9 mos into nursing

[angelstrings]

Hi everyone,

I've been working as a nurse for the past 9 months since graduation. Things get so hard, and I say in my head, "I hate this stuff," but at the end of the day, I still love it. I love the adrenaline, the team work, the business of it all.

I am surprised that everyone has been so supportive and helpful. I thought nurses ate their young. I am sure they do most places, but I guess I got lucky. Funny thing is, I have my job due to a scholarship I received, now I owe the hospital 2 years. I work on a floor at night with between 5-7 patients. Most are diabetic, on dialysis, CAPD, tele, or detoxing (or a combo of all).

I guess I get out late a 1/3 of the time. Just the other night with 7 patients, I had a detoxer who needed meds every hour, a diabetic whose volitile sugars were all over the map, a new CA pt with IV meds q 4 hr, another pt in pain with IVP meds q4, a pt with 15 beats of Vtach (lots of phone time with really nice docs), and the rest just don't stand out to me right now. But point is, a co-worker agreed to do some of my charting (part of which is allowed at my facility). It's always an ego blow when this happens, and thankfully it's not frequent, but I'm just glad she was loving enough to do it.

I really am happy to work where I work. Thing is, I hate where I live and fully intend to leave. I am scared to death to leave my happy work place. Don't get me wrong, I know there are back biters, I know who they are, I know most are tired, burnt out, etc. It's just how they treat me on the spot, and it's a lot to do with humility, willingness to learn, and willingness to forgive one another. Principals that don't always pan out, but good ones to have on hand in all situations given the other options...

So, how do you find out what it's like to work at a specific hospital before applying? I would work for LESS MONEY in order to have greater workplace satisfaction. I would quit a place that placed my license in jeopardy.

Guys, what do you say?

strings

[llg, PhD, RN]

Thanks for sharing your story. I hope a lot of new grads read it and learn from it. Your job has its challenges you deal with many of the same stresses that other new grads can't (or choose not to) handle. Some new grads would run away from a unit that made them take 7 patients sometimes ... had some backbiters ... and made you stay late 1/3 of the time. However, you approach those challenges with a positive attitude and are successfully making that transition from student to professional.

As for the "how do you find out?" question ... Sometimes you can't. Sometimes, you have to take a chance based on very limited information and then be prepared to handle whatever working conditions you find when you get there. You need to be prepared to make the best of a difficulty situation (maybe just for a little while) and/or leave if it is really bad.

But you can get clues as you interview and tour the unit. What is the atmosphere on the unit? Are staff members smiling? Do you hear laughter? Do people look all stressed and worried? How do people act when the manager steps out onto the unit to give you the tour? Do they seem to interact with the manager in a friendly way?

You can/should also ask about the turnover on the unit. How many people have left in the last 6 months? Or ... asked another way ... How many open positions are there? How many new people have they hired in the last 6 months?

Of course, one of the best ways is to talk with people who work at that hosptial who know the "inside story" as to what has been going on lately on a particular unit. But you have to remember that such information may be based on gossip that is biased by a few individuals who had a particular axe to grind with the management. They may be angry or hate a place and say bad things about it ... but you might love it.

[angelstrings]

Hi llg,

Thanks for responding back to me. Actually visiting would be the best thing to do. Heck, it may even give me a good excuse to take a mini vacation this year and go back home to visit my family. I asked my mother to put her feelers out for me. She works in a deli, and runs into all kinds of people.

I guess it all comes down to having faith that, no matter if I get "there" and don't like it, I can always look around for something else, and with a good heart and right intentions, the right job will present itself. Maybe that's a bit too optimistic given our economy, but then again, I think things are starting to look up.

Thank you for the kind words.