so lost

Just me. · Jan 17, 2020

Are all of the other floors you don't like Med-surg? Have you considered a step-down unit to start?

Did any of your clinical experiences stand out?

Do you have an assigned mentor you can talk to in depth about what you are feeling?

Sour Lemon · Jan 17, 2020

3 hours ago, Idkwhattoput said:
I'm a new graduate and I decided to quit the last month of my MICU orientation because I truly wasn't ready to be on my own and couldn't handle the stress and acuity and didn't realize what I would be getting myself into. Long story short, my manager gave me the option to transfer to a Med-Surg floor to stay in the hospital as an internal candidate. If I rejected the offer I would have to resign and start from scratch when applying to other units as an external candidate. I don't like the floors at all and would be extremely unhappy in any of units because I was a CNA on one. But I'm not sure what other speciality I would like if I resigned. maybe ER? Oncology? I'm not sure. Anything but Med-Surg nursing. Any advice for a new grad?

Would you have the option to choose if you resigned and applied externally? Unless you live in some sort of utopia, I can't imagine they'll be eager to hire you back on so soon after you quit.

I would take the med/surg offer if it's a sure thing. Or I'd at least have a solid offer from somewhere else if I decided to reject it.

brownbook · Jan 17, 2020

The first several months as a new grad on any unit are high stress.

You were extremely unhappy in any of the units as a CNA.

You leave yourself with very few options.

The best I can think of is take the med/surg offer. Try to go into it with a positive, I can do this, attitude. Realize all new grads are stressed.

Stick with it while you look for other jobs.

It sounds like where you're currently working has a very supportive environment to offer you the option of transferring to a different unit.

kp2016 · Jan 17, 2020

I would say you need to talk to your manger who is obviously trying to help you. Given that you felt you “weren’t ready to be on your own and couldn’t handle the stress” it seems a little unlikely to me that another critical care unit would offer you a job at this time.

I’m thinking your manager considered med/ surg to be an “easier” option. The bottom line is the first year is always incredibly hard, for every nurse ever. Have a think about what general ward or clinic might be a good fit for you and see if your manager could help facilitate a transfer. A lot of nurses really like oncology, maybe ask to shadow someone on that unit.

Wuzzie · Jan 17, 2020

Your manager gave you a proverbial "get out of jail free" card. My advice is to to take it. Make a year on a Med-Surg floor work. Keep under the radar and your mouth closed about how much you detest it. Be a team player and a good employee. Then start applying to the units that are more appealing to you. If you don't accept their offer I highly doubt they will hire you anywhere else in that hospital system certainly not the ED or oncology. Don't shoot yourself in the foot.

allnurses Guide · Jan 17, 2020

Anything but Med-Surg? Really?

Are you aware that pretty much every unit gets Med-Surg patient overflow, including ICU Stepdown? That Med-Surg is the baseline population of the hospital? That even if you work oncology you will have Med-Surg patients, with or without an attached cancer diagnosis? That Med-Surg patients get into the hospital via the ER and not infrequently get housed there until a bed opens up? That even telemetry, neuro, GI, renal and other floors are all Med-Surg floors with another specific type of diagnosis or concern tagged on?

Working as a CNA is a completely different animal than working as a nurse. This is why so many CNA's don't really understand what it is that nurses do. Your experience as a CNA on a given floor does not equate to what you will experience on a different floor as a nurse.

You were handed a golden opportunity and, were I you, I would take it and work the heck out of it. In your current situation, if you just leave, you are going to have fewer and fewer options as time goes by. You are not a good candidate for another residency and you aren't a good candidate for direct hire to a floor that has no idea of your work ethic or history. Take the Med-Surg job and examine closely if this is more of an ego issue, not wanting to be in lowly old Med-Surg when you saw yourself as an ICU nurse.

RNNPICU, BSN, RN · Jan 17, 2020

I definitely would take it. This is a good opportunity. You might be able to go back to the ICU later. I don't think you would be eligible for rehire as an external candidate.

ruby_jane, BSN, RN · Jan 17, 2020

Pick Med-surg and remain rehireable at the employer.

Or leave, risking the "not eligible for rehire" on your employment history.

I chose to leave rather than go into med-surg. I found another job (and realized I am happier as an ambulatory care nurse) but when a really cool case management job opened up at another hospital I did not have the acute care experience to apply for it. Just my two cents.

beekee · Jan 18, 2020

Since med surg is the only option you have at the moment, what is your plan if you decide against it? These other units are going to talk to your current manager, who is going to say you aren’t ready for anything more acute than med surg.

You do realize that if you are an external candidate, even med surg would be tough for you to land at the same hospital?

Your options are med surg or roll the dice elsewhere.

rn1965, ADN · Jan 19, 2020

I know I am mostly repeating what everyone here has said, but if it were me, I would take the med/surg and build my skills. You will see so much and learn a ton on that unit.

You may need to find one thing you like about the unit and go from there. The first year is incredibly hard, but find the good things, instead of going in with a preconceived notion that it bites.

It sounds hokey, but, you won't survive it if you go in with the assumption that you are going to hate it. Learn to talk to the other staff, ask for help and be a team player, and maybe you will find out you like it.

So many new nurses are so afraid to ask for help -- for fear of looking bad, when just asking for assistance would make your shifts and your life easier.

I definitely would not quit my job without something else lined up.

Good luck to you and I hope you find what you are looking for.

Rionoir, ADN, RN · Jan 19, 2020

Your manager is telling you that right now you are suited for med-surg. If you apply to another department that is the person they are going to talk to. Most likely if you want to stay at the hospital that is your only choice if you're reading between the lines.

Switching from one critical care department to another critical care department (ER) is not going to be an option for you. There is a lot you can learn on med-surg, even if you don't like it.