ways to go. I never in a million years would have thought I would be where I am at but I LOVE my job and the people I work with, a friend had applied for a job and didn't take it because of the pay, she told me about it and I applied and took the job....after a few weeks in LTC she called me seeing if there were any other positions available! she now works there as well and loves it...I know hospitals and LTC are the higher paying areas at least where I live but if you are willing to take a cut for admin. maybe it's a thought. Well good luck to you and congrat's on the baby!:balloons:
Well, deep breath. OK. Keep up your license, absolutely. Mazel Tov (congrats) re: pregnancy.
You might want to pick up a doctor's office job. Low pay compared to the hospital but day hours, probably no weekends, definitely no night shifts or holidays. Or maybe school nursing. Also, you might consider taking some LTC or hospital work part-time. You maybe aren't feeling so well right now and will see things differently once early pregnancy is past. Also, what about opening a day care in your home? You could care for children with minor illnesses, being an RN, if you have the confidence to do it. You know about handwashing, isolation, sanitation and could safely do it, while also caring for your own child.
I just hate to see you throw away all your hard work. I also hate to think about the sad possibility that you might someday have to support yourself and your child. Not wishing bad for you but sickness, husband losing his job for whatever reason, death, divorce - these things happen. You must be able to fend for yourself.
I hope you rethink this and find a workable solution. God bless you.
It amazes me that a few nurses can be so cruel and make others feel bad. Keep your license current! You may find one of the may lines outside of the hospital are where you fit right in! I know MANY who were so anxious about going to work at the hospital, but could not wait to get to work when they went to hospice or home health. I know a few others that work in offices and small surgical centers that enjoy going to work.
Enjoy the baby, and keep your ears and your heart open!
Don't give up on nursing, even though you had terrible experiences. There are many rewarding nursing careers that allow
you to work independently or with decent people. Dr's offices, home health care, insurance companies, managed care, surgery centers, adult day care centers, mobile blood banks, sales and marketing just to name a few. You worked to hard to throw it all away. Those mean precepters need to get off that high horse and walk with the rest of the tribe! Good luck in what ever you decide.
sorry u had such a terrible time. when i started my orientation was just horrible. worked thee six monthes and started looking into going back to school for something else. at the urging of some coworkers decided to try another facility before i quit nursing. this other hospital is great.
problem with nursing is that school does not provide any real insight inot the real world. they paint a picture of what nursing SHOULD be not what it is. so when u graduate and it doesn't work that way u feel like a failure. not necessarily because u aren't doing what u r supposed to do; but because u are failing to do what u always thought u could do.
Wow, has anyone noticed how many post has been placed by all the respondants to this post? On average, they are fairly low numbers which has me wondering, are we mostly newbies concerned with this post? My wife, a nurse of 30 years, has done and seen alot in nursing. She is a Hospice case load manager now and she loves the autonomy. My point being, there are good jobs out there.
I'm so sorry to hear about your experience! I would not give up just yet though. I had a similar experience as a young nurse many years ago. I quit after 3 months at a huge teaching hospital, tolerating things from other nurses I would NEVER put up with now- and went to work in a laboratory!! A year later I felt ready to try again, so I went to a small hospital (300 bed) & it was great. I might add that 3-11 is a little less stressful than day shift, no admin. around, and more laid back- easier to learn-- I learned alot, stayed 5 yrs b/f I moved out of state. Consider using the time you're pregnant to learn & then you'll at least have some experience under your belt & if you choose to go per diem you won't be trying to orient while working only a few days/wk. You may not need the income now, but it's always good to have a back-up plan for the future.
To everyone that has posted so far - I just want to THANK YOU ALL so much for your encouraging words and being willing to share personal insights and advice.
I'm not going to give up my license I will keep it up as many of you have suggested. I also will probably look for work (not immediately) in a doc's office.
Penguin2 you said you worked for awhile in a lab? what did you do there? just being curious.
Does anyone know what they look for you to do in a doc's office? BP, height, weight? what else?
At the moment though I feel like I have this "cloud" of mean people that have appeared at each job so I want to give it some time for I go reapplying for a new job.
thanks again to everyone for all your suggestions, keep em coming....
Healer27 it sounds like you didn't get the introduction to the nursing life. Not all nurses work in hospitals. I didn't until I'd been out of school almost 5 years. In life there are just mean people. There are also nice people and you sound like you are one.
Congratulations on the little one. Don't leave, just take a short vacation.
Don't let a couple of experiences scare you off from what you've worked so hard to attain. If you are leaving temporarily because of your pregnancy, that's one thing, but to leave altogether seems extreme, IMO.
I hope you'll reconsider, and look for something else.
damarystx
83 Posts
It sounds like you have had a rough go of it as a new grad. that sucks. Have you thought of going into a different area of nursing? Hospital and LTC aren't the only ways to go. I never in a million years would have thought I would be where I am at but I LOVE my job and the people I work with, a friend had applied for a job and didn't take it because of the pay, she told me about it and I applied and took the job....after a few weeks in LTC she called me seeing if there were any other positions available! she now works there as well and loves it...I know hospitals and LTC are the higher paying areas at least where I live but if you are willing to take a cut for admin. maybe it's a thought. Well good luck to you and congrat's on the baby!:balloons: