New grad hating new job and new town

[msomt]

Hello,

I am a new grad and have been working on an acute care floor for 6 months now. I signed a 3 year contract with a $10k payback. Before you tell me, well you made the mistake of signing a contact, please realize that I understand that and have since regretted it every day of my life now. The residency program I'm in stated they will give 6 months orientation time with 1-2 preceptors and monthly classes for the first year out. I got 10 weeks orientation and had 9 different preceptors which was insanely stressful because of course everyone does their job quite differently. The floor is busy and we are losing nurses constantly. I was told there's a lot of movement throughout the hospital and I could train in ICU or ED after my one year mark. After starting the job I was told I'll be stuck on Acute Care for a minimum of 3 years on night shift. All of this may be bearable except I absolutely hate the town I moved to. In the winter when I came over it was really pretty and snowy and people kept saying how there's a lot of young people that live here. There aren't. Nobody who isn't retired and independently wealthy can afford to live here because it's near a resort town. It's a tiny town so there aren't many ways to meet people, I've tried. I'm very social and feel like I'm stuck in this tiny little valley. I only have 6 months experience and I know this hospital spent a lot training me. I'm just miserable. I have anxiety attacks on my days off of work and when I get more than one day off in a row I drive several hours to find other places to explore, then feel ultra depressed coming back into town. I don't know what to do. I don't want to switch jobs and be stuck on another bad med/surg floor while having to pay back my 10k. I would love to get into an ED or ICU but don't have the experience required. Has anyone else gone through this? Sorry for the long post. Any advise is appreciated but please spare me from the classic "you should have thought more before moving". New grads are in rough positions and I truly thought I was making a good choice at the time.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Well, you may want to have an attorney take a look at the contract you signed. If it states in writing that you are to receive a set amount of orientation with a set number of preceptors and the facility did not meet their obligations, they may be considered in breach of contract. They would be the ones to have broken it and therefore you may not have to pay them back. Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and you should seek one's advice on the contract you signed.

Have you tried sites such as Meetup or other networking sites to see if you can meet people who are similar in age or who have similar interests? Sought medical advice for the anxiety attacks and depression? It can be tough moving to a new area where you don't know anyone. What about your coworkers? If they aren't retired and independently wealthy, where do they live and hang out when not working?