Need advice from a seasoned nurse...

RNNPICU, BSN, RN · Aug 25, 2018

Working and being a student are really tough. Nursing is a 24 hour a day 7 day a week job. You cannot do it all. No one can. 18 patients is a lot. You will have bad days and good days, this will be true as a nurse as well. If you feel that you don't have time now, that feeling will not change as a nurse, that is why it is a 24 hour a day job, that is why there is day shift/night shift and everything in between. Take a deep breath, balancing work, school, and life, it is hard. Everyday, all of us try our best, whatever best is. Nothing is perfect, it is impossible to reach that standard, being safe, ensuring that your patients are safe, is the highest priority. You cannot be in 50 places at once, not possible. Most people have waves of burnout, and joy. (Some no). But learning how to manage those days that you just want to go home will be helpful. PLan a vacation day, or on a day off, plan something fun. Make sure that you are not forgetting to have a work-life balance. Life is not all about work or school, it is about family and friends and doing things outside of work and school.

after 8 months you are now getting into a routine, you aren't new, really, anymore and are one of the staff. This will also happen as a new grad, it is learning how to adjust your new level. See if you can join something at work or outside of work. SOmetimes just a small change in perspective helps you get passed moments like this.

allnurses Guide · Aug 25, 2018

First off, you need to find a way to reduce your anxiety. Make a list of all the things you did well during your shift, cleaned how many people? Did VS all within your time limit? what else went well?

There is always something more to do, you will never do every single thing that would make 18 people happy in a shift. Concentrate on what you can reasonably do, do it well, then add something extra only if you can.

Nursing can be overwhelming at first, but it is far more than CNA work. The challenges are stimulating!

I used to organize my shift with a grid, room numbers across the top, hours down the side. I would put in what was due during any given hour, then add the more loosely scheduled things in the least busy time slots. Cross off each thing as you do it, it helps to see how much you actually do instead of concentrating on what you might have missed.

Sour Lemon · Aug 25, 2018

If you have too many patients, odds are the nurses on your unit also have too many patients. Please keep in mind that they may want to help with cleaning and turning and simply not have the time.

I feel awful putting off requests for help, but cleaning is lower on the list when it comes to priorities and it's sometimes necessary. When I worked at poorly staff jobs, it was often necessary.

Guest219794 · Aug 25, 2018

Hello!
I am relatively new to this site, so excuse me if I did not put this in the correct forum. I am currently a nursing student who is about to start their last semester for my BSN. I am currently working 12s at the university hospital as a CNA or Nursing Assistant on a Hematology/Oncology floor. When I first started this job, I was absolutely in love with it. I adored helping patients and the fast-paced environment. I also loved learning about all the new equipment and way the hospital functions. Well, I have now held this position for almost 8 months and I am starting to resent it a little bit. The nights before I have to work I am crippled with anxiety, very afraid that I am going to be overwhelmed with the days work. I am also afraid that I am going to do a poor job or something bad will happen. I am quite the perfectionist and have also had problems with anxiety my whole life. I am the only aide on my floor with usually 18+ patients to myself. I am expected to help them perform all their ADLs as well as other CNA responsibilities. I feel like I never have enough time in the day to finish all my work or provide quality care. By the time I leave, I am exhausted. The nurses on my floor are not the most helpful when it comes to turning patients or cleaning them up, so I get stuck doing it alone most of the time. I guess I am just a little burnt out on the job. Because of this, I am so afraid that I will not enjoy nursing, or will become burnt out on nursing just the same. I do not want to live my life dreading the work I do.
I know this is a long post and I apologize, I guess I just need clarification if this means that I am already failing as a nurse and need to consider other career options. Any helpful information, words of encouragement, or personal stories would help me so much!
Thank you!

Being a CNA is really hard work, as is being a nurse.

But the challenges you are facing now are not specific to nursing. In any job with a high degree of responsibility, these will continue to be challenges. Recognizing this early, as you have is a great start.

"I am crippled with anxiety

I am also afraid that I am going to do a poor job or something bad will happen

I am quite the perfectionist and have also had problems with anxiety my whole life"

Struggling to keep up as a CNA is not an indication you won't be a good nurse. But, being crippled by anxiety is something that will create challenges for you regardless of what path you take.

It might be worth talking with a professional about your anxiety.

Also bear in mind that there are different fields of nursing that suit different personalities. A good friend flailed on a busy med surg unit, and is a great cardiopulmonary rehab nurse. I have another friend who is self diagnosed OCD and is definitely a perfectionist. Working in your environment would be terrible- there is no way to do that job perfectly, you just do the best you can. But, he is an awesome surgical nurse. Please have the OCD nurse counting sponges before you close me up.

JKL33 · Aug 25, 2018

If people (coworkers/mgmt) are letting you do your thing and are generally happy with the job you're doing, I'd change my point of view/deal with it. If they are complaining about you and writing you up even though you're going as fast as possible, doing a good job and maintaining a decent attitude? I wouldn't put up with that.

Nursing and CNA work will never be done, and it is work that is almost always being performed under less than ideal circumstances. The make-or-break issue is whether or not 1) you are safe and 2) your employee/CNA reputation isn't being tarnished by petty complaints.

It does sound like you may need to start developing a more realistic point of view. Perfectionist types have a hard time doing that at baseline and even more so when the atmosphere is hypercritical. But if everyone understands the situation and no one is causing problems for you, then just focus on prioritizing correctly and do what you can do and stop taking personal responsibility for circumstances that are out of your control.

You definitely must learn to not take personal responsibility for things over which you have zero control. Just have a good attitude, help people as best you can (not "as much as you wish you could") and go with the flow.

Take care ~

ADN_Is_Complete, ADN · Sep 6, 2018

I am really unseasoned but just out of curiosity, are you planning on working on that floor once you graduate? I worked as a nurse tech while in school and I've had 10-11 patients at most. I feel that floor must be dramatically understaffed to give you that many. Honestly, I can't even imagine how you do it. I agree with the previous poster that if you're having that much of a load then the nurses probably have heavy ones too. If you arent planning on working there once you graduate I would transfer to another floor or find employment with another hospital. From your post you sound very concerned about your patients and I think that is a plus. We all get overwhelmed and we wonder if we provided the best care possible. Hang in there, you're almost finished with school. I think you'll do great as nurse. Please update us.

YKA9727 · Nov 30, 2018

Hello! I apologize for the extremely late reply, I've been super busy since school started back up! Thank you for your kind words! While the nurses are understaffed and we require many floats on a given day, the patient-nurse ratios are not bad. Our nurses never exceed 5 patients. So I do not believe that I am wrong for feeling frustrated when I see them sitting on Facebook or looking up recipes on pinterest (all have happened) while I am running around like a mad-woman. I definitely do not plan on staying on this floor or even this hospital because of the mistreatment I have witnessed. I am about to graduate now in two weeks and am currently look for graduate nursing internships in the OR, as I feel that will be a better fit for me and what I am interested in. Thank you for checking in on me and showing concern! Its means so much!