3 months in and I hate my nursing job

Corvette Guy · Sep 29, 2005

working on a busy med-surg floor and I hate it. Came home crying the other day just about at the end of my rope. Monday was the first good day I've had in days ........ this job sucks but it pays the bills and that is the best thing about it ! Otherwise I don't know how long I'll last. Recruiter pretty much lied/glossed over some pts about pay and benefits and that really boils me up. My schedule has been screwed around, I had at least 8 different preceptors in my bare bones 6 wk preceptorship. I have so much frustration built up, I do not have the patience to be a good mom to my 2 year old when I get off work. My dh is working and going to school full-time, he comes home to sleep and that is it. I was planning on going back to grad school but how can I now? Depending on the kindness of relatives for babysitting, but the grandmas are getting restless, they are just as tired of the little hellion as I am. And he doesn't take naps. It's like, constant stress and aggravation from every direction. Hello, I guess this is life. What a wake-up call.
Everyone else enjoying their first job as much as I am? heh.
Party on
Seren

I have you thought of working on a different floor, or specialty?

PACU, OR, ER, Day Surgery, Special Proedures, Cath Lab, EP Lab, etc.

Vance · Sep 29, 2005

Open, forthright communication with your manager could help your situation. Every new grad is a work in progress, it takes much time and expertise to get us up and running; every manager is well aware. So, it's in the unit's best interest to salvage your experience - retain your future contribution. Propose a schedule/process that would work best for you and ask for assurance that the conditions will be honored as much as possible. If it's not possible, look else where. It seems to me, any hospital that has it's own SON will be smarter about how they manage new grads.

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Sep 29, 2005

Sadly, this is typical of many med surg units.

That's why there is a nursing "shortage".

As another poster suggested, why not try another area in the hospital or maybe a sub-acute rehab/Medicare unit at a nsg home?

Tweety, BSN, RN · Sep 29, 2005

Good luck in whatever you do.

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Sep 29, 2005

If you can't get things changed for the better then look for your happiness and peace of mind elsewhere. Don't wait until you get discouraged and hate the profession along with your job.

Best wishes to you. :)

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Sep 30, 2005

The DON of the community hospital who hired me after a recruitment drive at our school of nursing lied to me about my starting salary. She didn't tell me until I had been working for a week. It was a pretty substantial cut in pay. I quit. I had another manager just 4 years ago who hired me for the stepdown unit. When I got to my first day on the job I found I was assigned to the GYN/Oncology unit. After playing phone tag and trying to track this manager down to talk with her face to face for 3 weeks I quit. I cannot abide people who lie and act like cowards.

Are you looking for opinions or advice? If so, I say start applying for other jobs. Most hospital recruiters know when another hospital is sticking it to new grads and new employees. Find a new job first, and then quit this this one.

ARKIE · Sep 30, 2005

working on a busy med-surg floor and I hate it. Came home crying the other day just about at the end of my rope. Monday was the first good day I've had in days ........ this job sucks but it pays the bills and that is the best thing about it ! Otherwise I don't know how long I'll last. Recruiter pretty much lied/glossed over some pts about pay and benefits and that really boils me up. My schedule has been screwed around, I had at least 8 different preceptors in my bare bones 6 wk preceptorship. I have so much frustration built up, I do not have the patience to be a good mom to my 2 year old when I get off work. My dh is working and going to school full-time, he comes home to sleep and that is it. I was planning on going back to grad school but how can I now? Depending on the kindness of relatives for babysitting, but the grandmas are getting restless, they are just as tired of the little hellion as I am. And he doesn't take naps. It's like, constant stress and aggravation from every direction. Hello, I guess this is life. What a wake-up call.
Everyone else enjoying their first job as much as I am? heh.
Party on
Seren

:kiss Dear seren, I had the same experience you did 12 years ago as a new grad (LPN). My boss told me on my first day "Welcome to the real world." If you went into nursing for the money then you better go back to school. Nurses never are paid enough for what we do.Focus on the little things that are good everyday,such as your family,and that little old lady who told you that you were the best nurse( I KNOW YOU HAVE HAD AT LEAST ONE!).These are the things that matter.Take each day one at a time.If things don`t improve there are lots of opportunities out there.

tylernurse · Sep 30, 2005

Ain't life great!

