Leaving nursing

Did you think you wanted to do clinic nursing when you were in school or was it just the job that was available at the time? Is part of what you're feeling due to the fact that you aren't where you wanted to be after school? Some nursing settings are so vastly different from what we might think "typical" nursing is supposed to be like. Clinic is one of those, IMO. I don't think you should give up yet. Stick it out while you explore other options.

I remember being anxious and unhappy after 6 months of experience, too. Don't give up yet! Attempt to move into another area of nursing.

I am always flamboozled from these kinds of posts. OP has been doing this 6 months?

Honestly, if this situation is for real, my best suggestion is that OP needs to seek out some life-coach type mentors. And this is probably true for most disillusioned young nurses. Heck, we all need some life-coaching from time to time.

You worked hard for you credentials. Don't give up on nursing.. just because your first job is not so hot. Please see the first year of nursing forum here on AN.

You are a nurse! Many opportunities await you.

Best wishes.

On 3/1/2019 at 7:45 AM, nay2018 said:

I hate nursing. I've only been an RN for 6 months. I work in a clinic, and am sick of being treated like crap by doctors and nurses, and not respected by patients. I want to switch careers, but don't know what I want. I am young, have many school loans and bills to pay. For those of you that have quit nursing, what careers did you end up in after? Was the pay similar to what you were paid in nursing?

As a relatively new nurse, I too felt the same way when I started out. My first job was at a SNF as an RN supervisor. I was thinking to myself, how can I be a supervisor as a new grad? It really was difficult, with no proper training and unsupportive coworkers. I managed to make it to the 6-month mark and started applying to hospitals. I got denied at all the hospitals I applied to. I decided to take matters into my own hands and did some research. One of the hospitals I tried applying to had something called a "walk-in Wednesday" where you could walk in with your resume and possibly walk out with a job offer. I walked in, nervous to my wits, and took an entrance exam. Luckily I passed. I then had a panel interview with three nursing supervisors from different Med-Surge Telemetry units. Very nerve racking but I think I did well, they seemed to like me enough. Two weeks later, got the job at the Med-Surge Tele floor. My supervisor is awesome, coworkers are supportive, and it was all around a much better place to work at than the SNF. 2 years later I'm still at this hospital, and next week I have an interview lined up for an RN case manager position. Maybe you need a change of scenery. The job can make or break the experience. The beauty of nursing is being able to go into drastically different specialties that sometimes stray from "traditional" nursing. Maybe give your current job a bit more time to sink in. Best of luck wherever your career takes you!

I would just find another job to find your niche . I have worked in ERs All over Texas after 7 years I’m done . I m in the cath lab just because wat the hell . I have a plan b , most of my family are lawyers and my dad owns his own business so that’s my exit strategy. I’m leaving just because I’m tired there is no real money in it and the taxes are insane . I was always the best in pt satisfaction but with all these mergers and older nurses leaving . It’s so different and wierd . Thank god im almost out . Everybody in medical field are weirdos and rude too . Look at all the nurses and docs on forensic files y’all are crazy lol

Suggestion: Try a different nursing field AND shadow the place (i.e. the actual place where you will be working AND during the time(s) you plan to work) before accepting the job offer.

From personal experience, the workplaces that I did not shadow prior to accepting the job ended up being downright bad, but still experience. Not everyone finds that job that they can "just stick it out" for 1 year, on the first try.

Try again if you need to - you have 6 months of working experience to do so; take advantage of it.

OP-- can you elaborate?

I will echo a few other posters by saying that the 1st year is tough.

I will also agree with you that nursing is a tough profession and that people (public and co workers alike) can be very difficult to deal with.

Being able to set limits on patients is an acquired art, it takes time and some effort (and possibly tears). Personally, before I became an RN, I worked in an inpatient psych unit with children and adolescents. I was 19, and it felt like torture, but boy, did I learn how to set limits! I worked as a counselor during my school breaks, and the first summer was brutal. At the end of the summer I redirected some kid and he got mad and called me a "B" and stormed off. My young self was mortified and the RN with me smiled and said " Ah, that's how you know your doing it right!"

Now, in a non-psych setting I get a lot less abuse, but the experience toughened me up. (That kid calling me a B was just the tip of the iceberg. I've since had some very graphic, nasty, weird and nonsensical insults thrown at me) The important thing to remember is that when patients are less then polite- regardless of the setting- it is NOT about you. I know it is easier said than done, but don't take any of their crap personally.

Having said that, one of the greatest things about nursing is that you have a TON of directions you can go.

case management

transplant coordinator

public health

school nurse

quality control

administration

OR nursing

ED nursing

travel clinic

I have only worked inpatient bedside and now in the ED. You haven't done bedside yet and one of the good things about being a bedside RN is that you can change specialties. For example, if you have been on a tele floor and want to do something new you can go to ortho, or transplant, or pediatrics... you know what I mean.

You have put a lot of effort into your degree. Don't let one bad workplace sour you. There are a lot of direction you can go in.

Good Luck!!

My first nursing job I worked with 3 nurses who had major issues on nights. They thought it was "funny" to tell me things to do or not do and then watch me get in trouble for it. Once I realized what they were doing I no longer trusted them or talked to them. If they told me to do something, I'd ask someone else if that was right. Once they realized I was on to them they left me alone. For instance, I had no idea some of our doctor's had standing orders at night for things like fevers. After I called and woke the dr up twice for a couple different things he informed me that's why he wrote standing orders. When I asked the nurses where those were they literally all laughed and said we wondered how long it would take you to find out. (This was back in the pen and paper days.) They let me switch to days three months later. The day nurses didn't purposely try to get me in trouble. However, they were very cliquey (the manager the worst) and would purposely leave me out of any lunch rotation and when I'd ask when mine was laugh and say oh we forgot about you. Every day? Ok whatever. They'd assign me the worst patients and ask me questions in front of the dr's like what was your patients Hg again and is that normal to try and make me look bad. (Back when we were just given a printout of lab results without the normal ranges!). Most of the time I knew their answers or I'd say ask the dr, I just saw him/her looking it up and walk away. It got old fast, I cried a lot on my way home from work, thought what in the world have I gotten myself into...I didn't want to go back to school AGAIN so I started floating the rest of the week around the hospital by picking up extra shifts not on that floor. I learned there were many different units where people were treated differently. I was able to find a position on a different unit once my 6 months were up and never looked back. They were so nice, respectful, and wanted me to succeed. It was like night and day.

I've only had two positions I truly didn't like in the past 25 years. Those two had much more to do with the people/dr's I worked with, not the work itself. If you like the actual work then just find a new position.

I looked at changing careers after I stayed home with my kids for 10 years. I explored many different careers and even substitute taught for a while. I I have worked with or personally known counselors, social workers, teachers, aides, secretaries, management, paramedics, cops, accountants, etc and everyone gets dumped on, treated without respect by someone, expected to do more with no more pay, etc. It's everywhere. If you find a well paying job where you don't, let me know!! However, nursing has so many more avenues for variety and schedules than any other position I've seen. Even doctors pick a specialty and usually stick with it their entire career.

I will say most of the dental hygienists I've talked to really like their jobs. Some do NOT get dental insurance of all people but if cleaning teeth doesn't gross you out then that may be a nice change after four more years of school. In which case, you could have a doctorate in nursing and have many more job opportunities!!