May be leaving my job...need advice

Nurses General Nursing

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I am a nursing student who has been working as a nursing assistant for a couple of months at a hospital. I'm not new to healthcare, nor am I a spring chicken with no work experience. I've never considered leaving a job after only a few months, but there are several reasons I am considering this. All of the reasons stem from the fact that we are horribly understaffed with high acuity patients. It is stressful and occasionally unsafe, and we cannot provide the care that we want to provide because of it. It is not a new problem, but the issues that are causing us to hemorrhage staff (even very experienced staff) are not being fixed by the administration. Instead, they have implemented punitive measures for falling Press-Ganey scores and other markers of patient satisfaction. I know - it's a song that's being sung in many places.

I am still on new employment probation at this hospital, and, according to HR during orientation, I could decide the floor isn't a "good fit" and leave without being blackballed for the future. I don't want to burn bridges.

That said, if I do decide to quit, what should I say in the future under the "Why you left your previous job?" question on future job applications? Is quitting after a short time such a black mark that it would hinder my future prospects?

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