leaving first RN job after 6 months.

[annieboo444]

So I work on a med surg floor and I never really liked it. People can't really help each other because we are so super busy. We get 6 patients and one time they gave me all total care patients. The aids help out but there also super busy so can't always help. We have no free charge nurse ours has 6 patients too. I am finally getting to the point where I am comfortable with my job, time managment is good, and I feel more confident about things. I Just accepted a offer at another hospital and for reason I feel guilty about leaving. My director told me that I am making a mistake. I did the comparables and everything just seem like it will run way smoother and like they can work as a team which we can't.

[cracklingkraken, ASN, RN]

If you are finally getting comfortable with your job, I don't understand why you feel like you need to leave so urgently. It looks better on your resume to have a year's worth of experience rather than 6 months. What if you move to this new hospital and find that it's not as great as you think and find yourself wanting to quit? I personally would stick with this current job, especially if you're getting into the groove. You will probably have a lot of opportunities to continue learning and growing as a nurse throughout this first year. Whatever your choice is, I wish you the best of luck.

[nynursey_]

I'll offer you another perspective: I don't think you're making a mistake.

I worked on a medical inpatient floor for approximately 7 months. The pace was incredibly quick, the acuities high, the staffing poor, and the stress unimaginable. I also had an hour and 20 minute commute three times a week. I spent more time feeling like my I was coming apart at the seams rather than enjoying my profession; a profession I sacrificed two years of my life to obtain. I interviewed at a hospital considerably closer on a more desirable floor; one that had a lower ratio, admission parameters, and one where the management was supportive of the floor nurses. Additionally, the hospital itself was quite large and in an urban area affording me better opportunities down the road should MedSurg not end up to be my long-term choice. And I put in my two weeks noticed just shy of my 8th month on the floor.

Why am I telling you this? Because many will tell you leaving prior to a year is a mistake, but ultimately, only you can know what's right for you. As long as your reasons have to do with YOU and not the FACILITY, but your career and long term goals and YOUR life, then leaving isn't about how awful the other hospital is or if the grass is greener and you don't go into the next situation setting yourself up for failure.

Write a pro's and con's list. Really think about it. Ultimately, the choice is yours. I'm happier than I've ever been (career-wise) and I'm learning a lot every single day.

Best of luck to you!

[amzyRN]

A 6 to 1 ratio seems overwhelming and possibly unsafe. I don't think I would keep the job either. I have come to a place where I need to feel like I can practice safely and take breaks to eat and go to the bathroom. There are facilities who meet these basic needs and if you have found one, go there instead. It's not worth risking your license or patients lives or your own health. Obviously the other job is accepting you without having a year of experience, so the notion that you won't get another job without it has already proven to be false.

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

Please be 1000% sure you have a written offer letter in hand before you leave your current position.

There has been more than one nurse who in the course of being overwhelmed and unhappy jump ship only to find out that the job they "accepted" has made other plans.

One's first year is overwhelming for sure. So I am not positive you will not feel the same way in another acute setting. Teams and units vary so much, that one can not be sure that it will be any smoother. So with that being said, go in with your eyes wide open. Realize that you need a good foundation in order to then move onto what it is you would like to do in nursing.

Another comparable you may want to consider is your ability to transfer within the facility and units. What time frame, what is available, the availability of more of what you may like to do. Because you will now start again at square one, you may have to put in yet another full year to get where you could be in 3 months time. (Providing that you can transfer in a year).

If it is not working for you, it is not working for you. Just be mindful and careful before you give notice that in fact you have the offer for the other job.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

6 patients is not a bad ratio, 6 months is not long enough to assess your position.

I am not clear as to your comparables. How did you ascertain the difference between the positions?