help! want to quit....how long do i have to stay to avoid looking bad?

86toronado, BSN, RN · Feb 26, 2010

How long do you have to stay for it not to look bad? The general recommendation is that you stay in your first job for 6 months to a year. It will take 6 months for you to feel competent in your new role, so you should at least stay that long. Most employers will still consider you a new graduate with anything less than a year of experience, so you will be competing with all of the fresh new graduates for nursing jobs if you quit and try to get another job now.

Some ideas you could try to make your current job more bearable:

-ask for more orientation time, or if that is not possible, as if you could have another more senior nurse on your shift designated as a resource person for you to go to with your questions.

-Try transferring to a different shift. I am a new(ish) graduate, and I couldn't imagine keeping up on day shift without help. I feel much safer at night, because the phone isn't ringing off the hook, orders aren't changing every 15 minutes, etc. So if you are supposed to be working days, see if there's any way you could do evenings or nights for a few months just to get more comfortable.

-If all else fails, try to stick it out for at least 6 months. As I said before, research shows that it takes 6 months to feel competent in a new position. That's also when most employers will allow you to request a transfer. Staying with the same employer in a different role will always look better on your resume than "job hopping."

itsmejuli · Feb 26, 2010

Here's an idea.

Take your resume to a nursing staffing agency and talk to them about your situation. Be honest about your feelings about working in the hospital. You could also apply to LTCs and SNFs.

I wouldn't stick out a job I was miserable at either.

GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN · Feb 26, 2010

Hang in there... It WILL get better. I feel the same way whenever I start a new job. Med/Surg was the worst feeling. But it DOES get better, please try to trust me. It will still suck in 6 months but you won't be quite as anxious. If you can hang in there even just 6 months you will look better. Ideally, I think you should stick it out a year before transferring/quitting. You will be really glad you got that experience in M/S. I HATED med/surg for a good 6 months, then disliked it for another 6 months. I took a year off after having a baby then went back. I still didn't like it but it was better. I worked it another year then left to have another baby. I just went back 2 months ago and am not happy with it, but I don't totally hate it. The longer you do m/s the less you will hate it, the anxiety does fade. Honest! Try to hang in there a little while. Then bail.

shoegalRN, RN · Feb 26, 2010

Have you considered Psych nursing?

GracefullyImperfect · Feb 26, 2010

Does your hospital have a minimum amount of time you must spend in your position to be permitted to change positions? Or a certain amount of time you must spend in a position to be considered eligible for re-hire if you were to leave the hospital all together? You may want to look into that.

My employer requires a minimum of 9 months in your current position before you can change positions. Also, the option is open to orientees to resign before their orientation is over- look into that possibility, as well. This just happened on my floor.

My personal advice- it seems like more is going on here than just the fear of being new. You were thinking that nursing would allow you the time to care for individuals at a vulnerable time- to do more than assess them and medicate them. Unfortunately, with staffing and other needs the way they are in nursing at this time- thinking you will have time offer much more on a med/surg floor is naive. I learned this the hard way, as well. I would resign before your orientation is over. But be prepared to be un-hirable at that facility for quite some time and have another plan.

mustlovepoodles, RN · Feb 28, 2010

Most employers have a 90 day probation period during which either of you can decide to part ways amicably. Not every job is going to be a good fit and employers know that. It sounds to me like you aren't unhappy with nursing as a career, just that you haven't found the right place yet. You sound more like a psych nurse to me and perhaps you need to pick up your toys and go home now. Perhaps home health or hospice would be a better fit. But don't give up on nursing just because your very first nursing job ever wasn't a good fit. How does that make sense?

jolly_tamale · Feb 28, 2010

I agree with the PP that you should look into Psych nursing. That is what I'm most interested (Behavioral Science major here). It sounds like you would be really good at it.

EmilyLucille523 · Feb 28, 2010

Wow, you sound just like me!

