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

Nurses General Nursing

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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.

Maybe look for a magnet hospital? Those require a certain level of nurse satisfaction so I would be surprised if ratios were ever that high. I work for a non-profit hospital network in AZ. I have been there 6 years on day shift. I have had 6 pts for all of 30 mins because a nurse was a no show. I have 5 patients maybe 10-20% of the time. The rest is 4 patients.

Between doctors, tests, change in patient status, some days I don’t finish morning meds until after 10. If I had 7 patients I probably wouldn’t get done until time noon! With 7 patients I would be calling consults hours late. Forget the time spent calling lab to figure out why my patient hasn’t been drawn or my results aren’t in. Or spending 40 minutes trying to get a correct home med list.

Find a good hospital system even if it means moving. There are many that are still decent. The system failed you. You didn’t fail. The problem is nurses in those situations get so use to it they think it is normal.

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