I graduated in December, and have been working on an inpatient oncology unit since. I DREAD going to work each week. The days I do have off, I'm too tired to enjoy. I'm not overwhelmed or any of the typical things you'd assume. I just don't like it!
Is this normal for new nurses? Does it pass? Were most of you in love with nursing from the get-go? Maybe I need a new are of nursing?
I just don't know what to do, I'm already pondering starting up a new degree program.
I'm not saying that there's a huge difference in the contributions of younger nurses with lots of valuable experience and the much older nurse with twice as many years on the job. What I'm saying is that there has to be some sort of incentive for those who have stuck it out through thick and thin with one employer. Otherwise, why stick around?
PS... could we please send Dr Duckett back down under?? Please?
The incentive might just be job security set in concrete (unless one does something really heinous)
The 28 yr veteran costs the organisation the same as the RN with 8 yrs experience...this means the older nurse is extremely unlikely to be laid off.
The employer is getting 28 yrs for the price of 8.
I don't know what it's like in Canada ...but down-under we older nurses seem to have no other real value for the organisation.
Put in 40 yrs service for one organisation and you will get nothing when you retire. Your coworkers will bring cake and cookies and you will have your own little party in the break room during routine coffee time.
I think we might be kidding ourselves if we think nurses are going to get more than that
I think this is a great idea. Thanks for recommending. I have been Nursing for awhile and am in a bit of a rutt. This could help get the juices flowing again:) A book that reflects on planning and navigating a career is something I need to consider more these days. I like nursing but I think I might not be happy with the changes in my area/politics.
despite what seems to be the popular opinion of new nurses, nursing students and about-to-be nursing students on threads such as these, i am also one of the senior nurses that the students and new grads seek out to answer questions for them. as far as i know, no one that i know personally has ever believed that i'm a "young eater." if there were such a thing.
i frequently see new grads make statements like the above -- prefaced by saying "i'm only working hear while i go to school for my np" or "i'm just doing the least icu i can do before i go to anesthesia school." despite our manager's clearly stated policy that she will not be giving recommendations to anyone who doesn't work in our icu a minimum of two years after getting off orientation, there are still those new grads who apply to crna programs a mere year after they've started working here, even though that's often not even six months off orientation. i wish i had a dollar for every new grad that's come to me or some of my peers asking for a letter of recommendation because they're so shocked that no one on the management team will give them one. they'll insist that our manager is a nasty old (bad word meaning female dog) and that this is a prime example of "nurses eating their young" because they "don't want anyone to get ahead." if they can find someone else to write a letter for them, they'll do it. and at least one girl that i knew of got into graduate school without any letters of recommendation from the workplace by virtue of asking her grandparents to endow a chair . . . .
because i work in a well-known hospital, we often get new graduates fresh from prestigious nursing schools or whose parents and grand-parents have contributed large amounts of money either to our hospital or the nursing school. there are exceptions, of course, but many of them feel that they shouldn't have to work nights, weekends, holidays or do anything difficult before they inevitably move on. starting in july, before they're even a month into orientation, some of these new employees are making statements such as "i'm not working new year's eve -- i have a social life." and "i can't work christmas -- i have a family." they also don't want to clean up poop, deal with difficult families or miss a weekend at the beach. it seems to be the rare new grad who comes to the icu because they really want to take care of icu patients. we hire between 16 and 52 new grads a year, and usually only a few stay. it isn't because this is such a horrible place to work -- most of them start with the intention of just marking time until they get their advanced degrees.
but it seems that very few new nursing graduates enter the profession prepared for working nights, weekends, holidays and doing the dirty work and back breaking labor associated with the job. perhaps my view is skewed because my unit is "a feeder unit" for anesthesia school, but most of the new graduates i've met have no idea what they're going to have to do to get that year of experience. it starts while they're still in hospital orientation, before they set foot on the unit in scrubs. "i'm getting married and i need three weeks off in july for the wedding and honeymoon, and i need every weekend in june off for the parties and i can't work christmas because my whole family is getting together." they're often the same new grads who claim that "the bitter old hags" are eating them because they're so much younger and more beautiful. and the ones who spend most of their shift flirting with the residents who, since the influx of mid-level providers into the icu, have nothing much to do.
i'm not sure why it is, but this seems to be a relatively recent turn of events; perhaps in the last 10 to 15 years. in fact, all of the nurses i know who work in the icu because they want to work in the icu and do the actual work of the icu started more than ten years ago. that's frightening. and sad.
i have to say i love what you just said. i will also be a new graduate this december and my dream is to eventually be in icu! i want to work nights, weekends, holidays...i honestly don't care as long as i can get the opportunity to do what i have a passion for! i will start applying next month and while my chances may be slim, i refuse to give up and know that i will end up there someday. i have experienced nurses in med surg clinicals who haven't been the nicest or willing to help but i never took it to heart. i'm sure that they have a lot of work and a student right next to them only makes their situation worse. however, i also had some great preceptors..and one of them being in my icu rotation. i will go into my future employer with an open mind and although i may encounter individuals that are not fond of me...i will choose not to let it get to me and affect my work.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.
