I can’t get past orientation and want to be an aid instead

[Bjessica]

Look I’m just going to be honest and blunt here. I was given 3 months of orientation and I failed it. The hospital isn’t to blame, my preceptors aren’t to blame. I just could not do the patient load. I was ok with 4 patients, maybe 5, struggled with 6, and couldn’t do all 7. When I got to 7 my preceptor had to always do something for me, whether it was take care of a transfer or admission or help give medication or contact a physician about a problem etc.

so now I don’t know what to do. I thought about going back to being an aid because I loved it and was good at it. If I do that, I’ll have to revoke my nursing license. I hate all my hard work and money for nursing school to end with me revoking it.

People have told me what about a nursing home? But in a nursing home, you get an even higher patient load. And I’m too new to be a home health nurse.

Being asked to leave the hospital and turn in my badge felt so shameful and I feel like a failure. I wish I could have been successful. They even asked me if I really passed my nclex. Of course I have. I tried hard, the best I could.

Do you think I could take my chances to work as an aid without revoking my RN license? I just don’t want to do that. I know it’ll eventually be lost but I can’t bring myself to revoke it yet.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

I’m sorry this happened.... for what it’s worth, I’ve been an RN since 2003 and would struggle with 7 pts. At my first nursing job (hospital floor) we would occasionally have 7 pts on 11p-7a, but that typically didn’t involve admissions/discharges. 7a-11p, 5 pts was the max.

I would worry if a new grad WAS comfortable with 7 pts, because they are almost certainly missing things.

[DTWriter]

OP, think of this experience as a "good" bad experience.

Now, you know what you do not want for a nursing job.

Nursing has different fields; try applying for another one. The next time you are offered an RN position, ask to shadow the unit, during the shift you will be assigned to manage.

[SteelGrey]

Get into a different unit or specialty with a lower patient load. The world is your oyster, don’t let not being able to handle 7 patients on a floor job break you. No one should have that ratio!

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

19 hours ago, GilligansPlace said:

7 patients is beyond ridiculous and unsafe. I’ve been a nurse for 14 years and I can’t do 7 patients and keep my head above water. You absolutely are wrong is thinking it is anything you lack.

100% this.

I've been a nurse for 28 years and I kind of follow the same pattern. With four patients, I'm good. I'm really busy with five. With six I fall way behind and am late and miss things. On the rare occasion I have 7, I totally fall apart and can't handle it.

It's not you, it's them. Find a job with better ratios and working conditions but don't give up being a nurse.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

Try dialysis. While it can be a busy pace, there is training, and you won't be on your own for quite a while

[KeepGoingRN]

Move to CA. In all honesty, you were already set up to fail if they expected you to manage 6 or 7 pts as a new grad. In CA, I get max 5 pts in med surg and even with 5 I struggle. Find a hospital that respects nurses. It baffles me so much that some RNs and prominent nursing organizations are so against safe ratios.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Check out AN's First Year After Licensure forum https://allnurses.com/first-year-after-licensure-c141/

See how other nurses were fired during orientation then moved on to satisfying nursing careers --best advice is from those who walked in your shoes.

Best wishes moving forward,

[SeasonedOne, RN]

A few other ideas....

1. Asked to work nights....things are usually slower on nights and it gives you time to establish a pattern and rhythm to your night. You also may find staff on nights a bit more helpful.

2. What is your passion? Look for something that you will enjoy going to! Know that after 6-12 months you can always make a change if you want to.

3. Get paper and write down what you did well (yes-I'm sure there was some things) and what you struggled with. As a new nurse you don't know everything but you can learn and grow into the job.

4. Think about your confidence level when you were a CNA. It was probably pretty high, right? Now your in a roll that requires you to make decisions rather than being told what to do. That can be pretty intimidating. Consider it is not so much that you can't do the job, but that you have to develop and grow your confidence. Finding a nurturing environment can be the biggest challenge.

5. When you get that next chance, check in with the clinical educator and get to be friends. He/she may be your advocate when you have a challenge. Most of all, keep the communication open.

Best of luck! Don't give up!

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

6 hours ago, KeepGoingRN said:

Move to CA. In all honesty, you were already set up to fail if they expected you to manage 6 or 7 pts as a new grad. In CA, I get max 5 pts in med surg and even with 5 I struggle. Find a hospital that respects nurses. It baffles me so much that some RNs and prominent nursing organizations are so against safe ratios.

Reading many threads and posts on here, most new nurses need 1+ years acute experience + BSN to get an acute job in CA.

I agree about the ridiculous ratios. I wouldn't even consider a hospital job at this point anymore

[Wlaurie, RN]

Sounds like you're a good candidate to work home health. I only have 1 patient and make pretty good money. I do a lot of CNA tasks along with my nursing duties. My patient is pretty stable. Just because you didn't make it at the hospital doesn't mean you're not a nurse and can't cut it. You just haven't found your niche yet. Instead of saying no to nursing, just say next.

[sleepwalker, MSN, NP]

the workload does sound excessive...

However, I would be interested in learning more about the statement "they even asked if I passed the NCLEX"...why, exactly, would they ask such a question?

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

1 hour ago, sleepwalker said:

However, I would be interested in learning more about the statement "they even asked if I passed the NCLEX"...why, exactly, would they ask such a question?

It sounds like they're a-holes