Hello. I am a 23 year old female. I am currently working at a med-surg floor. This is my first nursing job ever. I graduated back in August 2015.. I have been working for a couple of months now and I HATE my job. We have a load of about 7 patients, I am currently going through training. I have a load of 5-6 patients for now. I am working my way up to the total of 7. I hate hate my job. I have no idea what to do. I had to sign a contract for two years and a half when I started this job. Being a nurse is nothing like I had expected. I literally cry on my way to work every day. I feel so stressed, I have stopped talking to friends. I don't want to hang out with friends, all I do is basically sleep. I am so tired and stressed all the time. I truly don't know what to do. A load of 6 patients is too much for me, It's so difficult to know what is going on with every single patient. Patients calling left and right and the antibiotics seem to never end. I work the night shift and I usually get out at 830am. The WHOLE 13-14 hours I am running around. I never have time for lunch, I do not eat throughout the entire shift. I keep thinking that maybe I feel this way because I am fairly new and that it might get better with time, but I just don't see it getting better.
I don't know what to do. I don't want to seem like I'm complaining over and over. I am just tired of crying to work everyday and dreading having to go into work. I have no idea what I can do since I have that contract, and I don't think they'll hire new nurses at a clinic. Please PLEASE PLEASE help. Any advice is truly appreciated. Please do not judge me, I am simply desperate. I feel like I am stuck and like no one understands what I am going through.
What can I do?? Where could I even work? PLEASE anybody give me advice.
I can honestly tell you that you are not alone. I just started working in the OR and after 23 days as a circulator I am expected to be able to do it all. I never have the same preceptor and the nurse clinician told me Friday that a few of the people I worked with are sick of teaching me. I was told that I better step it up. I am working my tail off and trying to figure it out. There is so much to learn (equipment, positioning, meds, instruments...) and there are only a few surgeries that I have helped with more than once. Everyday it is a new specialty. Now the knit picking has started-why do I wear clogs, your need to do this, you are not doing that, why can't you anticipate and on and on it goes. I am at the end of my rope and feel that I am the hated new girl. I thought that I would post this since I want you to know that you certainly are not alone. Someone told me that nurses eat their young and right now I cannot argue with that.
Only you can decide what is ultimately right for you. If you can stick it out do so, but if you are completely miserable, I would just leave if you can, although I'm not sure how your contracts work. I work med-surg but our ratio's are a bit better, and I work night shift now but I was lucky enough to have a day position open within 2 months of working nights. I am the type of person who has a hard time on nights and doesn't sleep during the day no matter what I do. I have a couple different friends from nursing school who quit their first (hospital) jobs because they were completely miserable and have moved onto things that are better for them...they could absorb the pay cut though, that is important. One is a sub school nurse and the other moved to case management I believe. They are both much happier. Not everyone is cut out for acute care hospital nursing, and it's ok. It's great experience if you can find something positive and stick it out, but being totally miserable every day of your life for years is not ok.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
What can I do?? Where could I even work? PLEASE anybody give me advice.
Although I believe that life is too short to be miserable, I also feel that you should hang in there and keep this job for at least one year. 12 months of med/surg experience will open the doors to amazing opportunities.
Years from now, this unpleasant experience will be water under the bridge. Good luck to you!
I am a new nurse as well and I feel the same exact way. I also signed a 2 yr contract ($13k) so I'm pretty much stuck at the hospital for 2 yrs. What helps me is having a hobby that takes me away from work stress. I picked up photography again and created an instagram account of all my photos and that keeps me busy. It's been a great therapy for me because creativity takes over and I can scape my nursing brain.
I also feel that as months go by and I gain experience and time management skills, my job will get easier. Everyone says the first year is tough. Think of it as something temporary that's going to allow you to gain really good nursing skills and it will prepare you for a much better job in the near future. I think of my med tele floor as a stepping stone for me. I will do my time and learn valuable skills for something else.
I also want to suggest that you reach out to your friends. You have no idea how good it feels when you have people to talk and laugh with. You need that mental escape from work!! Really, get out and enjoy life. Always have something to look forward to when you're working. The more you isolate yourself the worst you're going to feel. It helps me to have a supportive boyfriend who lets me rant about work. You gotta let it out!!
Hang in there. You're not alone. I'm feeling the same way, and a lot of other new RNs are too. Find something you enjoy doing on your time off and get your mind off work. Good luck to you! :)
Give yourself a break. Nursing is stressful at the best of times and you're just trying to figure out how to do things and then do them most efficiently. Med surge floors are about juggling and you don't know how yet. The secret is that management has but will not say is that it's not really possible to do everything they want you to do when you have seven patients. Focus on the important stuff and take care of the patient.
