It finally happened to me....

TonieRN · Feb 9, 2011

Maybe what you DO need IS a vacation. It is amazing how a few days away can rejuviate you.....clear your mind. :)

NaKcl, BSN, RN · Feb 9, 2011

"...In all HONESTY... after the stress of school, the stress of finding a job... the orientation... the stress of a new job, an damn that is stress..... "

Very well described!!! that is what I thought exactly when I started this nursing business.

I, too, stay in my pajama all day when I am off, unless I have to go somewhere. :)

vacation every 6month theory sounds right. . I didn't think about that.

I took perdiem position, so I have more flexibility on my schedule.

look into this perdiem position, if you don't need benefits from the company.

It will give you more freedom, on scheduling at least :nurse:

ERFNERN · Feb 9, 2011

Well, I said it wouldn't happen to me... but it has. I have hit that "6 month slump" that some talk about. You know the one where you are positive and peppy and a go-getter just out of nursing school, and then at around 6 months, you get up one morning and hate your job?... Somewhere in the past week, I have developed an angry, cynical, depressive attitude toward nursing. It could have to do with the horrid day I had on Oncology the other day (I am in float pool) where I got a horrible assignment and every pt was "needy" and I couldn't meet all of their needs and the CNA's don't help much on that floor, and the charge nurse wouldn't do what I asked of her until I bugged her several times and the doctors wouldn't come up and look at my pt's infected peg site that they just put in and yadda yadda yadda. Left there saying "I will never go back to that floor". OR it could be the clique on the Pediatrics Unit that sticks to their own and their charge nurse who always has an attitude with me and everyone else on the floor. OR it could just be me. Or it could be that I still don't feel as comfortable as I want to feel with my skills and hate having to ask questions after I have been doing this for 7 months now, and hate how there is so much I still don't know. At any rate... I'm bitter and angry and trying to snap out of it. I feel like a need a Carribean Vacation.
Any moral support would be appreciated....

I think that you are expecting a lot of yourself. You have only been a nurse for 7 months, who would expect you not to have questions? I am fearful of the nurse who thinks that they know everything and is not asking questions. Medicine is an evolution and an atmosphere of constant change. This is why we have specialties. Why are you in a float pool? Float pool nurses always get the worst assignments, EVERYWHERE! You should be on one unit, getting your skills down. It is too much to ask for you to float from unit to unit. Why don't you go to an ICU and work there for about a year, and then you can work anywhere you want. I think if you find a home unit and then find where you interest lies in nursing, you job satisfaction will be so much better. Hope this helps, good luck!!

coffee4metech · Feb 9, 2011

Just want to let you know i'm in the same boat as you every time i wake up I'm reminded work is just around the corner people with attitudes and short staffed shifts make me crazy but I always say to myself no matter HOW bad it gets at LEAST i HAVE A JOB !!!! Thats the only motivation I have to get through a crappy shift and yes the advice to go on vacation is something you should definately plan for yourself you deserve it !!!!!!

TickyRN · Feb 9, 2011

Last week I was so stressed about stuff and couldnt sleep during the day (I work nights), i called off work for 2days and I feel so refreshed.

I am waithing for a PRN or parttime position to open up on my floor so that I can work two days a week or five shifts per period. OT is so not worth my peace of mind.

Hang in there and take a mini vacation every so often.

VICEDRN, BSN, RN · Feb 9, 2011

Am at 8 months and I love working in the ER but I am taking a vacation in 10 days for about 10 days and I think its the only thing keeping me sane! In fact, I wish I was taking longer.

My general feeling right now is that if one more person asks me if they really have to fill this script, if can have a gatorade (when profusely vomiting), if I can come back when they are finished with their call, if they can have a freakin pillow, if I know how much longer the doctor will be...ugh! I don't know what will happen!

BrookeeLou_RN · Feb 9, 2011

You do need a vacation! Statistics prove people should take time off about every 6 months in general. Now you do not have to go to Europe or anything.. maybe 2-3 days in a row off if you can manage it... No nursing, leave your phone and computer off, go do something fun, go to a park, picnic, see a movie in the middle of the day, eat lunch in a off the wall place. Break out of the routine..Pretend you are actually someone else.. Take a mini mental health day.

then when you come back to reality, start planning your next escape, just looking at a calendar, sending off for a few brochures(they are free and truly fun mail!), start collecting your change a a few spare dollars here and there.. this change can make days seem more tolerable.

Personally I plan something every 3 months..suits my life best. simple stuff, not big$$$.

Hope it helps!

Moogie · Feb 9, 2011

I worked float pool as a new graduate. It was the biggest mistake of my career. I always felt unsure of myself and a bit incompetent. I did not have supportive management and lacked a peer group so I could get used to my role as an RN. And yes, I often got the worst assignments, the patients that no one else wanted.

Honestly, I felt like a failure when I finally did land on a floor and that feeling stayed with me for far too long. I cried a lot and thought about changing career paths. It was frustrating and demoralizing and my self-esteem as a professional and as a person took a huge hit.

OP, I don't think the problem here is you---it's your situation. No new grad should ever be in the float pool for his/her first nursing job. I do feel for you in this and hope that things get better. Maybe it would not have been so difficult for me had I known that there were others in the same situation but back in the day, we didn't have AllNurses and I thought I was the only person who struggled with those feelings. You aren't alone and you can get through this, but you might want to look at moving to a floor that you enjoy so that you aren't so pressured by floating.

Bezoars · Feb 9, 2011

Thanks everyone for your encouraging words. I am planning a vacation in May, but I think I need a small one before that. I definitely think it has been a long road to success and now I'm just running on empty. Plus, I have a family at home that needs me and all that "house stuff" to be done too that weighs on me when I'm at home. AND, all my friendships have taken a nosedive since I got into nursing school and then started working so you just tend to feel like a failure at everything when you are spread thin.

As far as float pool goes... I did find it overwhelming at first, but I also saw it as a challenge to learn a lot about a lot of stuff. You see soooo much by going to different floors so I saw it as a way for me to really practice my skills in all the areas and find something I like. Truth be told - my passion is L&D but I didn't want to do it right out of school and lose a lot of my skill set. Someday I hope to end up there :clown:

karray · Feb 10, 2011

Time Off! I started in a float pool and felt very inadequate for a year or two. Every time I thought I had a floor figured out, staff or policies changed. I had to work very hard to keep a positive outlook for myself. I looked at the more varied experience as a plus and made it my business to learn all I could. Having said that, you have to take care of yourself. Remember why you went into nursing and rediscover your joy. You may need a mental health day or week, but don't give Up! HUGS to you.

Zookeeper3 · Feb 10, 2011

OP, what you are missing in a float pool is the companionship and tightness of a well known group. All our new hires are taken under our wings literally, mentored for years with the same nurse. I'd venture that a well practiced LPN getting an RN and joining a float pool can be successful.

You've chosen a VERY VERY difficult route and you can succeed and excel but it takes more work to make peer relations to mentor you. Again, not discouraging you ... but you must be very aggressive to pick out one person per shift and ask them, point blank if they can be your "go to person"... Never ever ever choose anyone with less than two years, they may seem more friendly, but the tougher looking ones will bring you the best mentoring, the ones that have been there for years, or even three. Pick a mentor, change your schedule if you can to thiers and learn.

anotherone, BSN, RN · Feb 10, 2011

Good luck! A t least it took you about six months to start feeling this way. I am not there yet and I have felt that way from the start! I thought it was supposed to get better around six months not worse!