Has anyone ever quit a new job after a few weeks?

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I hate my new job. As it is my third job in a year and a half as a nurse, I have decided that I am leaving the profession. With the help of a career counselor, I have determined that it is not about not finding my niche in nursing. I truly made a poor career decision. Now I'm left with yet another dilemma. I don't know what to do about my current job. I've been working on a med-surg unit for about 6 weeks. This job is destroying me. For the first time in my life, I believe I am truly depressed. My husband and I are fighting all the time and it is directly related to the fact that I hate my job and I am consumed by it. It's basically all I can think about even when I am not working. My health is suffering as well. I was recently diagnosed with a gastric ulcer and this added stress is not helping.

I desperately just want to call my work and tell them that I am not coming back. I don't think I can bear to stick it out for a two-week notice. But I am worried about the consequences of doing this. I am planning on going back to school for an MPH and I work for a large university system. In the future, I may want to work there again, although NEVER as a nurse. Does anyone knows what happens in circumstances like this? If years later, I apply for a position unrelated to nursing, would they not hire me based on the fact that I quit without a notice? On the other hand, even if I do give a notice, would they still not hire me since I only worked there for 6 weeks? I am worried about the fact I will be tagged a "job-hopper" if I quit this job and never be able to find another position, even if it is unrelated to nursing. But this job is bringing me down and it feels like nothing is worth the stress and unhappiness. Any advice?

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Specializes in rehab, long-term care, ortho.

Give your 2-week notice. You should never burn bridges....you don't know what the future holds and you may want to work there again in another capacity. Two weeks may seem like forever but in reality it's only 2 weeks.

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Hi there,

So I quit my first job as a nurse after working at the facility for about 6 weeks. I won't get into details, but I hated every second of my time at the hopsital, and couldn't bear to continue my employment there. It was an unsafe, negative environment.

I quit in a pretty unprofessional manner - I called HR and told them I wouldn't be back, and I also called my nurse manager to let her know. I did not give 2 weeks notice, I just thanked them up and down for the opportunity they had given me, and apologized that it wasn't working out.

My nurse manager was surprisingly nice about it. She first wanted to see if there was anyway she could make me change my mind about leaving, then she wanted my reasoning for feeling the way I did. She said that she appreciated that I was being upfront. I had a guilty conscience, too - I felt it would have been unfair of me to continue my emloyment there when my heart wasn't in it. And I did not want my preceptor wasting her energy teaching me when I knew I wouldn't stay long.

Since you've only been at your job for a short time, it is likely that you are still orienting (?). I quit before my orientation was finished, which was, in a way, a good thing, because I was not leaving the floor short on staff (I was still sharing a patient load with my preceptor).

This job is not on my resume. I felt it was unnecessary to include it since I was there for a very short time and I left on my own terms (wasn't terminated or asked to leave). When I interviewed for my current job, I told the interviewing NM that I had been emloyed by this hospital and briefly described the situation and explained - in short- how it wasn't for me. I talked about the job in a positive light, talked about the things I learned there, and was extremely careful not to talk negatively about anyone or anything that went on there.

I am not sure that I would be hired back at that facility. I can't imagaine ever wanting to be. What was most important to me at the time was my sanity and the protection of my liscense. So, I quit abruptly. It has worked out fine for me thus far, but its always possible I'll run into some consequence in the future that will make me wish I had given proper notice.

Anyways hope that helps to know you're not alone on this one. Just be sure to weigh all the pros and cons before doing anything you'll regret. I felt like a million bucks once I was free from that toxic job. I dont regret a thing!

Good luck in your non-nursing future, hope all goes well!

RNurse143

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Specializes in Gyn Onc, OB, L&D, HH/Hospice/Palliative.

I quit a position within the same facility I am still employed at... that was 12 yrs ago, only job I couldn't stand, but hung in the 2 wks, the nurse manager was great, she didn't want me to leave, but it was complicated ( bullying by the MD's) noooo way, anyway, if youwant to leave on good terms and keep the door open, you really have to suck it up and do your time, if you mentally and emotionally absolutely can't do it, leave but dont use that job as a reference,,BTW, MY state was so bad I had to reach out to my MD I wasa mess, anxiety,panic and insomnia. She gave me some antianxiety meds to get me thru the end and it really helped,Idont use that job as a reference even though Icould, my performance was fine, I just feel 2 months is too short , and I just assume to forget the whole thing

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well i really know how you feel about wanting to stick it out, i have been a cna for 13 years and of course its not been in the same place. but where i work now i quit on them 2 times,they never wanted me to quit so i went in and had a talk with my don,and adminenastrator?? i take my care on patients very very personal i love to take care of people and i love to make them happy.doing my job the right way is the way i want it to be,you know believe it or not, but god watches our every move on his people...

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A few weeks? Try the third day of orientation.

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Specializes in Post Anesthesia.

