I hate my job

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I went into nursing because I wanted to help people and make a difference with my life. I'm intelligent, kind, and hard working. I should be able to be a good nurse, but I just feel like a failure most of the time.

I feel like nothing I do is right. I get chewed out by doctors (often for things day shift missed and I had to call about in the evening). I get chewed out by the nurses on the next shift, in front of the patients.

I try so hard, but I leave every morning depressed. I have palpitations at work from the stress. I spend more time with my coworkers than my kids, because my boss insists I work overtime. I just don't know if I can take this much longer, and I've only been working for six months! More than anything, I just really wish I'd never went to nursing school. I was so excited to have that degree, and my family was so proud. Now I'm just sad.

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Specializes in OB, Surgical, ER.

Disappointed RN,

I think there are many people that feel the way you do. There are many things in nursing school that they just don't tell you. What I don't understand is the reason why people feel the need to put people down. I guess it is because they are so low on themselves it makes them feel better. They probably hate themselves and their own lives that they want others to be just as miserable. I try to review the day as I'm driving home by remembering all the positive ways in which I helped people (listened, back rub, etc.) not by reviewing all the times I screwed up. At the time I make a mistake I always go over it and learn from it so I don't repeat it but if I don't leave the day on a positive note, I probably won't come back. Remember one thing, you are responsible for your own license. So make sure you are giving safe competent care. You are responsible to the college of nurses and your patients as well as the facility where you work. Your coworkers and the doctors are NOT YOUR BOSSES. They are also members of YOUR TEAM. Even though THEY may forget that, you must think of that everyday. Speak up for yourself. If you disagree, say so and tell them intelligently why. When they chew you out in front of patients, pull them aside and tell them that it is unprofessional and rude and if it is a learning opportunity, learn from it and move on. No nurse or doctor is perfect. Leave the stress of yesterday behind and start tomorrow with a fresh attitude, and if you can't then consider other careers.

Good luck.

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I'm a new nurse and don't love my job yet, but I don't hate it. I agree that it's stressful, doctors can be jerks, and other nurses can be self-righteous, lazy, etc. My kids have an absent mother like they did while I was in school :(. I am trying to figure out if the full-time paycheck is worth the inattention my kids and house are getting. Part-time seems like it would be ideal. By next summer I hope to cut back my hours, this summer has been rough being a slave to my new schedule. I go into work each night telling myself I will do better than the previous night. I learn so much each time I work, I feel like I came into this a totally blank slate! Don't let other nurses get you down. There is one nurse I hate giving report to because she is so condescending with her questions and comments. Not that she isn't pointing out pertinent information I should have passed off, or vitals I should have informed the doctors of, but her delivery is so rude! I learn from her, but feel small when she talks to me. I just try and take it in stride. I don't always leave work feeling so great. It's tough having so much responsibility, and coming home, remembering something I forgot to chart or the ice I forgot to fetch for a patient. I can remember something a couple days later and beat myself up for it. I hope it gets easier. I agree that real nursing is nothing like I thought it would be. It sure isn't for everyone. I think maybe if you cut back your hours you will feel differently about being a nurse. I drool over the other nurse's schedules on my unit that only work 2 or 3 days a week!

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Disappointed,

I am so sorry for your distress :( This breaks my heart because I know how you feel. I moved out of the state I lived in my whole life for this very reason. In nursing school and when I worked as a nurse tech (clinical assistant, whatever you call them in your state), I experienced this constantly. When I became an RN I quit my nurse tech job and moved to another state in search of a better facility. It took me 4 months to find work, but I am so fortunate, so blessed, that I have found an institution that encourages questions, facilitates learning, and demands kindness.

I will pray for you because I don't know how to give practical advice. Not everyone is able to do what I did and just pick up and move. Be assertive, tell the doctors it's unacceptable to treat you that way, tell the nurses. If it continues, follow your chain of command. YOU know in your heart that you're doing the right thing. You are a NEW NURSE, you are not going to know it all, and you can tell that to the nurses who treat you poorly.

