Help! RN who does not like nursing!!

Sadie04 · Mar 29, 2005

This sounds dangerous. I think you need to get out of this job immediately and don't look back. Your license and patient's lives are at risk!

lblondie1128 · Mar 29, 2005

I feel that it is dangerous also, but in Memphis, there are only three options Baptist, Methodist, and the Regional medical center. The latter is a government funded hospt and worse conditions. I just dont want to be seen as a job hopper and are things really any different anywhere else? I thought life for nurses was tough at Vanderbilt but oh TO BE ABLE TO GO BACK!!

oneLoneNurse · Mar 29, 2005

Maybe consider getting into Med/Surg. If its too tough and dangerous get out while you have your license. There are more than 2 million nursing positions in the US one of them has your name on it.

I feel that it is dangerous also, but in Memphis, there are only three options Baptist, Methodist, and the Regional medical center. The latter is a government funded hospt and worse conditions. I just dont want to be seen as a job hopper and are things really any different anywhere else? I thought life for nurses was tough at Vanderbilt but oh TO BE ABLE TO GO BACK!!

mysticalwaters1 · Mar 29, 2005

In school, I realized that nursing might not be for me, but i persevered. Now i have been working for 3 months. 2 in ED (but after 5 weeks of orientation and i was not proficient, they booted me to another dept.) 1 in ICU SD. My first month on ICU SD was days and it was almost tolerable, but on nights (the only opening) any shred of "that makes it worth it" is gone. Pt interaction is nothing except to wake them during the five minutes of sleep they might get. The nurses are almost always complaining. The nurse pt ratio is anywhere from 1:5 to 1:7 ON ICU STEPDOWN!! with maybe 2 CNAs, who arent allowed to do anything,for 50 pts. So when, like last night i have a pt c BG of 20, a pt c no BP even after we have her on levophed at 50 hespan W/o and dobutamine at 5, two new admits from ED and an ICU transfer, all about at the same time i am so busy to scream, but then once finally settled nothing happens for hours and my brain shuts down so that i forget to take off my nitro pst before stress test, etc. I need help. I dont want to be a job hopper because i am sure all places are the same. I seriously never want to go back again, but have a family and a house payment.

In the last year the community hospital i work at the work load has just jumped tremendously with people in and out as soon as a person's discharge one comes in and our ratios increased from1:6 to 1:7 with one point 1 tech for 29 pts and now 2 sometimes 3 if it's 1:7. I'm on a med surg mostly resp. And now the pts coming in are more complicated in I feel step just below icu and just basically full code pts that may die any min. And if something goes wrong with even one pt let alone sometimes 2-3 or more your screwed or rather the pt's are screwed if you can't handle it sometimes. So it's been very stressful. We had a huge influx of people move in our area lots from nyc so basically our hospital can't handle all the pts. We kept having to shut down the er or rather direct people to hosptal 45min away so that's over an hour away to get to a hospital then they stopped doing it because supposedly we couldn't legally do it it's just crazy. So i don't know what to say to help you but is there maybe just med surg to get into to get more experience than a step down unit? Then go to icu or stepdown unit then maybe you can handle it better.

delta32 · Mar 29, 2005

What concerns me on your post is about a patient being on levophed in a step down unit. why wasn't this patient transfered back to the ICU ? The patient with a BG of 20 sounds ok to leave in the stepdown assuming after given glucose and rechecking his blood sugar fregently. was your charge nurse or patients MD aware of theses events?

Jamie

mandykal, ADN, RN · Mar 29, 2005

The good thing about being in the profession of nursing is that there are many, many specialties.....If you don't like that specialty, don't wait, get out and explore your opportunities.

_____________________________________________________________

"What may be good for one, may not be good for another."

fr: my clinical instructor.

ERNurse752, RN · Mar 30, 2005

5 weeks of orientation is nowhere NEAR enough, ESPECIALLY for a new grad. Sounds like the rest of what you mention is pretty bad/dangerous as well.

Are there any other hospitals you could try? Anywhere you saw in your clinicals that seemed ok?

I can understand not wanting to be seen as a job hopper. But, conditions are so bad, it might be worth applying elsewhere and just explaining things in the interview, sticking only to facts...and then in turn interviewing your interviewer to get specific information on what their staffing ratios/orientation standards/patient care policies are, so you don't get stuck in another dangerous job.

PamRNC · Mar 30, 2005

In school, I realized that nursing might not be for me, but i persevered. Now i have been working for 3 months. 2 in ED (but after 5 weeks of orientation and i was not proficient, they booted me to another dept.) 1 in ICU SD. My first month on ICU SD was days and it was almost tolerable, but on nights (the only opening) any shred of "that makes it worth it" is gone. Pt interaction is nothing except to wake them during the five minutes of sleep they might get. The nurses are almost always complaining. ... I need help. I dont want to be a job hopper because i am sure all places are the same. I seriously never want to go back again, but have a family and a house payment.

What other clinical areas did you have a chance to get experience in? You mentioned that you were uncomfortable with the lack of pt interaction - a med/surg position might offer more opportunities for pt interaction, so would psych. Aside from "not proficient" did they specify what areas of concern they had re: your practice? What areas of your experience so far do you feel comfortable with? What areas do you feel that you just can't seem to get a grasp on at the moment?

Being a new grad is tough, and being in a clinical area that provides so much stress can make it tougher. Orientation and the probationary period after are there for you and your boss to get a chance to size each other up to see how you fit with the challenges of the job as well as the culture of the unit. It is going to take at least 6 months to get comfortable in the role, but if it has taken you less time to realize that you are not a good fit with the unit/other staff members, a change may be what you need to do.

Look at the criteria for other positions like ambulatory care, maybe if you have or can get the experience this would be a better fit for you and could be your light at the end of the tunnel.

Good luck in finding a job to begin your career.

Jo Dirt · Mar 30, 2005

Don't know what to tell you...maybe try to find a job that is lower stress. I live in the middle Tennessee area and I know of a good company where you can do private duty nursing. PM me if you'd like to know more.

grimmy, RN · Mar 30, 2005

the good thing about being in the profession of nursing is that there are many, many specialties.....if you don't like that specialty, don't wait, get out and explore your opportunities.

i couldn't agree more. there are so many different things you could be doing besides critical care. perhaps you could shift gears a bit, and find a different pace or acuity level. while you may have, at first, believed you were a go-getter, fast-paced person, not everyone thrives in icu/ed. i'm fast-paced, too, but i love my or life. it's not easier or harder than icu, just different. plus, different facilities do things very differently, unit by unit. go back and look at the job postings available in your facility and area. search your heart, and meditate on the matter. find some private time and space, and remember your nursing school clinicals, where you felt fairly good about your skills (not just where you had a good time), and start journaling a little every day. within a few weeks, you'll have written enough to get a sense of what you need to do next. in the meantime, be sure you're getting enough restorative sleep, decent food and water, and stress reduction in your life. this way you can keep work focused. there's always another path.

humglum, BSN, RN · Mar 31, 2005

You need to get out of there, and fast. For several reasons, not the least of which is that 5-7 patients *might* be an acceptable ratio for a med/surg unit, but not an ICU stepdown. And you should *never* have a patient on Levophed.

What is important in this situation is protecting your license, not whether you are seen as a job hopper. As a new nurse, you need a supportive, competency-based orientation... I'd say 12 weeks at minimum. My orientation at my first job was 16 weeks. You have a lot to learn about your facility and your role as a nurse, as well as hone your skills and begin to feel comfortable at the bedside.

If those are the only hospitals available to you, try a different specialty. Maybe med/surg would be a good way for you to ease into hospital nursing.