job advice? posted on general forum, but had no luck.

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Hi everyone, My name is Kinley and I will be coming up on my ONE YEAR anniversary as a RN! I take a lot of pride in my job and worked very hard to get where I am today. I started my career a little late in life or as some would say, I took the long road to get where I wanted to be, but that was never my plan. I have been in the medical field, one way or another since I graduated high school, either being a "gofer" in a medical office, an office assistant, or working my way to lab tech and so on. I always wanted to eventually be a RN, but like I said, I went the long road. I got married, had a beautiful son and then went through a civil but hard and painful divorce. I am no stranger to hard work and dedication, I put myself through school as a single mom and although it was VERY HARD, I was driven by such determination to make not only myself happy, but my son as well, with a career that we could really benefit from.

With all that being said, right after I graduated, I was accepted into a New Grad Intern program at a very well known and highly accredited hospital right here in my home town. The program was for 6 months in a critical care unit and I absolutely loved the facility and staff. I had an awesome preceptor that gave me wonderful guidance and taught me quite a bit. I also received a lot of additional training and classes through this program. The only issue was that the hours, 7p-7a. I would work 3-4 days in a row and I began to get spread pretty thin between work and taking care of my son. I always had to make arrangements for him while I was working which added quite a bit of stress, not to mention guilt. My days felt so hectic and it began to show very quickly. So when the opportunity came through a close friend of mine to transfer to a hospital where she worked, I began to debate what to do. This position WAS DAY SHIFT as a PRN, but it was about 20-30 minutes away from my house. I knew there would be a slight pay cut due to the loss of hours, but after thinking it over, I decided to make the move at the end of my 6 months.

When I began at this hospital everything seemed great! I was able to be there for my son more and didn't have the stress of making sure he was taken care of at night while I was gone. I was able to work things out with my ex-husband to fill in and work a few weekends while my son was with him. But then, I began to feel like I was on the set of a soap opera, a very unorganized and unprofessional one at that! It seemed that the nurses got absolutely no respect and most of them were more interested in sitting around gossiping than taking care of patients. It became a "who is cheating with whom" kind of thing or a competition of sorts with the "new girls" especially the "new grads". Suddenly I found myself not so happy with my decision. So now here I am at a place where the hours fit my "LIFE" but I hate going into work because of the environment. I left a place that I LOVED and a staff I LOVED because it didn't fit my "LIFE". So now, I am wondering what should I do. I have barely been a RN for a year and already switched jobs or hospitals ONCE, what would it look like on my resume' to switch AGAIN!? I really do NOT want to make a mistake and mess up my future as a RN.

Does anyone have any advice, I would gladly appreciate anything anyone has to offer.

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Jobs are not that easy to get for most people. Best to try to keep yourself from appearing like a job hopper. You can adjust to the atmosphere at work by refusing to engage in the gossip and negativity. Since this is more akin to the atmosphere at most places, you wouldn't be so apt to find a better place to work other than returning to the original place that you loved. Even if that were possible, it is probably not a good move unless you have a guarantee that things wouldn't change anytime soon.

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Specializes in PCU, cardiology, oncology.

IMHO I'd say stay where you are & be the best nurse you can be, don't lower yourself to their gossip, etc... if you feel it is interfering with pt care, then talk to your supervisors about it. I don't think the stress on your family (son) is worth going back to the other hospital. good luck.

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Specializes in ER.

Personally, I would take the job that best fit my child's schedule and ignore the petty gossip at work. Remembering in the back of your mind why you're there. Do your job and go home.

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Specializes in Critical Care/Coronary Care Unit,.

Best not to switch jobs so quickly. Stay for at least a year or you'll appear to be a job hopper. As far as not liking the people you work with...so what. You're able to take care of your son right b/c of this schedule..end of story. Take care of your kid and don't pay attention to what other people say. Most people don't go to work b/c they love it so much...they go b/c they have bills to pay, kids to feed, etc. Plus, jobs aren't easy to come by..especially as someone with less than a year of experience....I wouldn't job hop. Stay out of the politics....don't get involved in the politics...if it's at night...take a book if you can and keep to yourself. Unless this job is seriously affecting your mental health...I can't find any reason to leave unless they are blatantly endangering pts...but not just for petty gossip that occurs at almost every facility.

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Specializes in ER, IICU, PCU, PACU, EMS.

One of the advantages of being a PRN nurse is that you can work as much or as little (but within the required minimum hours) as you want. You can always pick up another PRN job and put in more hours there. Another benefit is that because you are PRN, you can claim ignorance to the gossip around you. Don't be a part of it, don't listen to it. That's what I do. Treat all of your coworkers with respect and in the same manner as you would want to be treated and spend your time doing your job with your patients. You won't have time to sit around and listen to the negativity. You have so many options. Work is work and family is family. Family trumps work every time. Do what is best for your family.

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Specializes in ER.

i am going to differ from everyone else's advice, I think you spend so much time at work, you should enjoy it while you are there. These are just two units that you have worked at, perhaps you can find another unit or hospital that would work with you on your schedule or perhaps your old job would now have prn position available. I think most managers would understand that you are trying to do what works best for your family. We have had several people leave and return to work after they found out the grass isn't always greener.

Just a thought, no reason why you shouldn't be able to have both. Good luck!!!

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