Job advice, feeling overwhelmed- Wichita

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wow...i sure am struggling to find my "niche" in this rn life. i have had 6 jobs since graduating in may 2007. any advice? i know i want to continue to be a nurse..i just get so overwhelmed. i hate hospital nursing. i like procedures and surgery is ok, but i have worked so many places that i dont know what to do now. the last job i only worked a week. it was a home health place that trained me for one day! it was a pay per visit place, no benefits, no mileage reimbursement. they call you constantly (they are not paying my cell phone bill) and sometimes i get phone calls after my "available hours". the phone calls started on sunday and i dont work weekends. it was stressing me out, but i feel like such a failure! i cant seem to stay somewhere. the hours either are horrible, the patient:nurse ratio too much, the staff not helpful...etc. i am so worried about finding another job but couldnt stop from quiting this last position. i just want to be a good nurse. i sent a patient to the ed that was most definatley having signs of dig tox and the manager of company questioned me. she would nit pick every little thing. depressing..... btw that patient is now in an icu.

[color=#483d8b]where to go? any advice out there.

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Via Christi St. Joseph is a good place to work. Especially surgery. Don't lose your joy! :D Just curious, can you list the places you worked and why you left? Thanks!

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Do you work surgery there? Ok, I started in womens health at Wesley as a nurse tech for one yr. The management and staff there were awful. I was scared to death to take the amount of patients they were taking so I Transferred to OR...was there as a nurse tech for 6 months and Circ. Rn for a whole 3 weeks. I had a hysterectomy and was out...during that time, I decided to take a position at the burn center because i felt like I had to get those nursing skills under my belt. Well, the burn unit was overwhelming. My preceptor was not the best and when I asked for assistance from my manager I got a discipline form, slap on the hand and 4 weeks to improve or else. All for asking for additional help. It was after the charge nurse stood in the middle of the hall and exclaimed to all the other RN's one night that I was "in no way ready to be a nurse", that i was ready to move on. I worked 3 weeks trauma/surg floor at wesley and taking 9 pts freaked me out. I was at a dialysis place and my daughter got sick and I was going to have to take her to some specialists and so they didnt want to work with me on it. I quit. I went to a foot care place for 2 months and got to dig crud out of toes...gross. It was killing my back and I went home with a migraine every day. Not to mention they did not pay mileage and we traveled all over the state of Kansas. So, I took a job with a home health place that was pay per visit, no trainining, no benefits and no mileage. They called you constantly even at times when you were off. So, I only lasted a week there. The pay per visit was not clear either. They wanted me to go to Towanda and Newton and then all over wichita. So, that is where I am. I want to just find a day m-f job and stay! ANd learn! But I doubt anyone will hire me now!:crying2::crying2::confused:

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I work in Surgery at St. Joseph, but not as an RN. I am the Surgical Supply Distribution Coordinator. I work closely with all of the Surgery Staff and they are good people that know what they are doing. It sounds to me like you expected nursing to be easier than it was for you. Yes, there are some "easy" nursing jobs, but nursing is mostly hard work. A large number of hospitals across the country are understaffed and Wichita hospitals are no different. I would advise you to either reconsider your spot in health professions or buckle down and face the fact that nursing is going to be really hard work...and just enjoy it! I should hope that you would apply at a few places around Wichita and hope that someone will take a chance on you. Just realize that although it is hard work it is not about you or me, it is about the patients! :D

p.s. I would search Careerbuilder.com or a similar site and follow up on all of the misc nursing positions open at nursing homes, doctor's offices, etc. Good providence!

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I know it is a hard profession. I think it is just overwhelming and i thought i would be able to handle it better. I have like NO self confidence. I am working on that. However, this web site has really helped me to know others feel the same way. I KNOW I want to be a nurse and I am buckling down with the next position. I made it through nursing school and that was hard and I can do this! I WILL shrug those fears down and get passed it (there will always be some fear...it is patients lives). I love the patients...it is why i went to school. I have an interview with KS Heart tomorrow and am still waiting to hear back from Wichita Clinic surgery. If one of those places takes me I am staying! Thanks for listening! :yeah:

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holy cow i thought i was the only one in wichita that felt like that! i hate hospital nursing and have been trying to find a job since april! i finally got an interview so hopefully it will work out for both of us! keep us posted though! btw- what was the name of the home health place? i just applied at one but it is for an office position, not going out and seeing clients!

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I wish both of you the best and hope that it all works out for you! Just like you guys when I get done with nursing school I'm hoping I don't get stuck in a hospital living the "American Dream" just working all the time. I would rather work in a different atmosphere or use my nursing skills as a missionary to another country or sometihng like that. Good Providence! :D

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The place was called Progressive. I hope things work out for you too! I have another interview on Monday, and I am praying that they hire me. I had an interview today, but they brought me in just to ask a couple of questions and then say that the person doing the hiring for that position is out of town. AND they didnt even know if they had an opening!:banghead::confused: That is soooo frustrating....I wished they would have said that BEFORE I interviewed! I dont know how the nurses that work in the hospital do it all of the time! More power to them, because it is so intense! Too many patients.

Good luck with school and thanks for you both! Keep me informed too.

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Overwhelmed? You must have worked at Wesley. I remember 10 pts usual on nightshift. (Even 11-12 several times.) Joyous memories. Now working in a different state w/ 5-6 pts days (usually 5), and nightshift only works 6 pts. (They don't believe my stories about being charge nurse one evening and having 12 patients on Med Surg. Oh well.)

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Specializes in Telemetry, ICU, Resource Pool, Dialysis.

Kansas Medical Center (new hospital in Andover) has a 4:1 ratio. BUT they have no techs - and no pharmacy at night.

I am also completely burnt out on hospital nursing. I am now trying dialysis - so far I like it. Much, MUCH less stress. I work in a great unit, with fabulous nurses and techs, and a really great manager. The hours are great ( 0530-1600) no Sundays. The one and only downfall I can think of is possible boredom. But I work with nurses ans techs who have been working dialysis for many years, and have yet to become bored.

Have you thought about Urgent Care clinics, office work, research work?

Good luck, I feel your pain!!

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D&G girl...I cant figure out how or if I can send a private message to your email. Do you have to be a premium member? Anyways, there was ONE day of training. The HR lady is great! The rest of the staff...not so much.

Seansean....I worked at Wesley AND st francis. Wesley was insane with the patient loads. I think they need to do something...taking care of that many patients is dangerous. Wow, you must be releived to have your patient load under control.

So, what dialysis place? Because the one I tried, I didnt like. All of the nurses had recently quit. Anyways, I have got to find something and just STAY. My problem is that I really dont want to work nights or weekends because of my kids.

My job record sucks, so I am prayin that I will get hired next week and whatever it is...I just have to deal with it somehow. Thanks everyone for the great thoughts. :thnkg::hngon::rcgtku:

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what do you do as a dialysis nurse?

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