I'm leaving my first nursing job after 6 months, any advice?

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 26, 2009

Definitely -- resign before you are terminated. If you allow yourself to be terminated, you will have to say that on future applications for the rest of your life as it is a common question on applications. If you resign, you can simply say that you left your first job after 6 months because critical care was not for you. The fact that your employer kept you around (investing in you) will actually look good in that they thought you were worth that big of an investment. Ironic, isn't it?

So ... for the immediate future ...

1. Immediately (Monday. Don't wait until Tuesday.) Find out if there are available positions on other units in the same hospital. Talk to the Nurse Recruiter: don't just rely on the publically posted positions. After investing 6 months in you, the hospital may prefer to transfer you to another unit rather than have you walk out the door, taking their investment in you with you. They may have the ability to give you an unposted position on a med/surg floor or something that will give you a 2nd chance. That would allow you to keep your benefits, keep your seniority, etc. and allow you to have continuous employment on your resume.

2. Step 2 is to put in a request for a transfer if that is going to be a possibility.

3. If transfer is not possible, resign. Make sure you resign before they terminate you.

4. If you resign, take a week or two to pamper yourself, cry, etc. and get that work of grieving done. Then pick yourself up and start job hunting.

It is MORE than OK to be open and honest with the ICU Manager about your hopes and plans. Unless she is evil incarnate and stupid, she will see that it is her best interest to allow you to leave gracefully. Tell her that you realize that ICU is not for you and that you would like to explore the possibilities of transfering to another unit before the resignation paperwork is completed.

The transfer process (and paperwork) is the easiest and least emotionally distressing for everyone. Your manager should understand that. The 2nd easiest and least distressing is resignation. The messiest and most distressing is termination. She'll want to avoid that if possible, too. So, work with her to make it easiest and least distressing for everyone. She may even help you arrange a transfer. That helps her feel good about the situation in that she helped you to land on your feet. It's what a lot of managers prefer to do.

By giving you a "2-week warning," she is indicating that she doesn't really want to fire you ... she wants to give you a chance to avoid the "involuntary termination" label and move on to have a successful career somewhere else. Let her know that's what you want to do and give her a chance to guide you gracefully out of her unit in a way that will allow you to move on with your career.

Keep in touch with us here on allnurses. A lot of people have been through this as it is common for new grads to struggle in the ICU. People can share their stories and give you good suggestions for moving forward. Good luck to you.

yng65 · Jul 26, 2009

Thank you very much for your great advice. My hospital is a small hospital and my manager also manages Med/Surg unit, too. Unfortunately, she explained at the meeting that there was no opening at this time in the unit. I will take your advice to resign myself and look for a new opportunity.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Jul 27, 2009

yng65,

I am soooo sorry that you are going through this. Each type of clinical setting has it's own unique stressors. Critical Care can require an incredibly high level of multi-tasking that is just not achievable if that's not the way your brain is hardwired. Transition to ICU is challenging even for experienced nurses.

Just because this is not your cup of tea doesn't mean you are not going to be a fabulous nurse in another clinical setting. Just chalk this up as a learning experience. I have always learned more from my 'mistakes' than from my successes - that's a good thing because there are so much more of the former than the latter.

Good luck. Take a deep breath and go get 'em!!

MigsRN · Sep 14, 2010

I realize this post was more than a year ago, but I in a similar position. I took an internship position in home care, and I have really struggled to learn how to learn and grow as a nurse and at the same time learn the ins and outs of home care. I dread going to work, and I am not sleeping or eating well as a result. My clinical advisor approached me because she has noticed this in me, and because my managers have not been happy with my work. We discussed whether or not this job is a good fit for me, and I asked her if I could give it a try for a few more weeks before I make a decision. Despite my efforts to find a way for this to work for me I still dread each day and am heavily leaning towards giving up this job. However, I'm terrified of what that might mean for me. I'm worried that potential employers will look negatively on the fact that I will probably be leaving after only 6 months, and I kind thinking what if nursing isn't where I should be. Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated either from the poster or others. Thank you!

Thephoenixrises · Sep 14, 2010

Thanks so much for posting this. I am in the EXACT same position and am going to be taking steps to transfer. I feel very comforted that I know others are going through this and that im not alone..

chloecatrn · Sep 14, 2010

However, I'm terrified of what that might mean for me. I'm worried that potential employers will look negatively on the fact that I will probably be leaving after only 6 months, and I kind thinking what if nursing isn't where I should be. Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated either from the poster or others. Thank you!