Think of it this way: if you can make it there you can make it anywhere.
Follow the advice others here have given. Eat well, sleep well, get some exercise, spend time with friends, drink water and remember to pee.
Specializes in med-surg, IMC, school nursing, NICU.
I was a new nurse not terribly long ago and while I didn't experience your struggle to quite the same degree, I did have some similar feelings when I was in your shoes. I was very upset (and tearful) on the way to work. I cried in the break room. I felt tempted to quit and try to find work as an aide somewhere because I didn't think I would EVER get the hang of nursing.
6 months later I was nominated for Novice Nurse of the Year and absolutely in love with my job.
The uncertainty of new nursing is not uncommon. We as nurses, I think, tend to be EXTRA nervous at work because nursing school teaches us about all the horrible, license-revoking things that can go on in the hospital setting. I want you to try and remember that you are still on orientation and the learning curve for new nurses is STEEP. That's why you have preceptors, senior nurses, nurse educators and your manager (sometimes) to help you out.
Breaking your contract would be one of the worst things you can do for a few reasons. 1) You will probably have to pay to get out of it 2) You will never be able to use that hospital as a reference, at least not one that will reflect well on your performance 3) You will be selling yourself short of the wonderful learning experience that is med-surg nursing. Talk to your preceptor. Tell him or her your concerns. Use the resources I mentioned above. Ask us experienced folks here on AN. The manager obviously saw something in you or you wouldn't be offered the job in the first place. Try to be patient, time management is something that cannot be taught. You need to stick it out and I promise you will get better. You are not alone.
I broke my contract and nothing happened to me. I had to move because of my husband's job transfer.
I was so happy to get out of med surg. I Totally empathize with you. I also HATED med surg. It's often an awful unit to work.
Try to take it day by day, stay focused on the priorities, chart as you go.
You have acknowledged that your job sucks (which it does), and now get beyond that and try to focus on other things in your life that are going well and positive. Set goals so that you can advance your career and get out of your situation.
Remember that if your brain is not fed you won't be as sharp and you won't be able to do your job as efficiently (thus prolonging the agony). So take a minute and force down a food bar, if you have to, to get some nutrition in you.
The first couple of years can be rough - especially with 6 patients. You will get comfortable with time, though. Getting out at 8:30 is not so bad. There were days in the beginning that I was there until 10 AM or later! There are some days now when I get out at 8:30 - 9:00 and I have been a med-surg nurse for 2.5 years.
-Make sure you carry some essentials in your pockets- flushes, tape, alcohol wipes to cut back on time retrieving these items.
-Try to gauge what the patient might need during the night and be prepared for it. For instance, if you have an incontinent pt, try and stock the room with extra gowns, pads, diapers, sheets, early in the shift so they are readily available when needed.
-Get a better report from the off-going nurse. You'll learn in time better questions to ask to help you know your pt better.
-Pee when you have to pee. Stop and drink some ice water when you are thirsty. It's not the end of the world if your patient has to wait a little bit longer for something. It is not the end of the world if a med is slightly late.
-As a new nurse on the floor you can get slowed down by looking for stuff. I suggest you get an accordion folder to easily have available papers you use a lot. For instance, one pocket can have new admit papers, one pocket can have surgical papers, one pocket can have smoking cessation papers, etc.
- Keep a list of important numbers/extensions handy so you can quickly pull them out when needed: RT, dietary, hospitalist, lab, house supervisor, etc.
-Be kind to your coworkers and help them out when you can. They will return the favor.
-If you are having trouble with something, seek help or practice the skill.
-Give it some time.
At 6 months, at some places, you can transfer to another unit on the floor. Talk to you nurse manager about this if you are truly miserable.
Hey, I feel for you. I too am a new nurse on med surg. I graduated in May, Took NCLEX in July and started work on med surg at the end of August. Totally went home crying every day . I have been on the job 5 months now and even my boss noticed a change. (I have an awesome boss by the way.) She found me crying in the med room one day and talked me off the edge. I thanked her for that understanding. I don't have a contract but I will not leave my job because she gave me a chance and the support I needed to survive; even though the higher up management continues to increase our requirements. Here are some things I have had to do to make med surg survivable so far:
I only work 2 shifts in a row then I need a day off. I usually work 2 on 2 off with an occasional 3 off (nice!)
I only work 3 shifts per week...absolutely no pick ups. I need and cherish my time off.
Make contact with the techs, be friendly and ask for help when you need it.
If you are unfamiliar with a procedure then that "stuck up been a PCT for 1,000 years coworker who knows more than nurses" may be able to talk you through it, swallow your pride and ask her/him to come in and assist on a procedure. They usually will, gets them off the floor and away from call lights for a time. Give them respect for their knowledge!
