I need to vent :(

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi all... Well here it goes :unsure:

So I graduated Aug 2014, began working in my local NICU Nov 2014. Ive wanted to work in NICU all throughout nursing school and I was beyond happy to get this position, especially as a new grad. However I am so bummed that this is NOTHING how I imagined nursing to be. I feel under appreciated. The doctors talk to me so crappy. I feel like I dont know anything since I have no experience in NICU and didnt exactly cover ill newborns in nursing school. I dread going to work some days and even on my off days all I can think about is how I dont want to go back to work. I feel such a negativity energy at my place of work and I cant handle that! I feel like your coworkers/work environment can make or break job satisfactory. Its just really overwhelming most times. I feel so frustrated that I went to school 5yrs to become a bsn rn and this is the pay off? To have my bubble bursted and not enjoy this dream job that I thought I would so much is such a downer for me. However it isnt all bad. The one aspect of my job I do enjoy is educating the parents on how to care for their little one. LOVE it! I am considering job areas that would allow me to focus on educating new moms on care of their infant such as safe sleep, nutrition/breastfeeding, immunizations, etc. Is there a position specifically tailored to this? Although this is still new Im extremely frustrated and want something different.. Any thoughts? Advice? I know that was a lot but Im so frustrated and dont want to vent to family and have them dissapointed in me for feeling like a failure.

Specializes in CVICU.

I'm surprised no one has said this yet, but you've only been an RN for 3-3.5 months. If you didn't feel overwhelmed, I would be shocked. Your feeling of not knowing anything is completely normal, especially in a critical care environment like the NICU. With most doctors, you have to prove yourself to earn their respect and trust. While they should not be condescending, such personalities exist within all professions. If you feel like a doctor (or any coworker) has been particularly rude towards you, you should bring it to their attention and find out what the reason could be for it. It could have nothing to do with you, and everything to do with the stress they are feeling. This doesn't excuse poor behavior, but it gives you insight.

It would behoove you to independently read about disease processes and situations you encounter at work that you don't feel confident about. We new nurses are so lucky to live in a time where anything we could possibly want to know is at our fingertips with the Internet. If you didn't fully understand how a baby's pertussis made his health deteriorate so quickly, for example, you could read all about the pathophysiology of the disease after work.

Is time management your problem? Do you constantly feel behind? Well, it isn't exactly something they teach in nursing school. "Brain sheets" are often mentioned in threads such as these. They are forms that can help you organize your shift and priorities so you stay on task, and they can help prevent you from falling behind. Seek them out! There are many posted throughout these forums.

A key question to ask is, do you enjoy what you do? You said you enjoyed the teaching aspect of your job. Do you enjoy actually caring for the babies? It can take time for people to warm up to the 'new guy' on the crew. Each unit really does have its own culture, and though you didn't specify if your nursing coworkers were receptive of you or not, I feel like you would have mentioned if they were nasty towards you.

My opinion? Stick out the NICU job for at least a year and you will be amazed at what you learn. If you still aren't sold on it after that 1 year, you'll at least have it on your resume and it could be your key to landing a lactation consultant job or something similar.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

Some (if not all--I'm not familiar w/ all) of our local county health dept's have RN-run programs that do a lot of home visits and teaching for new parents. The most involved programs are geared toward families that are low income or otherwise at risk for health disparity. Do you know if your program's requirements meet the PHN certification requirements? I ask because the RN-to-BSN program I'm doing right now has sufficient didactic and practicum hours that when we graduate we automatically qualify for PHN certification. That could be something for you to check into, since it could help give you an edge for this type of nursing.

Otherwise, what about becoming a lactation consultant?

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You have expressed a lot of my same concerns being a new ER nurse. I get anxious on my days off just thinking about going back to work. I absolutely love it and love the people but my lack of knowledge has me feeling inadequate.

From what others have told me, I think you need to give it time. We are learning so much more than we learned in school. It is going to take time for us to feel like we belong.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

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Specializes in Family Practice.

Find your niche!!! I was a unit secretary in L&D for 4 years and could not wait to work in this area when I became licensed. NOT!!! I went to the NICU which I love for the most part. I understand how you feel. I work with a few young nurses who are not feeling it but are waiting to go to other areas like OR, ICU, and public health. Just hang in there and things will come to fruition. Be honest with your feelings is it the unit itself or the area you are not feeling? It could be both. Nursing offers a dynamic areas of practice choose what you love and go for it. :-)

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Here's another option...when my twins were discharged from the NICU, we met with a nurse who was employed by the home equipment company. She educated us on how to use the equipment and what to watch for in terms of complications. She had more time to spend with us in education than the NICU nurses. I think there are a lot of options out there for you!

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Thanks KelRn- I would be interested in those areas!! I will be looking into it. Thanks for responding 😁

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Yeah I definitely think I had a different idea of how nursing would be after school and it was nothing like the reality. I think I would be great in public health nursing but I've always been told to get hospital experience before going into public health.

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Klone- thanks for that!! 😁

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CountryMomma- that would be ideal, dumb question but WIC utilizes RN's in the clinics? i thought it may have been strictly social work/dietary

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Pockunit- I've been considering PP, as much as I want to leave now Im gonna try to stick it out for this yr. & use this time to look into other areas of nursing that may be more of my speed. Thanks for responding :)

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Sjalv- I love the babies :) they make me happy even when the rest of my job is frustrating and overwhelming. I think its a mix of the intensity, the overwhelming feeling of the hospital, the being pulled back & forth. Its not what I thought it would be. But when I do get the time to actually build a relationship with the parents of my babies & teach them things it makes me feel very useful as a nurse. If I could find a spot in nursing that allowed me to have this satisfaction everyday I went to work I feel like I would enjoy going to work everyday :) I want to find that avenue, but I do think it would help if I stayed here for at least a yr to gain this experience as I am a new nurse. Thanks so much for responding

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