You're in home care. Home care is a different being from acute care or long term care, or pretty much any other type of nursing in an actual facility. Do not give up hope. Do not give up nursing. Ask your manager and your advisor what types of improvements you can make to your performance. Try to make them while you're looking for a new job, because most employers are going to want to speak to your current employer. If you can't handle sticking it out, then leave on your terms. Being terminated is not the route you want to go. Keep submitting your resume. Keep looking for jobs. Post your resume here, if you want, and we'll critique it.

Try to find one positive each day about your job. Try to find one skill each day that you want to improve upon, no matter how small. Home care is a challenge, because you don't receive much positive feedback... a lot of the time, you'll only hear when you're doing things wrong. What types of negative feedback are you getting? We might be able to give you some tips to improve things while you submit your resume to other positions.

At the end of each day, treat yourself. Every morning, I get up and go out to a position that isn't my favorite. I buy myself a cup of coffee. When I'm done, I buy an iced tea. Not expensive, but it makes getting up in the morning and getting out of the house worth it, and it gives me something to look forward to at the end of the day. It helps me to remember that, even if no one else reminds me of it, I'm proud of me for doing what I have to do to survive in this lousy job market.

I'm still looking for a new job, just as you are. I'd strongly recommend holding on to what you've got, though, and doing what you can to improve. Having supervisors who can say that you weren't doing well, but responded to their suggestions to improve your performance and met their expectations -- and surpassed them :) -- will speak volumes when you're looking for a new job. Good luck, and I wish you nothing but the best.

cpilny · Sep 14, 2010

I quit my first job out of nursing school too. It was a med-surg floor on the night shift in a community hospital. The head nurse, nursing instructor, and supervisor all were of the "let's eat our young" variety. This was a second career for me at age 40, and I thought I had made a "huge" mistake. I ended up on a Cardio-Thorasic surgery floor at the Cleveland Clinic, and later was the float nurse when ICU needed help!

Don't let them terminate you, resign ASAP. I was a nursing instructor for Case Western for a time, and I will tell you that I do not believe "any" graduate nurse should begin his/her career in ICU. ICU nurses are at the top of their game, and usually have years of experience. If this is what you really want, then go out and get the experience in med-surg or another area that interests you, then go back to ICU when you are ready. There are as many ways to practice nursing as there are nurses, don't be discourage. Figure out what you love to do, it may be long term care, rehab, home health care, or geriatric (here's a growing field). Do what you really love, not what seems the most glamorous.

blackberrie_281 · Sep 15, 2010

why wouldnt icu be a good place for a graduate nurse, specially when its supposedly different from alotta other settings, like med surge? so why would having experience in another setting help you succeed better than a graduate student when ud both have to get use to the intricacies of the ICU?

cpilny · Sep 16, 2010

ICU nursing takes excellent assessment and problem solving skills, a very wide knowledge base and quick judgement. ICU nurses are very sure of their skills and in a crisis situation act calmly and surely. These are learned skills not taught in school, they are learned on the floor over time. The average graduate nurse is not that calm or skilled. Attend a code in an ICU and many times you will not even know that there is an emergency in progress. There is no other area of the hospital setting where the patients life is truly in the hands of the nuirsing staff as in an ICU. And that is the basis of my statement. Oddly enough, ICU nurses also excell in the Home Health setting, as there is no Doctor standing by to tell them what to do, they have to rely on their own skills and judgement.

blackberrie_281 · Sep 16, 2010

some people have said that ICU is an entirely different enviorment though, and that many experienced nurses struggle, i guess because different skills are utilized there, and different procedures. so i just figure, all the stuff you dont learn in nursing school, the stuff that takes on the job training to be proficient at (quick assessments of situations, calm in emergencies ect) would be just as quickly learned by a graduate in ICU as it would be for a graduate in another setting. The graduate may take another yr or so more in order to possess these qualities than an experienced nurse whose never worked in the ICU before would, but at least the graduate nurse would be familiar with ICU practices and protocols.

lucya · Sep 16, 2010

Cpilny, you've been very helpfull...thanks for the advice!