HELP QUIT NEW GRAD ICU JOB

Emergent, RN · Mar 22, 2019

You should get a lower acuity job for now. ICUs , generally speaking, have more intense personalities. You weren't ready for that.

After making it through orientation and a minimum of a year, reassess.

Emergent, RN · Mar 22, 2019

For a person with a strong personality, you folded very quickly.

Good luck...

0.9%NormalSarah, BSN, RN · Mar 23, 2019

I would just try and get another position and be honest that it wasn’t a good fit, but you will probably have to really convince your next interviewers that you won’t get going when the going gets tough. I feel for you, but you need to get thicker skin, if only to stay somewhere long enough to get your base experience and give your future self more options. This is coming from someone who learned the job hopper lesson the hard way in my past life before nursing...and I had to grow thicker skin for sure.

I know it’s too late and I am not trying to demean you in any way, but never leave a job without notice unless you’re in danger. You can stick it out anywhere for 2 weeks. I wish you luck and hope you can get into a place that is a better fit for you!!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Mar 23, 2019

20 hours ago, lclapps said:
Hi guys!
I am freaking out. I ended up getting a dream unit fresh out of nursing school. I was working on the neuro ICU at the only level one trauma center in the area since January and emailed them today to say I wouldn't be returning. I ultimately feel relieved, but I wonder if I messed up my future goals of becoming a CRNA. Most days I would cry before going or think about going or wish I would crash my car while heading to work (not trying to be dramatic either). I do not regret it seeing as I was unhappy. I loved ICU but the people and my preceptor were all catty. They made me feel stupid and unwelcomed. I had an old nurse tell me "You shouldn't feel overwhelmed, you have easy patients" Week two of orientation when I stated I was overwhelmed bc she would leave me alone for 20-30 minutes each hour to socialize, one of which my patient was crashing!!!. They also were only giving me 8 weeks orientation out of the 12 I was promised.
The only regret I have is messing up the ties I had with this academic health care system.
My ultimate goal is to be a CRNA so the ICU is where I need to be. I have applied to other ICUs in the area but I don't know what to say without sounding like I am attacking this healthcare system. Honestly, I would of stayed and transferred units but I could not make it there another 3 months (you must work 6 in unit before applying to others). I called HR and they stated that it is a possibility that other units would hire me but it might be harder seeing as I left without a two week. I honestly don't have a question. More so looking for support and opinions from fellow nurses and nurses that may have been in this situation.
I should also state I moved four hours away from home 1. To work at this hospital that is affiliated with the university I would like to attend for grad school 2. to make sure I enjoyed the city before committing to a three year program 3. for the experience (new grads seldom get into ICU at the hospitals I live around back home.
HELP. I don't know what to do. Should I stay and try to apply to more places or move back home.

Honestly, I wish you had asked for advice before you quite your job without notice. You've shot yourself in the foot. You've been working about two months, and you weren't yet comfortable or competent in your job. That's normal. It takes about a year to become comfortable and about two years to become competent. Most new grads are miserable for the first year. They hate their jobs, are certain they're going to make a huge mistake and kill someone, cannot get along with their colleagues whom they are absolutely CONVINCED are mean and catty bullies and can't sleep at night. That's all normal. We all go through that, and the only way to GET through it is to GO through it.

No one can make you feel stupid without your consent. Workplace relationships aren't like all the sitcoms where everyone is a new best friend or surrogate mother. Real workplaces are infested with real people -- some of them are warm and welcoming (although you might not recognize that if you're too anxious to notice) and some aren't. Some are nice people and a few -- a very rare few -- are actually mean or catty or bullies.

Your best bet is to avoid the ICU for now. Apply to IMCs or floors, or even, perhaps to a nursing home. Somewhere less acute. Choose the place where the manager is willing to work with you and the co-workers are, if not best friends and surrogate parents, at least not so overwhelmed with new grads that they're too burned out to work with you. It really does not matter what the patient population or specialty -- you're just looking for somewhere to get some foundational nursing experience. When you've got that, and you're comfortable with your job and at least minimally competent, then you can start looking around for a new job -- but stay where you land for a minimum of a year. After orientation.

If you think that moving back home will reduce your stress level or increase your support system, that isn't a bad idea. It is easier to explain leaving a position because family necessitated a relocation. Although leaving without notice is going to really bite you in the butt. After a year, reassess your goals and your route to achieving them.

Davey Do · Mar 26, 2019

On 3/22/2019 at 6:01 PM, lclapps said:

Sometimes, the best reply is no reply.