HELP PLEASE! New grad nurse about to quit new Nurse job before orientation is over.
]Thank you for taking the time to read this as I could really use some sound advice. I am a recent Nursing school graduate. I graduated in May 2014. with my BSN I have been a medical assistant for 5 years working for a variety of clinics and doctors' off ices.
I landed a new grad job on a Med surg in a hospital. One that I did not even apply for. This particular hospital is one that I was trying to get in for the past year as a patient care tech while in nursing school to no avail. I researched through the website and found that they are a level 2 trauma center in my area ( My ultimate goal is to be a trauma nurse) and seemed to have a good new grad program. I applied to a tech job a few months before graduating nursing school. (I really wanted the experience of being a tech in the hospital first.
I received a call and landed an interview one month prior to graduation. Interview went well but HR said being that I was graduating so soon it would make no sense to be a tech. I was offered in interview on the spot to a different unit for an RN position. That also went well and I was offered a new grad nurse job that day on the spot. I was excited and grateful especially because I have heard horror stories of new grads waiting several months to land a job, but in the back of my head a little hesitant because it was Med-surg. I am a smart girl. I've been in health care a while now. Although I am a new nurse by goal was to apply to all ER's that accepted New grads into a internship or residency program. feel that because I was basically handed this job )which I was very grateful for I didn't have the opportunity to apply myself to the areas I know I could succeed in.
When I started I was excited and ready after the week of "hospital orientation" new grads were supposed to meet their preceptors. The 5 other new grads who started with me met there's immediately. Mine was on vacation for about 4 days. So I had to shadow other nurses which was fine. A grew of them were very nice and helpful. I met my preceptor and instantly I could tell she did not want to precept, she was not interested in really teaching. She always seemed flustered and in a bad mood every morning. I would see the other new grads interacting more with their mentors and mine would do her own thing and give me patients to take for the day and tell me to get her If I had questions. This is not how I learn.
Some mornings she would complain about the patient assignment and that she had to "orient someone" right in front of me. This made me feel very awkward. she went on vacation for another week in the middle. This went on for a while. The day I mustered up some courage to talk to the charge nurse I found out that the charge nurse actually noticed what was going on. She apologies that I had to deal with that nurse and she switched me to night shift with a different preceptor.
New preceptor is nice I feel I have seen a lot and learned a lot. However am not enjoying my job. I feel like all I am doing is medicating patients. Med surg nursing I do not feel is for me. There are other things safety wise that I am not happy about on my unit. The policies are not always followed. NO one actually "witnesses" for a waste they just type in their code. It is busy 6:1 ratio my orientation is almost over about 2 weeks to go. I am busy but not actually spending time with my pts or doing anything critical to help them either. I feel like Im only running around to give meds on time that's it. With the lack of training and being almost on my own I feel that there is a big safety risk.
I want to be the best nurse I can be and make a bigger difference for my patients. I honestly can't imagine working here for an entire year. I want to quit but am I required to list this job on a resume or talk about it during an interview? I know I signed a contract saying I will have to "repay" the hospital for the training. which I will. I've only been working as a nurse for 2 months. I want to protect my pts and my license. The policies and procedures are all over the place. This place is not for me. I would never quit without having a another job secured but I would like some real advise here.
After I accepted the job I found out how short orientation was and I was not thrilled but I had a job and was in no place to turn it down. Question is how do I go about quitting should I talk to charge nurse first? Am I legally required to list this on an application? I know that this will probably burn a bridge with this hospital. But honestly I want to find a facility that has a better orientation experience and in an area where I feel most comfortable. Ironically that is the ER. Med-surg is not for me I am dredging going back to work.
With less than 6 months of nursing experience, it's not too late to apply to some new grad nurse residency programs. Most of the programs offer at least 4-6 months of preceptorship with some programs lasting up to 12 months.
It would be unwise to quit. You do what you're supposed to do. Follow the rules. If there are rules that are not clear clarify with your charge nurse and unit manager. You're a new nurse, only two months in. It's too early to judge. Be lucky that you have a job and keep your contract.
Can you ask to move to another department after 6 months or so at the same hospital? You are still in the very early stages of this journey, and any job anywhere is going to suck and be scary for the first year at least! I would give it more time. :)
I wouldn't quit especially without something lined up. Many nurses dislike med/surg for various reasons and it might not be the area for you long term but there IS something to learn there.
Soak up information about meds, treatment plans for certain diagnoses, getting proficient at tasks (IVs, foleys, NG insertion) and you will have something to bring to the ER.
Re: wasting meds-- insist that you witness them wasting it. Just say "hold on a minute . . I trust you but we can never be too careful, right?" and same when they witness your waste-- say "Can you stay a minute and watch me to make sure I am drawing up the right dose?"
If there is a discrepancy or mistake, especially if the patient is given the wrong dose, it will be your name on the chart even if you didn't give the med yourself but just witnessed it.
Hi! I am sorry to hear first nursing job has not gone well. Although it is obvious you do not feel med-surg is the place for you, you would learn so much if you could tough it out for a while. I was an LPN for over 13 years and then became an RN. One of my instructors told us it was a great way to learn as graduate nurses. Here in Michigan it would be hard to secure a job in the ER as a graduate nurse, since they do want you to have that experience. Also if you don't feel you have had enough orientation, you need to let your nurse manager know, I would think she would have no problem extending it. Our facility does a minimum of 15 days and if the nurse wants more than that she gets it. Sorry, but I am not sure of legality, but I am pretty sure you would need to list your current employer on your resume. I truly hope things get better for you......and regardless of the outcome with this job don't quit nursing, it is very rewarding and things will get better........
