Maybe 4th times a charm ?

londonflo · Jul 5, 2022

8 minutes ago, newbienursie said:

I graduated at a horrible time where new grads were not being hired so I feel like I got screwed.

May be it is your perception that new grads were not being hired but your history shows you being offered 2 jobs in less than 4 months. It is true they were not the position in ICU you wanted, and they were jobs that you didn't like.

10 minutes ago, newbienursie said:

My parents do not think I should be a nurse at all because I am so depressed at every job which discourages me. My boyfriend is supportive but does not know how to guide me.

may be some professional supportive care would help assist you in identifying your stressors and goals. When we were starting out, many of us had to work jobs that we didn't care for and for poor pay. But there is more to it than the here and now, I know I am not offering a solution but my advice is to take care of yourself with support and professional care before you move on. When I was complaining about my work and what I hated about it my husband would always say "there is a reason they call it work".

londonflo · Jul 5, 2022

17 minutes ago, newbienursie said:

This is technically my 3rd job since 2020.

You used the word 'technically'. What is the reality of your work history?

newbienursie, BSN · Jul 5, 2022

I worked as a PCA for 1 and 1/2 years. As a RN I worked at a nursing home for 3 months. then a little over a year at a community hospital and now 4 months at my new job.

12 minutes ago, londonflo said:

You used the word 'technically'. What is the reality of your work history?

I worked as a PCA for 1 and 1/2 years. As a RN I worked at a nursing home for 3 months. then a little over a year at a community hospital and now 4 months at my new job.

newbienursie, BSN · Jul 5, 2022

16 minutes ago, londonflo said:

May be it is your perception that new grads were not being hired but your history shows you being offered 2 jobs in less than 4 months. It is true they were not the position in ICU you wanted, and they were jobs that you didn't like.

may be some professional supportive care would help assist you in identifying your stressors and goals. When we were starting out, many of us had to work jobs that we didn't care for and for poor pay. But there is more to it than the here and now, I know I am not offering a solution but my advice is to take care of yourself with support and professional care before you move on. When I was complaining about my work and what I hated about it my husband would always say "there is a reason they call it work".

yeah I agree. That is true, I appreciate your advice.

HiddenAngels · Jul 5, 2022

It can be challenging for ALL of us at times, you’re not alone. We’ve all cried! Not the first time and it’s not going to be the last. And it’s perfectly normal what you’re doing trying to find your niche. Especially in this field, you’d better. My dad wasn’t too worried but my mom was like yours at first, ‘are you sure you want to do this ‘ but that’s because we’re stressed and they care. I know you may not believe it yet but it gets easier. It’s not going to be perfect nor glam, but try to stay centered. I mean, look how far you came. If you just cannot stand it anymore LOL I get it, but before you completely throw in the towel there’s more nursing jobs besides inpatient that you can do.

Jenni Binford · Jul 8, 2022

I feel for you, when the patient load is high without an assistant, it's stressful, and you feel behind before you even begin. Are you able to transfer to a different department in the hospital? Maybe you can check out other nursing openings in the hospital. Make a plan, with a timeframe, if things aren't improving for you, then find another job. You have to take care of yourself.

Queen Tiye, RN · Jul 8, 2022

On 7/5/2022 at 9:40 AM, newbienursie said:

Hello. I get the best advice from this website and spilling out all my feelings here is quite therapeutic LOL. I have been a nurse since May 2020. I was thrown right into this Covid mess and I have reached my breaking point. I started at a nursing home because it was the only job that was hiring new grads and stayed for 3 months. I received an opportunity on a telemetry floor and took it. It was a very small community hospital. The staffing got so bad where for 4 months straight I had 7-8 patients, I was on top of that precepting and being charge nurse.

I always had goals to go into critical care. So after a little over a year of being at this small community hospital I got a job on a surgical step down unit in one of the biggest hospitals in my state. I have been at this job now for 4 months and I have absolutely reached my breaking point. Every shift I have 6 patients and NO tech. My orientation was cut 1 month early because they are so short staffed. I just cannot do this anymore. I am going to get certified in botox and filler but I wanted a job outpatient. I am torn. I feel like if I leave this job I look unreliable. My mental health is the worst it has ever been. I cry before each shift and I cannot sleep the night before because of my anxiety. On my days off I feel so crippled because I just think of my next shift.

