My light is dimming

rodgerssm, BSN, RN · Jul 19, 2009

It will!!!! This is so new for you. Once you are able to get organized and get a flow going you will notice how smoothly things may start to be. Just be sure you take time for your breaks and lunches away from the floor! You will be fine!!!!!

swirlything · Jul 19, 2009

My favorite nursing instructor sat us all down right before graduation to have a chat. She told us that all of us, no matter how smart, no matter what type of position we take, are going to have a VERY difficult time for the first six months. She said that when she graduated, she came home crying every night for six months... and that we could likely expect the same. She also said that after that it gets better. And by a year or so, you really feel like you know what you're doing.

I told the nurse manager who hired me what this teacher had said, and she said that she too cried every night for the first six months out of nursing school.

I'm not there yet. I just passed NCLEX this week actually. So I guess my point is just that it seems that what you're going through is normal and expected, and that people I trust say it will get better.

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 20, 2009

i know how you feel... you fill like your soul is being or has been sucked out of your body...!! there is no passion in the job you are doing... just tasks... and no matter how much you try there is always someone there to beat you down (patients, families, other nurses, administrators, etc.). yep... that is definitely the first six months! the only problem is the second 6 months seems similar to me except i am more organized, i can point to major accomplishments, and on rare occasions someone will tell me that i am doing a good job or that i am a good nurse....

i am 7 months post graduation (december 2008). i hate my current floor so much i cannot think straight at times.... the only thing that gets me through my days (sadly) is knowing that i will not be working on this floor in a few months (my assigned floor is closed until census is up again so i float) and i will not be working in this hospital or in this specialty in less then 2 years (i am either going to join the army when i earn my bsn or move away to the nearest hospital willing to hire me into their ed). in the mean time it takes every bit of mental and physical strength to do my job and be professional night-to-night!!

in fact, the biggest problem i have is when i float to a floor such as the cardiac step down unit and i am reminded why i went into nursing. who the heck wants to work in a hospital and feel numb and dead every day???? no one!!! working the cardiac unit gives me an adrenaline rush!!! the work there is hard and demanding like all ms floors but this one is team oriented! i love that floor so much that two weeks ago i volunteered for work there on standby and was slammed with four admits after being called in around midnight... i enjoyed every single fast paced minute!!!... it was a painfully exhausting night but what made it good was that i was on a team! in any case, the reason i point out that this was a problem was because it took me two weeks to try and forget my happiness there and settle back into the dead and dreadness of my current floor and accept the reality that i will not be able to float there too often or transfer there in the next two years (many want to work that floor similar to the ed and icu at this hopsital)! :cry:

my advice... try to find or do something that makes you happy before work and on your days/nights off!!! i focus on my work outs and my family... i refuse to allow my job to occupy space in my brain even if i left a work week beaten down and with someone wanting to write me up, like this week. i know it sounds easier said then done especially if you are a perfectionist... but it is what i have made myself work to do and it is doing me a lot of good. besides every environment, including the specialty or organization i wish to work, has crazy people so i want to be sure to have a thick skin to survive anything i do as a nurse! thus, before work i make sure i have me-time! i do nothing for anyone but me because it helps me to be in a good mood and be positive when i walk onto the floor! also, when i arrive at work i try to think positive when i walk into a mess, which seems like every shift!!! in other words, my entire shift can be horrid, where other nurses are feeling bad for me (watching me drown), but i will focus on something positive such as, thinking of giving report and going home! lol! :twocents:

**NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN** · Jul 20, 2009

I've noticed that part of being "happy" as a nurse is working as a team. I hated day shift and was ready to quit my job (as if I could in this economy). But then, I switched to nights after about four weeks on days (as was the plan). And LOVE it. Everyone there works together, asks eachother questions, no attitudes, no "I'm too busy to help you with a bath." Or if they are they say a time that they might be able to help the other. If I notice I'm somehow by miracle "caught up." I ask around and see what I can help with (even though I'm still orientating, ya never know).

I have realized even though nurses have individual assignments, the best units are the ones where the nurses work as a team.