Job hopping...

[voraciousj]

So I graduated in may 2009, got a job working 3-12 hour days on a med-surg/tele floor. Long story short I left after about 10 months due to a difference between me and my nurse manager. Now before you get to thinking that it was me, I was the first of about half a dozen nurses to leave that floor for the same reason...so I know it wasn't entirely me...

I went back to the hospital where I did my internship my senior year of nursing school to 5-8 hour nights, med-surg/tele. Long story short, I HATE it with a passion. Understaffed, unsafe, overworked ( I work every holiday/weekend), never see my family friends, the manager is a nightmare (once again, I'm not the only one with these feelings)...the list could go on and on. I pretty much have lost all interest in doing anything other than sleeping, I cry almost every day and I feel like absolute crap...

I've now been there for about 4 months and I am trying to hold on while I submit applications to other hospitals in different departments, specifically the ED. My questions for you all is: How bad does this look that I left my first job after 10 months and am now seeking new employment after only 4 months? How can I manage to hang in there until I find something new? How shall I phrase my lack of longevity in interviews? How can I avoid these situations in the future?

I am actively looking/applying to a multitude of different facilities and while I would like to be in the ED, I'm open to other floors. I am also trying to obtain different certifications to advance my career.

Thank you guys for taking the time to read this, and to all those out there who don't have jobs...you have my sympathies and you're more than welcome to take mine...

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

whoa... the one thing that stuck me like a thumb in the eye is the fact that you "...cry almost every day and feel like absolute crap..."

talk about red flags...

this is no longer just about your employment options, but even more so about your own mental health. while some nurses blossom in pressure cooker environs you, at this point of your career, apparently don't seem to be one of them. if you go home, cry and then retreat into numbing slumber every day, something in you is going to eventually break.

i suggest you seek counseling, and explore other less demandingly stressful options in nursing (eg perhaps corporate or md's office). granted, those jobs are fewer and pay may not be as great. but it is better than winding up as a sad statistic. don't get me wrong, i'm not saying that you can't cut it as a nurse. what i mean is, we all can learn to swim, but each at our own pace; you may need to doggie paddle a bit more before you can free style.

good luck!

crying every day and feeling like absolute crap is normal for new grads. the op didn't stay at her first job long enough to get past the stage of feeling stupid and overwhelmed and make it to the period when it just "clicked." then she switched jobs and essentially started all over from square one -- and still hasn't gotten to the point where it clicks.

three jobs in just over a year looks absolutely awful. i'd advise the op to suck it up and stay where she is for awhile longer. if she absolutely cannot do that, and is lucky enough to find a third job after failing in the first two so fast, she should stay in that job for at least a couple of years, no matter what.

managers are big fat targets, and it's normal to find people on staff who hate the manager -- even a very good manager. so telling us that you're not the only person who couldn't get along with the manager really doesn't make you look any better. especially when you then couldn't get along with a second manager.