Have you ever missed a supervisor so much that you were unable to work with your new supervisors?

[SilverBells, BSN]

Has anyone ever missed a previous supervisor so much that it was basically impossible to work with your new ones?

Last Winter, the DON that I'd been working with for four years left for a different position.   We actually worked well with each other. She understood my strengths and didn't ask me to do things she knew I'd fail at.  

Unfortunately, she was replaced by a DON with different ideas, one who liked to give me insignificant tasks and/or tasks that I was bound to fail at.   Needless to say, this did not go over well, and I left for a new position. 

Alas, the same sort of things are happening with my new position and supervisor.   I'm sorry, but I really don't appreciate being set up to fail.  

As you can see, I've had a hard time adjusting since my previous DON left.   Has anyone else had a similar experience?

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

Funny because you used to complain about your old job and not being appreciated.  I don't remember you feeling a connection to your DON, at least you didn't mention it in most of the posts I read back then.  But I remember that you had not had a raise in years!

It might be more that your old DON was a touchstone, familiar so kept your anxiety at bay.  I've had favorite coworkers and a manager who I adored and also just knowing they were working allayed some of my stress and anxiety.   But I've also worked almost three decades so have met many wonderful people over the years so be open to new people.  Give them a chance!

But sure you can feel close to one manager and not another, but have to accept that people move on, and that is life.  Generally in long term care there is frequent turnover, so if your DON had been there a long time that was probably unusual.  Regardless, take this as a challenge to learn to get along with different people and get better at different job responsibilities.  We don't grow without first trying new things.

I would look at the positive that you have a couple promotions under your belt and finally a $9K raise that you deserve as you were underpaid for a long time.  Give it time and keep working on getting along with others and learning and fine tuning new skills. 

If you still aren't happy you can always look for another job.  How about breaking free from the corporation you have been working under and trying your hand at another place.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Yes, only because my new supervisor was a *******. But this post wasn't really meant to be about me or my experience.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

Sure, but you just have to deal with it and adjust or move on. This will happen throughout your working life.