Need Help!

[fbhopern]

Hello everyone,

I started coming to this website few weeks ago when I first started my first job in a nursing home. I am currently in an ADN program and will graduate this may with my RN. After first year in our program we had option to take more classes in the summer and get LVN license which I did and got a job in a nursing home. I had 4 days of orientation day. And out of those 4 days, for 2 days i had a preceptor who taught me enough just to do his/her job for the day. Then i had another preceptor who did the same, nothing but making me do his/her assignments for the day. I wish I did something about it then but I didn't want to be mean or rude. Then I had another preceptor on the 4th day who was better but that was my last day.

Anyways now I am on the floor by myself. There are just too many patients for me to take care of. But I was doing ok even though I was overwhelmed as a new nurse until one day that same preceptor who made me do nothing but their assignments for two days, talked me down. I am so upset since that day and feel very anxious to go to work. I only work as PRN but since that day I feel just so overwhelmed and not wanting to work in this nursing home. The two nurses who are usually on the floor with me said I was a very good nurse because anything I don't know i just ask for help instead of taking risk. They helps me a lot and said many times that they like my approach that i ask for help. So i thought i was doing really good because i had no complaints from the management. But this same preceptor has made me feel so bad one day when I was giving shift report to him/her. since that day I am dreading myself to work. I can't sleep eat. every time I think about work, everything around me gets so depressed. I don't know why this is such a big deal to me even though I know this nurse is even rude with others. This nurse tells all the other nurse sitting in nursing station that he/she takes work seriously and that is why he/she doesn't have time to chitchat. Seriously as nurses we all take work seriously if we didn't we would be at work. Anyways I am scared of this nurse, scared that I all have to meet this nurse again one day at work, and he/she makes me feel anxious, intimidating.

I am so overwhelmed with my new job. Pls tell me when this stress will be relieved. At times I think/talk to my self why am I so overwhelmed. The job is not hard then why I feel this way. Pls tell me what I can do to relieve this stress. I will be living this job as soon as I get my RN and going to the hospital. But until then I would love to continue this job and get experience so my job at the hospital could be less stressful. I need all the feedback I can get. At home I can't express my feelings with anyone because a nurse can understand another nurse's feeling. So how long what is before you guys felt ok or even happy to go to work??

[fbhopern]

Sorry guys just realized how long my post is. But I really needed to let it out..thanks ahead for your feedback.

[BecomingNursey]

To be honest I think a lot of your anxiety is because you are a new nurse. I think you're just really dwelling on the one incident with the nurse and letting that get to you more than anything but you're really stressed about the whole job in general.

Straight out of nursing school, I got my dream job in the ER! I was so overwhelmed and also had a similar experience with my charge nurse. About 5 months in I was ready to quit. I was so overwhelmed and let this one nurse get to me. Then one day I just sat down and had a come to Jesus meeting with myself. I told myself; "You're new. You're going to make mistakes. It's gonna happen. You're going to get behind. You're going to feel like screaming and pulling your hair out. Take it one patient at a time and you can do it." Ever since, I don't let that nurse get to me anymore and I do just like I said. I take it one patient at a time. that's all you can do. It took me about 8 months to get a good routine down to where I didn't feel like I was drowning. You can do it. Just take a deep breath and realize you're new and it's gonna be a while before you feel comfortable and relaxed in your new, nursey skin. :) #staypositive

I'm not telling you it's going to be easy, I'm telling you it's going to be worth it.

Author: Art Williams

[fbhopern]

Hey BecomingNursey,

First of all, thank you so much for your quick reply. You are right I am definitely stressed out as a new nurse. But after that incident I got even more stressed. Its like that nurse made my new nursing experience even worse. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I just needed to really just talk to someone who understands my situation. And I feel unless its another nurse, no one else can really understand what I am going through. But I am now determined. No matter what I will stick to the job. Hopefully this job will help me to be less stressed when I go to the hospital. I think nursing home is just not for me. I feel depressed seeing some of my pts so helpless. And there are so much to do, and I wish I can do more. But it seems I never have enough time to completely do everything I want to do. I want to talk to my pts but with the workload I get, i never get time to have a satisfying conversation. Anyways I am determined to learn and improve each and everyday. Thank you so much for reply!.