I really want to quit..any advice?

[Sunny Diem]

Hello...hope everyone is keeping safe,

I am looking for advice. I am a new nurse...1 month in practice and I literally think about leaving my job everyday. I am a med surg nurse and I am regretting choosing med surg. I am not enjoying it and I hate that I feel this way. I feel overwhelmed, resentful of patients being mean, angry and ordering me around. Get me this, get me that without a thank you. I'm caring for them and they are yelling at me. I know they are suffering but...any advice?

[Yodi2007]

No don't quit because of the patients! On any floor and facility they will be the same! I work in Rehab as an RN and worked as a LPN in the prison system for a few months and nursing home. Better develop a strong invisible wall and keep moving! If it's because the staff is just down right just being nasty, then go to an Admin or House supervisor. If that doesn't work then give your month notice and leave the bridge intact, you never know when you'll need it again. Another suggestion is talk to your nurse manager or some experienced older nurse!

[Nunya, BSN]

Hang in there. You're just learning the job, you're stressed. Patients are worried about C19, they're stressed. It won't ever be perfect anywhere. Take a few extra minutes to validate their concerns. I know that's hard to do with everything else but it will pay dividends if you can acknowledge that, and show them that you see them as a person and not just their diagnosis.

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

Honestly, my advice is to do an AN site search, for "new grad is miserable/unhappy/depressed want to quit".

You will come up with probably hundreds of posts from people who were in the same boat. You're not alone and it will get better. (Also you'll have access to the advice from thousands of responses...)

[caliotter3]

The chances of encountering demanding behavior resides in all areas of nursing except perhaps the OR or a floor where patients are in a vegetative state. Even if you go to extended care home health, you are very likely to encounter neurotic, demanding behavior from both the patient and their family. One would think it would be easier to tolerate when only one patient or family, but really it tends to grate on your nerves even more. If after quite some time, let’s arbitrarily say five years, you are still in great distress, without having learned to adapt, you should seek therapy and/or delve into whether nursing is for you. Best wishes.

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

I think you'll encounter demanding behavior from patients and their families pretty much wherever you work. If the patient can't speak for themselves odds are there is going to be a family member there to speak for them. Heck, the ill informed rants and demands of family members are usually harder to deal with than the demanding patient. Plus dealing with the unreasonable expectations of co-workers and bosses adds to the stress.

I wish I had some advice on how to best deal with that. Unfortunately all I can come up with is just remember it's not personal. It's not you, it's them. If you can talk to a professional about managing your response to their behavior it might be helpful.

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

I have a job I love ten years into my career. Don't give up after month one. It gets better.

[gcupid]

Welcome to Nursing.

[speedynurse, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

I wouldn’t attribute this to med-surg nursing. I think this is everywhere in nursing. I know it can be overwhelming in the ED but the reason I stay in the ED is because the nurse to patient relationships are short in duration. However, the chaos of the ED actually increases behavior issues sometimes. I actually find family harder to deal with then patients. In other words - this isn’t med surg nursing but nursing in general.

[BradleyRN]

Come on now. Half your post is blaming mean patients. Is that really the main reason you want to quit?

[Sunny Diem]

Thank you everyone for responding. I think I feel this way because I regret choosing med surg over pediatrics. I am going to try to stick it out and work over to pediatrics.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

If you think med-surg is hard, wait until you are dealing with financially, socially and employed stretched parents on top of being worried about their kid and mistrustful of you. You will relate with them just as often as the children.