Sorry, but this is not abnormal (your feelings or the way the hospital presented itself). First, you have to realize that you are a new nurse and being that you don't have organizational and time management skills that even a 1 year grad has. AND THAT'S O.K.!!! You need to talk to your charge nurse and ask for help. Don't let this discourage you. We have began using graduates in the e.c.c. (until recently completely unheard of). It's not easy and some don't make it. You must understand that the above 2 skills must mature before things will get better. Med-surg may not be your forte. Look around. Try something new. You need to talk with dh. He needs to be helping you too.

working on a busy med-surg floor and I hate it. Came home crying the other day just about at the end of my rope. Monday was the first good day I've had in days ........ this job sucks but it pays the bills and that is the best thing about it ! Otherwise I don't know how long I'll last. Recruiter pretty much lied/glossed over some pts about pay and benefits and that really boils me up. My schedule has been screwed around, I had at least 8 different preceptors in my bare bones 6 wk preceptorship. I have so much frustration built up, I do not have the patience to be a good mom to my 2 year old when I get off work. My dh is working and going to school full-time, he comes home to sleep and that is it. I was planning on going back to grad school but how can I now? Depending on the kindness of relatives for babysitting, but the grandmas are getting restless, they are just as tired of the little hellion as I am. And he doesn't take naps. It's like, constant stress and aggravation from every direction. Hello, I guess this is life. What a wake-up call.
Everyone else enjoying their first job as much as I am? heh.
Party on
Seren

adjowakim · Oct 1, 2005

hi, i lasted 3 months on a tele step-down unit. i also had at least 8 different preceptors due to half of the staff being out on maternity leave or some other leave. and there were 10 of us orienting at the same time! the nurse mangager didnt have much to say when i went to her with problems with my schedule besides "dont worry about it." i was treated badly by one nurse which i went to her about, but when it happened again with a different nurse i didnt even want to go to her about it because i realized that the mistreatment was running rampant on the unit. i couldnt believe how the nurses treated eachother, back stabbing, cliques. they drove out my friend who oriented with me. the supervisor told her she "asked too many questions." and always believed her preceptors opinions of her without asking her how she felt about her orientation. she asked for specific help doing admission paperwork and administering cardiac drugs and the nurse educator and mangager refused to set up a teaching plan for her. isnt that their job? the nurse mangager told her that she was pregnant and it was too hard for her to address the needs of all of her new grads. so, unfortunately you are not alone in your experience. i just accepted a new position working with developmentally delayed adults and kids. its a small residential school environment in the woods. the nurse manager spent a lot of time with me to decide how she could support "me" to get ready for the job. everyone i met was so helpful and i know they didnt just hire me because i had an "RN" next to my name. i have 6 years experience working with this population and cant wait to go back. it starts off paying a little less than what i was making in the hospital, but with opportunity to grow into a higher paying position. theyll even pay for me to attend educational seminars! so, just wanted you to know that there is more out there for nurses and dont lose hope on your nursing career! hey i dont have to work weekends or holidays either. how crazy is that!

porterwoman · Oct 4, 2005

On friday, when I did my final 6am round/am med pass on my busy med surg floor, and I found my schizophrenic pt covered in saline from where her IV had leaked at the insertion site, I literally had to hold back tears. It was such an awful night, i had to ask day shift to hang 6am meds for me because I was so behind and had been the whole night. Horrid.

I try to keep telling myself, it's not my dream job, but I'm learning a lot and I can do this for right now. I'm starting to dread going back on Wednesday, though.

So, mmm, yeah, I'm definitely enjoying my first job as much as you are, Seren. If this is the party, then I'm going home early.

Hang in there.

rogersRN · Jul 21, 2010

Hang in there for at LEAST 6 months! My 1st job was a pedi float nurse in a busy boston hospital. I was trained for 6 weeks on the floor and 5 in the PICU, then I was expected to take full assignments! I remained 8 months until I decided it was too much. I now work in acute care/rehab, very similar to med surg. Most of our patients come right from ICU. During the first 6 months i thought OMG why did I become a nurse, I dont like this either. It wasnt until shortly after that that i "found my groove" and actually felt somewhat competent. I am still there 2 years later and now fill in as Supervisor when needed.

Dont give up! Remember why you became a nurse, and try to save some compassion for the little one too.