I work on a Cardiac unit with a 1:6 ratio but our patients are more critical then Med/Surg pts. I HATE going to work! I literally cry while I'm taking a shower when I'm getting ready to go.

I've been off orientation for about 2 months now and can't wait until my 6 month anniversary to either switch or go somewhere else. People keep telling me to wait at least a year and then I can go anywhere, but I just don't see how I can emotionally and physically handle going to that job for that long. Then I feel ungrateful because so many New Grads don't even have their 1st nursing job yet and here I am begging for a different 2nd one! I remember when I was begging for a chance at working the floor, but I didn't realize how much pressure and chaotic this nursing floor could actually be. I, along with all of you, worked so hard for my nursing license, sacrificed time with my children, and my husband too sacrificed working hard to help me through school financially and I'm scared each day I work that I'm going to do something do lose that license or even worse, endanger a patient's life.

I talked to our director and she offered for me to shadow in other units, but I've been told my other co-workers that the hospital secretly doesn't like people unit hopping and this is their way to start forcing you out. So I've started looking at other hospitals closer to home. Just had an interview the other day and they seemed interested in me even though I have less than a year experience.

I think if you can handle it, give it a year. But if your job is making you physically sick, than start looking at the 6 month point. The good thing about nursing is that there are so many different fields to look at, you just have to find the right one that fits you.

Good luck! Hope we both find something soon!

RNOkie · Feb 28, 2010

Med-Surg is very overwhelming especially if you are a brand new RN without any prior nursing experience (you didn't mention whether or not you had been an LPN or CNA; just assuming:) However, a good solid year of M/S will give you the foundation you need for most any other advancements or specialty areas you might be interested in down the road. It is difficult and sometimes seems likd Helter-Skelter on steroids. I'm not sure where you are from, but i'm from SW rural Oklahoma and worked for a long time in a 30 bed hospital. We didn't have specialty units; just got what walked through the door. Also, we still did team nursing, which helped alot. However, if you decide not to stick it out, I tend to agree with the above posts; psych nursing may be your best option. Just know that what you are feeling is completely normal..I know that probably doesn't help, right now. I feel as if that is why there is such a nursing shortage is that you get thrown to the wolves and yes, sad but true, we do eat our young..which isn't right at all. Lots of potentially GREAT nurses leave the profession due to the situation you are in right now. In the past, I have been guilty of not sticking around in one place very long; but because of the nursing shortage, I've found that, although it's not a good habit to get into, most employers are willing to overlook it just to fill a schedule. The advantage to this is you will never have any difficulty securing a position in another facility before the ink gets dry on your resignation letter.

Like the others have mentioned, try to extend your probation period or switching shifts. If that doesn't help, maybe a smaller faciltiy would be a good starting place for you. But, I do feel M/S is a crucial foundation for a good, and eventually satisfying career. Good luck and best wishes.

LoveANurse09 · Mar 3, 2010

Try to stick it our for 6 months. You will be much more marketable then. Things really do get better once you are on your own! and don't worry about the little stuff. Floor nursing is a 24 hour job! as long as you report off the next shift what you didnt get around too, your ok! We are looking for psych nurses in my area!

limonada · Mar 5, 2010

Thank you so much to everyone who responded! I really appreciate it....Just wanted to let you know though, I quit today. :-\ I felt really bad doing it, but I figured better to do it now than when I'm off orientation and then they would have to fill my position. They were actually really nice about it when I told them. I am moving out of state with a friend and I plan to look for a non med/surg job there. I know my decision may not have been the most responsible one, but I just could not force myself to continue to do something that was making me so miserable. I was literally a different person and I felt bad for my family and friends having to be around me. I was always grumpy. I feel like a loser for quitting, and I really struggled with the decision, but I think I did the right thing. I know I will not be as marketable without the med/surg experience, but I'm trying to be optimistic and hope that someone will still hire me....anyway, thank you again for all your advice!:heartbeat