New grad discouraged by healthcare system

[12345RNeagle]

I'm a new grad RN at a mid-size hospital in a sub-metro area. I landed a great job with good pay on a busy and advanced floor. I won't go into what specialty floor... ANYWAY--I absolutely love nursing, helping patients, and seeing someone discharged who is leaving in better shape then when they came in. The point of this post is this: I feel like all of my nursing school critical thinking and problem solving has completely dissolved. We are SUCH a busy floor (1:6 ratio...sometimes even 1:7 in very desperate times) that all I feel like all I do is race around all day and check off a task list. I am so concerned with going from task to task that I feel like I cannot be an intelligent and thoughtful nurse. I feel like I nurse the computer way more than I nurse the patient. Also, finally working as a nurse has exposed me to our AWFUL healthcare system. SO many patients fall through the cracks of the system and that is just frustrating. I have noticed gaps in people's care based on their status. Did anyone else feel this way as a new grad...or even as a long time nurse?

[brownbook]

You seem very thoughtful and caring. (I was happy just to make it through my shift with no mistakes.)

The saying, "A new broom sweeps clean," comes to mind. Get some more experience, get an advanced degree, and maybe you can make changes in a system that does need changing.

[lhflanurseNP, APRN]

I don't know that I would tie it to "today's nursing model"...it is the entire healthcare system that is failing. A person with insurance will get an EOB for a thyroid panel of about $800.00, but can pay a cash price of $85.00. A cancer targeted immunotherapy drug in the US can be $8400.00 a month, but Canada has same drug for $2600.00 per month. It is a shame!

[Everline]

As a new grad, yes I felt that way. I had a lot of "ethical dilemma" days. The things that bothered me were not gross negligence or glaring "wrong doing", as that was not occurring. I was just not comfortable with the system. I was not comfortable with my role of caring for so many acutely ill patients at once because I knew I could not care for them up to my own standards of practice. It was not a good feeling. I could not be the nurse I wanted to be in that environment. It wasn't for me. This is not to put down anyone else. I worked with nurses who excelled in the hospital environment and who did not seem to be bothered as I was. I'm probably just not cut out for it. And that's ok. I moved on and found my place.

Now some people will say that you have to be in it for a year or more before you will feel comfortable. That is the case for some. You might want to give it more time and see how you develop as a nurse. You may find that you move from being task oriented to being able to be more proactive and in tune with what is going on with your patients. For some, it just takes time and they find that they eventually really like it. I don't think that would have been the case for me because as the months went on, I felt worse and worse, not better. But, in fairness, I stayed with it for less than a year.

I hope it gets better for you. Hang in there!