Learn the doctors (hospitalists and specialists) Make friends with PA's (may need to feed egos)
info to have on hand: who the doctors really are for each pt, upcoming procedures, diets, orientation status, ambulation status, what is the plan for each pt. Have a good understanding of how the patient was for the prior shift so you can identify a change. Know if you have to do any dressing changes, creams or oddball treatments. Ask off going nurse to show you, or go over dressing change info you are unsure of and where the supplies are (bedside, pt specific drawer). Be kind and help oncoming nurses...what goes around comes around usually.
tools to have on hand: alcohol wipes, flushes, scissors, penlight, pens, tape, 4x4 gauze, sharpie, dry erase marker clip board, legal pad, sticky notes and accucheck supplies. Leg pockets are essential! I assign my pockets (R shirt pocket - pens, highlighters; L shirt pocket - alcohol wipes, gloves; R pant pocket scissors, 4x4's tape, sharpie; L pant pocket; accucheck supplies, dry erase markers) I always carry spoons and straws on my cow.
Know who your accuchecks are
Anything I need to remember I write on my legal pad or on a sticky note and stick on my cow screen. -yes my coworkers laugh at me.
Look at MAR first. I mentally divide medications into four categories: before 9am, 9am, noonish and 1700 - make note of any oddball time meds and look out for new orders. Ask new admits if they already took am meds at home.
I start my 9am med pass right after shift report and start with the 7:30 accucheck/insulin pts. I jot down the med order onto a sticky like a waitress with an order and then pull my meds from the pixis one pt at a time. Can't always trust the pull by time feature.
I try to follow this rough schedule: Bedside report or bed check after report, Accuchecks, insulin, vitals, 9am meds, assessment charting, 11:30 accuchecks, noonish meds, MY LUNCH BREAK, after lunch rounding, charting, 4:30 accuchecks, 1700 meds, charting. Stuff that falls in the middle: admissions, discharges, Dr. calls, emergencies, bandage changes, etc...
I just try to do the best that I can, I am only one person and I ask for help when I need it. I give myself permission to not be perfect and to fail. That nurse I thought I would be when I was in school is just a pipe dream. If someone is nasty to me I figure its stress not me but I will ask a colleague if there is something I can do to improve.
on angry patients/family members, remember this phrase - Thank you for bringing this to my attention, let me see what I can do to correct this situation.
I EAT LUNCH and I bring a thick smoothy type drink that I keep in the fridge in case I can't take lunch at a lunch type time and I keep protein bars and snacks in my locker. You have to have energy and if your energy depletes patient care suffers. If there is a common time that the nurses you work with like to take their lunches than make your time either 30 min earlier or 30 minutes later. I eat in our break room and make sure techs and other nurses know they can come and get me if they need me. I punch back in if they need me.
I empty my bladder PRN. You might feel like there is no time, but you will feel much better if you do and nobody likes to work with a UTI.
I am in no means an expert; but, life for me on med surg is getting better and I didn't cry at all so far this week. I did sleep like 16 or so hours on my days off in the beginning and I did not want to see family or friends because I was fried; but now 5 months in I even babysit my grand kids on my days off (if I feel like it). and I have slowly resumed housework! . Bonus, my husband has learned to cook!
If anyone out there would like to add to or correct this list - it will be greatly appreciated as it may help me improve my practice.
I graduated in May, Took NCLEX in July and started work on med surg at the end of August. Totally went home crying every day 
. I have been on the job 5 months now and even my boss noticed a change. (I have an awesome boss by the way.) She found me crying in the med room one day and talked me off the edge. I thanked her for that understanding. I don't have a contract but I will not leave my job because she gave me a chance and the support I needed to survive; even though the higher up management continues to increase our requirements. Here are some things I have had to do to make med surg survivable so far:
sageone
13 Posts
I can honestly tell you that you are not alone. I just started working in the OR and after 23 days as a circulator I am expected to be able to do it all. I never have the same preceptor and the nurse clinician told me Friday that a few of the people I worked with are sick of teaching me. I was told that I better step it up. I am working my tail off and trying to figure it out. There is so much to learn (equipment, positioning, meds, instruments...) and there are only a few surgeries that I have helped with more than once. Everyday it is a new specialty. Now the knit picking has started-why do I wear clogs, your need to do this, you are not doing that, why can't you anticipate and on and on it goes. I am at the end of my rope and feel that I am the hated new girl. I thought that I would post this since I want you to know that you certainly are not alone. Someone told me that nurses eat their young and right now I cannot argue with that.