I do not know what to do. Stick it out for more experience and stick it out for my resume or leave ? This is technically my 3rd job since 2020. nursing home; 3 months --> telemetry; 1 yr 2 months --> surgical step down; 4 months. I would appreciate any kind of guidance. My parents do not think I should be a nurse at all because I am so depressed at every job which discourages me. My boyfriend is supportive but does not know how to guide me. I graduated at a horrible time where new grads were not being hired so I feel like I got screwed. And then I was thrown into the mess of covid healthcare. I tried and tried but bedside is not for me. What should I do? ?

Wow, I had almost the exact same experience. If you feel like your license is in jeopardy then it might be time to leave no matter how short your stay is. A lot of nursing facilities have unscrupulous practices. If they are reputable, at the very least they will ensure adequate staffing by employing agency nurses. Perhaps consider some of these options: 1) apply to a magnet facility with a good reputation among nurses, 2) make up your mind to stay with your current employer for a set amount of time so you won't appear to be a "job hopper" on your resume 3) try PRN pediatric home health for a slower pace and to keep your resume padded with a consistent employer 4) go PRN in your current facility 5) try travel nursing -- get paid at least twice as much to work in the same type or better environment.

JKL33 · Jul 9, 2022

On 7/5/2022 at 10:40 AM, newbienursie said:

Every shift I have 6 patients and NO tech. My orientation was cut 1 month early because they are so short staffed. I just cannot do this anymore. I am going to get certified in botox and filler but I wanted a job outpatient. I am torn. I feel like if I leave this job I look unreliable. My mental health is the worst it has ever been. I cry before each shift and I cannot sleep the night before because of my anxiety. On my days off I feel so crippled because I just think of my next shift.

Just imagining this I'm pretty sure I wouldn't work in a 6-pt assignment with no tech these days. I managed 12 step-down type pts with an LPN and a shared tech when I started years ago and that was no cake-walk either, but things have changed and IMO are so much worse now.

That said, you do need to take a neutral look at your situation. For your own best interest you need to understand if you are feeling so pooly because of actual conditions/actual things that are happening, or just feeling stressed. I don't mean to minimize "just" feeling stressed--but it is important to differentiate because the solutions are different. If the conditions are unsafe/intolerable then you need to leave. If you are internally ["just"] feeling things, then additional coping skills may be very important for your success.

So--are errors being made? Are there frequent misses/near misses/realistic threats to patient safety?

Are you being written up, scolded, treated poorly by management?

If either of the above, the solution is to leave.

If you are, in actuality, doing okay--in other words, if you are keeping your patients safe, giving them decent/good care and not being treated poorly, threatened, written up, scolded, blamed or disparaged by management, then there is room for you to work on the ways that you do or don't internalize things. Therapy can be helpful in working through it. This is important because if your problem does happen to be more internal, it is going with you no matter where you go.

I also acknowledge how difficult a time it was when you finished nursing school and became a brand new nurse. However, you need to find a way to feel resilient despite that. I think it is dragging you down to keep thinking about it negatively. It sounds like you might be frequently reminding yourself that you were hobbled by those circumstances. And you were disadvantaged by those circumstances, we can all acknowledge that. The problem is that if you dwell on that for years into your career then you will indeed continue to be hobbled by it.

Take care~

HiddenAngels · Jul 11, 2022

On 7/8/2022 at 7:25 PM, Queen Tiye said:

1) apply to a magnet facility with a good reputation among nurses,

magnet hospitals are starting to suck too

sleepwalker, MSN, NP · Jul 15, 2022

On 7/11/2022 at 6:15 PM, HiddenAngels said:

are starting

Just "starting"????...that's a euphemistic outlook ?

Nurselives4coffee, BSN · Jul 15, 2022

Hey just thought I'd weigh in. I also started April 2020, my second career, great timing. I started in a community hospital in a high acuity MS far away from my home because that was the only place that offered me a job. I stayed for 4 months until a tele positioned was offered closer to my house. I stayed on tele for 1.5 years before going into critical care. I have been on my current floor for 8 months and I'm leaving for ER. So this is my 4th job in 2 years. The last 3 all being in the same hospital. I have never been asked or labeled as a job hopper. I am trying to find my niche and don't intend on leaving my job but certain things are out of my control such as toxic work environment, etc. I always thought I'd either be an ICU or ER nurse, and you truly won't know what you thrive in until you try it. I, too, would have extreme anxiety and cry before shift, I finally started seeing a therapist and after acknowledging and validating how I entered the nursing force at a terrible time, it is still better than my previous career and I'm hopeful about my future in nursing. It might not be bedside, but luckily we have many options. Hope this helps!