I quit... already... advice?!?!

[Erclifton85]

I just quit my first RN job, I was there a month... yeah only a month. I feel like I gave up but I do think it was the right decision. Before quitting I was having serious anxiety attacks and lack of sleep before mornings I had to work... I'm still anxious. I want some input and maybe words of encouragement. It was in a LTC facility. We had 120 beds, Nurse:Resident ratio was generally 1:25 or so on days, 1:40 on nights.

Now, the reasons I quit are as follows: all I got done doing was medication pass... that was the main focus, high ratios, not using as many assessment skills as I would like as a new grad, and the other nurses were encouraging me to cut corners. Now, from what I have read these things are common in LTC and that scares me. As the RN I would basically pass meds to my residents, then do an IV or something for an LPN, then try to do treatments... but would have to start another med pass, phone calls, family members, then run around and try to snag vitals for skilled assessments when I could find the resident I was looking for because they were rarely in their rooms... I was getting stressed out, felt overworked and underpaid, and frankly felt unsafe with such a high ratio. I commend nurses who can work LTC and honestly do a good job appropriately. I mean, if someone starts crashing your day is screwed... falls, which are somewhat common wipe out an hour... I mean I was behind all day anyway. I don't feel comfortable as a new grad giving a ton of meds that I don't have time to look up (I mean there were several I didn't know) and not within the proper time frame. Also everything was focused on "looking good for when state comes to inspect."

I hope it doesn't look bad for future potential employers, but I couldn't handle putting my license on the line every day like I felt I was... ultimately I am responsible, and I am not going to develope a bunch of bad habits to get an unreasonable work load done on time, it isn't fair to patients or to me. It was more than a new grad issue, it was a patient safety moral delimma.

Can anyone relate??? I have an interview Friday for a temporary job and am still trying to get on a med-surg floor... uuhhhggg new nurse blues.

[jjjoy, LPN]

That's about how long I lasted in an LTC facility with an average 30:1 ratio. I, too, felt like I was being pushed to cut corners and unable to properly take care of my responsibilies. One thing I took from it is that the experience wasn't all a loss.

At the very least, it gives you a point of reference in the future as you evaluate different facilities and the job expectations. Even if you can't get interviews right now with the economy, you can visit surrounding facilities and evaluate which ones look like better places to work. Ask to shadow if possible. I got a lot more info by shadowing/observing/asking questions about the work environment and workload after having even just a little experience on the front-line.

While you may never have gotten everything done just so, you probably still built up some skills even in that little time... such as tricks to help slow patients to swallow their meds, familiarity with g-tubes, and a better ability to eyeball a chronic patient's status. Every little bit more of experience helps build both skills and confidence. And that will carry over into your next "newbie" job; that is, you will be starting a bit further along the learning curve than if you hadn't had this experience.

Best of luck in the future!

[caliotter3]

Well, just be prepared for a more difficult time getting hired the next time. Your experience is common for that type of facility. Keep your chin up.

[Erclifton85]

Thanks for the good words. I did learn some good skills I can take with me, and definitely have a different outlook.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I don't think this will ruin your career or anything. It may just require you to be prepared to answer questions about it.

You probably learned a lot of important life lessons from this experience -- such as the fact that there are some jobs that you should avoid even if you are desparate. Be much more careful next time before you accept a position. Investigate it thoroughly and be sure you are prepared to make a committment to stay even if things are not as good as you would like them to be. That may mean taking a non-nursing job for a little while ... or working a shift you don't want to work ... etc. What will be hard to overcome is a series of very short-term jobs.

Decide what types of jobs you are willing and able to committ to, and then limit yourself to just jobs that are at least similar to those types. If your possibilities are too limited, then you'll need to do some deep soul-searching to see if you can't be a little more flexible to expand your choices.

Good luck!