I agree with what someone said above, it sounds as if you are idealizing what it is like to work in the ED. The fact of the matter is that if you don't like med/surg, you are probably not going to like the ED as it's even more fast paced. In my opinion, quitting this job now would be destructive. You are a new grad with virtually no skills and virtually no experience. It makes more sense to do what someone else said above and stay where you are while you hone your skills (assessment, IV, etc...). At the 1 year mark then make a move to another area. You need to sit down and have a very frank discussion with your nurse manager, not the charge nurse. You need to let him/her know what you have been feeling and ask for his/her advice on how you can make the most of your time on this particular unit.
And yes, you need to list this job on your resume (you've received paychecks from this institution, right?). You would have to be VERY convincing as to why you only lasted 2 months in your previous nursing position when interviewing for new jobs. I think that is nearly an insurmountable obstacle (shy of some egregious issue that you experienced on the unit such as discrimination, bullying, etc...). Again, my advice is to stay where you are and make an appointment to speak with your nurse manager ASAP.
All new nurses are task oriented and feel as if all they do is pass meds, and to some extent it is true. You are learning the time management aspect, which is vital no matter what specialty you go into. You would be just as task oriented in the ER and probably just as disillusioned. Critical thinking and putting the pieces together only comes with time. There are no shortcuts. You can't know what you do not yet know and solid nursing knowledge can ONLY be gained from working as a nurse. To quit now would be, to be quite blunt, foolhardy unless you already have another job lined up. The answer to disillusionment isn't to simply quit. Keep working and devote free time to seeking out another job. You will find it won't come easily. Quit this one and it will become even harder. It sounds to me like you are an average new grad and that you have a supportive learning environment. Quitting because you don't like the learning process (ie:I feel like all I do is push meds) is goofy as heck. That learning process is the baseline for all new nurses in every specialty. The greener grass you think you are ogling is an illusion.
THIS THIS THIS!
Hone your skills first, THEN after the contract is over, then THINK about moving to the ER-even then, taking ACLS, or even joining the ENA for CEUs to have a general feel of the issues and subjects in Emergency Nursing can be a start, but at least become an advanced beginner before you decide to go on to the ER.
I want to be supportive here. Really, I do. But what I am about to say might not sound like it. I'm willing to take that risk in hopes that you will give me the benefit of the doubt that I am not simply trying to be unkind.
If you cannot handle Med/Surg, I'm not sure what makes you think you can handle the ED.
Yes, they are two different worlds in many ways, that is true. However, the ED is a very busy place where you can feel like a task monkey and never really have time to look up the patients' lab and diagnostic results or spend more than a minute or two at the bedside. You can go hours just going from patient to patient doing the bare minimum necessary to sustain life.
I think Med/Surg is a really great foundation for almost any other area of nursing. It's true that it is a specialty worthy of its own particular designation, and I applaud Med/Surg nurses that excel at and love what they do. To treat it simply as a stepping stone to "bigger and better" things is, I think disrespectful of the clinical expertise required to be a really good Med/Surg nurse.
But at the same time, and no disrespect meant toward those nurses who choose this very challenging specialty, it is a really good place to cut your teeth as an RN. And if you think things will be easier for you in the ED, you are flat out wrong.
Take my opinion with a grain of salt, as it's just my opinion. But honestly, I think you should give this job a chance and stick it out until you feel like you know what you're doing. "Just passing meds"? Really?
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I want to be supportive here. Really, I do. But what I am about to say might not sound like it. I'm willing to take that risk in hopes that you will give me the benefit of the doubt that I am not simply trying to be unkind.
If you cannot handle Med/Surg, I'm not sure what makes you think you can handle the ED.
Yes, they are two different worlds in many ways, that is true. However, the ED is a very busy place where you can feel like a task monkey and never really have time to look up the patients' lab and diagnostic results or spend more than a minute or two at the bedside. You can go hours just going from patient to patient doing the bare minimum necessary to sustain life.
I think Med/Surg is a really great foundation for almost any other area of nursing. It's true that it is a specialty worthy of its own particular designation, and I applaud Med/Surg nurses that excel at and love what they do. To treat it simply as a stepping stone to "bigger and better" things is, I think disrespectful of the clinical expertise required to be a really good Med/Surg nurse.
But at the same time, and no disrespect meant toward those nurses who choose this very challenging specialty, it is a really good place to cut your teeth as an RN. And if you think things will be easier for you in the ED, you are flat out wrong.
Take my opinion with a grain of salt, as it's just my opinion. But honestly, I think you should give this job a chance and stick it out until you feel like you know what you're doing. "Just passing meds"? Really?
Fire away.
You said everything I was thinking, very diplomatically I might add.
I am going to have to agree with stargazer. If you cannot survive Med-Surg, how are you going to survive the ED, let alone thrive? If anything, the ED is like Med-Surg on steroids in terms of the pace and turnover rate.
Your floor seems incredibly supportive. Med-Surg is the foundation of nursing and it can open up a lot of doors, especially if you are looking to become an NP or a Nurse Educator. If you can survive Med-Surg, you can survive anywhere. At two months, you are at the beginning stages of orientation. To throw that out the door would be career suicide.
nandosport
94 Posts
With less than 6 months of nursing experience, it's not too late to apply to some new grad nurse residency programs. Most of the programs offer at least 4-6 months of preceptorship with some programs lasting up to 12 months.