I don't know many nurses who haven't quit a job after a few weeks- esp in the first couple of years of practice. What a shame someone in your nursing school didn't see this comming and advise you against a nursing degree before you spent so much time getting your licence.- Please don't flame me - some people will not be happy as nurses and it's the partialy the responsibility of the nursing educators to pick up on that before a person spends 4-6years getting a licence to do a job they hate. On the other hand thier are options to be considered. Try looking at non hospital based nursing care for starters- Visiting Nurse Service, Dialysis, Health Department, School or Camp Nursing even drug or equipment rep. The list is almost endless and some of these positions bear so little resemblence to inpatient health care you may as well be in a different career. Often they don't pay as well but neither does quitting and being unemployed. Good luck!

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Specializes in Community, Renal, OR.

Hi,

I have quit two jobs with no notice, one was after 4 weeks the other after 12 weeks. I just sent in a medical certificate from my doctor for two weeks with my written resignation. They have never come back to bite me in a career that spans 30 years. The healthcare market is huge and I have never needed to apply to those facilities again.

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Specializes in Adult Care- Neuro ICU, Ortho, IRU, Pedi.

hmmm....after a few hours into orientation

I returned to a facility that I had once worked at as a nurse and quit within 6 months. I knew of their crooked practices even though they were a "Christian" based organization. I took the position they offered d/t benefits, tuition reimbursement, overnight daycare etc. I thought to myself I can do this. I can work for them while I'm in school for the year and tough it out. But....the whole time in my heart I knew how I was previously treated as an employee and the lies and deciet. They even had a lay-off that was only found out about after the news reported it and many people lost their jobs d/t the shoddy financial practices. The tension kept building up inside me the more they talked about their practices of being a Jesus-like facility. I felt like I was in Sunday school again and a Sister even openly scolded someone for speaking out of turn. Once the Sister decided to give a prelunch prayer I was just seething to get out of there for the break before I exploded. Right before giving her prayer she stated something to effect of if we didn't think that as employees we could practice with Jesus in our heart that we were welcome to leave because they didn't want employees like that, I thought well here's my chance. If I was going to make a stand for anything I better do it now. And you know right there in front of all the hospital adminsitrators and managers present I stood up and dismissed myself politely and quietly from the front row and do you know that 4 other nurses did the same thing! I'm glad I had the guts to do it when I did and that others followed me. They all thanked me for helping them "see the light" LOL. I don't believe that organized religion should be involved with healthcare. I'm sure others have differing opinions but in my experience at a few (3) facilities is that nothing good can come of it except when a patient or family request spiritual/chaplin services. I am glad I stood up for what I believe before I got sucked back into feeling like a fraud. Nothing is worse than crying on the way to work your shift because you are so miserable there. I have left many shifts crying but when you cry coming in it's time to reconsider. I'm gonna do enough crying once returning to nursing school why stress out over my position as well? I love my patients, my fellow nurses that are more than co-workers but great frineds and my career but not enough to burn myself at the stake. There are so many jobs out there for you not to sacrafice your health or your relationship over. Good luck with the career search and keep everyone updated.

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Specializes in pediatric and geriatric.

Sorry to hear you are unhappy as a nurse. Have you tried anything less stressful such as home health? Any way you have to do whats best for yourself and your health. I also have left a job early in orientation (like the second day). Sometimes you just know it is not going to work out. Don't beat yourself up, just move on and take care of yourself. Good luck.

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Specializes in Med/Surg; Psych; Tele.

HealthyRN,

What about going onto your facility's website and looking up non-clinical jobs available there, RN or not? Social services, nursing informatics, educator, utilization reviewer, patient advocate, etc., or even something administrative like patient admissions.

If you were to find something there that you could live with for a little while (I remember from another recent post of yours that you are in school, or are going back soon?), what if you could just talk to some key person in the organization and explain candidly, without blaming anyone/anything, especially the system, that you are so unhappy working in the clinical respect that you have begun having documented health problems.

Explain that you have great respect for that system and would eventually like to work there later using your MPH, but that you just can't stomach another day of working as a nurse. Try to keep it generic, talking about things you hate as a nurse and reasons why you are drawn to work in PH, and why you would be good at it. I would even highlight the fact that this is your third job in a year and half as a nurse, which obviously speaks to the fact that while you have tried THREE TIMES, you just are not meant to be a nurse. PERIOD.

If you were to speak to the right person, you never know, things sometimes have a way of working out. Presented in the right way to the right person, people sometimes have a way of really respecting honesty, even if it is not what they want to here. I would think especially the more administrative types, as they probably hear so much sugar-coating BS all the time, some good ol' candor might just be refreshing.

I'm not saying it wouldn't be risky - you are not in an ideal situation here. However, this system surely can't be the only place you could apply your MPH in your area, right?

So go for the transfer to a different dept., immediately, like tomorrow. You are surely not the first nurse (as evidenced here on this board) to experience such misery and won't be the last. With that in mind, the administrators might enjoy the honest approach rather than learning that they had another nurse just quit suddenly. What do you really have to lose going this route? You already know that you will not be staying there. I say, give it a shot.

Good luck and keep us posted!

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Haven't quit a job after a few weeks but certainly have felt like I wanted to. I usually stick things out until they fire me.

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