melmonlove, for every one like you there are probably five of the other. Out of the dozen most recent newcomers to my unit, I can honestly only think of two that really are there because they want to do the job. The others are there because they've heard the workload is lighter - yeah, we're usually staffed 1:1, but that means nothing! - or they want to do transport nursing someday, or they think there's some sort of prestige in saying "I work in ICU at the blahblahblah, aren't I special?", or they're working on their Masters so they can be NPs and they need a place to work where they can do their research or type out their papers on the job.
melmonlove, for every one like you there are probably five of the other. Out of the dozen most recent newcomers to my unit, I can honestly only think of two that really are there because they want to do the job. The others are there because they've heard the workload is lighter - yeah, we're usually staffed 1:1, but that means nothing! - or they want to do transport nursing someday, or they think there's some sort of prestige in saying "I work in ICU at the blahblahblah, aren't I special?", or they're working on their Masters so they can be NPs and they need a place to work where they can do their research or type out their papers on the job.
I understand what you're saying but hopefully i get the opportunity somewhere down the road. Plus you have to think that having days, not working nights or holidays comes with time and seniority. I wouldn't like it either if I have been at an employer for many years and a new graduate comes in "demanding" benefits. This of course not only implies with nursing but any profession. :redbeathe
Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.
If it were up to me, the screening process for applicants to our unit would weed out those people I just described and only select people such as yourself who have a passion for the work, a drive to learn and grow and the work ethic to get it all done. And if the screening process didn't catch tme then hopefully the orientation process would. But in my real world that's not going to happen. I expect that someone like you will make it work because you really have what it takes to be a team player. I wish you well.
Yo need to leave ASAP. I'm in the same boat: nursing was OK for the 1st year, then I signed a contract and had to stay there for 3 more years. By the way I hate EVERYTHING about nursing. Now, it's affecting everything else in my life and it's like quicksand: the longer you wait to leave, the harder it is to leave. You get comfortable and stay a little longer... Now, I work in a "good" hospital with only 3-4 patients a nurse and with young, nice nurses. But it's nursing I don't like. CHanging beds, smelling people's breath, feeding people, constantly getting stuff for people... WHat was I thinking. I wasn't.
Could it possibly be your frame of mind & not your specialty? I'm an LPN in a LTC facility in a dementia/psych unit which I never envisioned myself doing!! I pictured myself in an ER because I can have a very hyper personality & need to be moving ALL the time. With the poor economy, this is where I found myself. I got into nursing to help others, and I LOVE my job because thats what I do. My residents are essentially helpless! They light up when I get to work because they know I care. I'm constantly moving, chasing alarms, etc... LOL!!! I believe if any of us look at our jobs in the right light, we can make it something that maybe another nurse with the wrong attitude couldn't!! Think about it!!
Yea your'e right. I totally chose the wrong carreer. There are people that don't mind doing these things that I hate. I don't care to be needed by strangers. And it doesn't brighten my day to help people all of the time. I'm sure all of the accountants, computer programers, business owners... have the same type of personality. It just sucks that I chose this path.
I feel the same way. Every morning I work I groan and worry if the day will be easy or hard. I think what makes the most difference is the people I work with. Sometimes I'm extremely busy, but as long as I'm with good supportive coworkers I feel like I can get through the day. I have only been working 8 months and have started thinking about changing careers to accounting. LOL.
There is a concept in psychology...lol, cannot remember the term for it, sorry, but- the gist of it is this: if people invest a lot of time and energy in something (like $$, time and energy in nursing school) then it becomes harder to admit or realize that it was perhaps a waste of time or not right for them. In other words, the emotional investment increases with the amt of time/ money/ energy invested.
So it is possible for people to rationalize why they should like something, the more of a sacrifice they've made to get there.
I still dread going to work. Haven't been in nursing that long. Left for awhile to take a break, am back now in a job that is okay. Still don't like it, and realizing perhaps it's finally time to say goodbye to something that makes me unhappy. Hard to do though. Keep rationalizing (as many others on this site)- well, haven't found my "niche' yet.. sigh!!!
pedicurn, LPN, RN
696 Posts
The incentive might just be job security set in concrete (unless one does something really heinous)
The 28 yr veteran costs the organisation the same as the RN with 8 yrs experience...this means the older nurse is extremely unlikely to be laid off.
The employer is getting 28 yrs for the price of 8.
I don't know what it's like in Canada ...but down-under we older nurses seem to have no other real value for the organisation.
Put in 40 yrs service for one organisation and you will get nothing when you retire. Your coworkers will bring cake and cookies and you will have your own little party in the break room during routine coffee time.
I think we might be kidding ourselves if we think nurses are going to get more than that