How many new nurses like their job???

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I'm a nursing student and just finished my first year. I will graduate in May 08. I've been reading some of the posts on this board and it's really scaring me. Is it really that bad? So bad, that some, after all of that hard work getting through NS is now thinking of quitting? I was just wondering how many new nurses like their job? I'm really nervous about getting my first job, even though it's still a year away. I worry too...what if I don't like it as much as I think I will? :uhoh21: I would like to hear some positive things about the first year of nursing.

Carrie, you have made my day reading your post. Congrats to you.

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Specializes in Labor & Delivery.
Carrie, you have made my day reading your post. Congrats to you.

Hi Nik,

Thank you and you are welcome. I was asked last month by my nursing school to speak to this year's graduating nurse class. You know, tell them about my first year's experience as a new nurse, etc. Well, I was one of 4 former nursing students/new nurses on the panel and I was also the last person to speak. I was absolutely floored by the experiences of my former classmates as new nurses. They spoke a lot of being left out there to hang, having to fend for themselves, not having much support, etc.... one colleague even said that she is often scheduled to work in the ER as the only RN on the night shift. The other 2 work in Telemetry and Med-Surg. Naturally you could see the fear on the student's faces as they listened to these unfortunate things. When I told them of my experiences - which I considered a HUGE blessing compared to what I'd just heard - I could see the "hope" return to their faces. The advice that I left them with was this: as a new nurse graduate, 1. seek work in the area of nursing that you really want to work - there are many hospitals out there that will employ a new graduate in ICU, ER, OR, L&D, NICU and other specialty areas. You do NOT have to work in Med-Surg if you don't desire Med-Surg. Any hospital that will hire a new graduate into a specialty area, will provide adequate and intense teaching/training to work in that area. I know many experienced med-surg and ICU nurses who've switched to my L&D dept and feel like new grads all over again because the information is new to them. Even though basic nursing knowledge is the same, each dept is very different and you WILL have to be trained to work there. So why not start in the desired place in the first place. and 2. as a new grad, DO NOT choose a hospital solely because they are paying the most money or have the highest sign-on bonus. Usually, the sign on bonus is high because they have trouble retaining nurses. DO choose the hospital that has a GN program that includes class time, clinical time, certification classes and support from clinical educators to help transition you into nursing. Many teaching hospitals provide this type of program. As a new nurse, for that 1st year out of nursing school, having a great transition experience is way more beneficial to your career long term than choosing the hospital that pays you the most initially. With a great transition experience, you gain confidence in your abilities and will make more money anyway.

After the meeting I asked the colleague that works in the ER, why in the world she would jeopardize losing her Rn license (as hard as we worked to get it - the stress, the tears, the studying) by continuing to work for this hospital? Her reply to me was that she's recently brought it to the attention of some superiors and they are looking into the matter - and plus, "I signed a contract to work for them for a year if they paid my last semester of nursing school". My reply to her was, contract or not, I'd be outta there. I'd rather pay them what I owe to break the contract than to risk losing my license (something I could never get back once lost) or worse harming someone. No respectable employer will fault you during an interview for hire for protecting your license. Nik, I don't know if you are in school or are a working RN, however, I can tell you this. No one is going to look out for your nursing license if YOU don't.

I wish you much success in your career. :o))

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Hi Nik,

Nik, I don't know if you are in school or are a working RN, however, I can tell you this. No one is going to look out for your nursing license if YOU don't.

I wish you much success in your career. :o))

Well, I've been accepted and will begin this July. Can't wait. You are an inspiration ;) .

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

I like being a nurse. I like having access to medical information and I have a knack of teaching people. I make it a goal to read about different conditions, then, breaking it down from a complicated explanation to a relatively simple one for the patient to understand. I love telling people that I am a NURSE. I just hate the politics and B-S from people when this is supposed to be a compassionate profession. But, I am new, also. Just got my practical nursing license in June, 2006, so, I am entering into one year. It is still confusing, but you do adjust. What you are hearing about is the silly, petty, backstabbing mess that destroys nursing, but, if nursing is your calling, you find your way around that, too.

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Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.

My first choice after graduation was critical care. It may have been the facility, or maybe it was the job. Probably it was both. But I had to be out of there for my own sanity after only one year, and not quite a full year at that. I was one very unhappy camper. Now I'm happy to report that I have found satisfaction and peace with my career as a hospice RN case manager. It is so very different from what I thought I wanted as I went through school. Never in a million years would I have considered hospice as a student. Just goes to show, gotta keep an open mind.

I still get a tickle out of the idea that I'm an RN and I'm going on two years out of school.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I am a new nurse as of January and can honestly say for the first time in my 37 years of life that I enjoy going to work. Yes, some days can be frustrating, but let's face it, nursing is a tough job. I can also say that even on the bad days, I love what I do. I work at a hospital in a community of 25,000 on the medical surgical floor. Good luck, and don't let people venting scare you!

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Specializes in ortho(med surg) and OB, mostly L&D.

don't get discouraged, nursing is a tough field for all of us. i remember my first day of having a team of patients on my own as just a CNA...it was awful!!!! however, with bad days come good days and those are the ones you need to remember. also it is normal to feel scared after the first year, i know i was but just know where your support systems are you will do FINE!

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