I don't know if there are any RN Residencies near you, but you might look into the Versant RN program. It's a great way for new nurses to continue learning.

In the meantime I am praying! Keep up the good work! You're awesome!!:yeah:

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

It is very possible that this just isn't the right fit for you. Please start applying for another position and keep an open mind. Sometimes it is just finding the right team for you. Good luck.

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Specializes in nada.

Its called Incivility..it leads to increase in graduate burnout, frequent unnecessary call ins to "get away from the stress", bullying of the entire unit, lost of support and unionship, decrease in patient care, increase in medication errors due to lack of communication or willingness to b/c of the fear of being talked down to instead of being talked to, and costly fo the organization as a whole.

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Specializes in ER.

Just remember that your coworkers make all the difference.

you can have two jobs that are identical but in different hospitals, one will be great and the other just plain torture.

I have worked in many ERs, 3 different cities, and the work is basically the same. One I hated, most were tolerable and one was just the best job in the world, I wish I never left . . . . :)

All because of the folk I spent 12 hours a day with. :nurse:

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Specializes in Flu clinics, Med/Surg, Acute Care.

I hope things get better with more time. Maybe since you are still a little new it just takes some adjustment. All I can say is try your best, and ignore the chewing out and such if its unwarranted. I've watched docs chew out nurses over mistakes the nurses had nothing to do with. I think it just comes with the territory. I would also turn down the overtime if you could. Unless its mandatory I would not do it. Good luck..maybe you can try moving to another unit?

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It never gets better either. Ive all but given up. This career sucks. The doctors, the cattiness, the long hours, the horrible patients...its terrible. I owe a ton of money for nursing school and wish to God I had picked something else. I dont recommend anyone go into this field. I am looking to get into something else asap. Thinking of Pharmaceutical sales. Walmart is looking good right about now....:confused:

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.
It never gets better either. Ive all but given up. This career sucks. The doctors, the cattiness, the long hours, the horrible patients...its terrible. I owe a ton of money for nursing school and wish to God I had picked something else. I dont recommend anyone go into this field. I am looking to get into something else asap. Thinking of Pharmaceutical sales. Walmart is looking good right about now....:confused:

If you land a job in pharmaceutical sales, let the rest of us know how... Post a thread because there are nurses who do this for a living. The successful ones make very good money without the bedside nursing drama. GL!!!

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I am so sorry...I actually feel much the same way. You are not alone in these feelings. I wish I could offer you more. Just remember you are not alone.

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I can dish it out and take it better than most. My preceptors were often taken aback because I sought out constructive criticism. As a new nurse, I stand my ground when seasoned doctors forget from time to time that they are dealing with a new grad or to give mutual respect where it's due. I won't stand for anyone who claims to be a professional, talking down to me. No one should have to suffer through that vainglorious chest pounding. The night shift was to be expected as a new grad, as was the short/unhelpful staff. I have to admit, I was surprised by constant malfunctioning equipment, lack of supplies, and the very low pay in a city where the cost of living is so high - a total side-swipe. While none of these things compounded added to my desire to come into work everyday, I suffer through the glamour of my first year at this struggling hospital. I figure I will earn my stripes and get the hell out. However, the epiphanies are just around the corner.

I think the saltiest realizations during this first six months :

a) Paper work appears more important than the patient.

b) My agenda of helping patients is not the the ultimate goal of the business I'm working for.

c) Healthcare is a business.

d)Healthcare is a revolving door business and at the end of the day, I'm just treating symptoms til they are back in my bed again.

and yes e) On a more personal note, my hospital doesn't give a **** about me and ******* it I really have to be my own advocate and do my own research, buy retroviral meds out of my own pocket for HIV exposure, and start myself on them before the Intensivist pulls his head out his ass a week later a realizes I was right for doing so.

I'm thinking about zoology.

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