New Grad Nurse Might Lose Job Struggling In Orientation

brandy1017, ASN, RN · Apr 15, 2019

I suggest you see your Dr ASAP and see if you can get some anti-anxiety meds to help you cope. Crying at work is not the answer. If you are losing it you need to take a break, even if it's just in the bathroom. Do not show weakness by crying as others have noted. It will not garner sympathy, instead, your coworkers will be frustrated with you and feel you can't handle the job.

A therapist would also be helpful to teach you better ways to cope. Not all doctors are willing to give anti-anxiety meds, but if a Dr does it is usually for a short 6 week period combined with therapy. Therapy is now a covered benefit under health insurance.

I agree with the others who suggest you resign. Take the knowledge you've already gained and apply it somewhere new. You could possibly ask for a transfer to a less intense unit, like med-surge, but I'm not sure if that would be to your benefit as your reputation and the crying will precede you. It probably would be best to just resign and start fresh somewhere new where no ones knows you.

If you are younger than 26 it's possible you could get health insurance from one of your parents until you get another job. You need to take care of you.

As others have stated the odds are stacked against you succeeding in this job and you would be better off resigning and starting fresh elsewhere.

Ali413 · Apr 15, 2019

11 minutes ago, DTWriter said:
OP,
New grad RN orientations (at a hospital setting) are usually 12 weeks at most (except for some specialty areas like OR).
Based on your first post -
If you only have a week left, you are better off resigning at this point and reapplying elsewhere.
As others mentioned, if you get terminated, you have to explain it when asked on future job applications.
On the other hand, if they terminate you, you may quality for unemployment checks (though, this option may not be worth it in the long run).
Is there a particular reason why you do not want to resign from this job just yet (i.e. have children, moving expense, upcoming rent, etc.)? Spending 11 weeks seem excessive for an environment with several red flags.

That is great advice. I agree. I’m sure she stayed there that long due to sheer determination to make things work. It’s obvious that environment is poisonous. I also liked your advice on avoiding tears by rolling eyes back!

DTWriter · Apr 15, 2019

39 minutes ago, Ali413 said:
That is great advice. I agree. I’m sure she stayed there that long due to sheer determination to make things work. It’s obvious that environment is poisonous. I also liked your advice on avoiding tears by rolling eyes back!

^Thank you for the like but it was TriciaJ, RN who gave advice on avoiding tears. Otherwise, thank you ?

OP, I saw a post where you mentioned asking your manager about transferring...

Sorry, but, given that you have 3-4 days left, you really should resign as soon as possible; don't wait until the final day.

She now knows that you do not plan to stay on her unit for long, and the fact that she did not give you much advice or assistance in response to the transfer idea is saying something. For instance - in response, why not make plans to introduce you to the med-surg manager, or to another manager on a less acute unit?

The longer you wait, the more chances you give them to set you up so they have "excuses" for terminating you. For example - giving you a solo assignment with several high acuity patients or unruly patients, and thus increasing the odds of you making a mistake.

Ali413 · Apr 15, 2019

On 4/12/2019 at 1:22 PM, Scrubba Dub said:
I work on an oncology med/surg floor as a new grad nurse. I have been wanting to be a bedside nurse and I love working with my patients. But I am apparently not flourishing enough to be ready to come off orientation. I have trouble with time management but have been working diligently on it and have been improving bit by bit every day. But some days it’s so hard to finish on time when I am still learning a lot of new things and can’t always retain it all at once. I am also still struggling with understanding computer stuff and following all of the rules there are in everything I do. I am also a bit anxious and according to the nurses I work with on the floor, it shows.
I’ve cried already 3 times at work because of the way the nurses criticize me. They say they are trying to help but when they would talk to me, they would say things like, “you don’t know this yet?,” “you should know this by now.” And everything that they teach me, they make sure to tell my manager the things I didn’t know how to do and the mistakes I made (that I learned from and corrected).
They would also keep telling me to stop being so anxious and crying all the time and it just made me feel even worse and I would not be able to focus on my work and would make more mistakes.
My manager isn’t really nice when it comes to giving me feedback. She never had anything positive to say. It was always just about the preceptors complaining about me doing things wrong. She thinks I am genuinely failing at this job and told me that if I don’t improve enough in my last week of orientation, that my employment will be terminated.
I’ve been on orientation for about 11 weeks and I feel like I should be flourishing more than this and honestly, I am not happy here. I feel like I should be learning much faster than this. I know I am really new and it’s going to take a long time to get good, but I am not getting good enough after 3 months and that worries me that I am not cut out for this
I’m really really going to fight for my job but at the same time, is it worth all of this toxic behavior from my preceptors and manager? What do I do?!

I just wanted to add something else to my previous advice. Some one mentioned here that you should go see your doctor to get anxiety meds. Don’t do that. That should only be reserved for cases that have no other option. We are all human and we know that because we cry, right? So, I suggest considering adopting an exercise routine, run, bike swim, etc, and burn your stress off like that. Exercise releases endorphins and endorphins are our body’s natural way to feel good. Burning stress off with exercise will not only benefit you and your body and give you a sound mind, but it will benefit future relationships with people. Popping a pill isn’t the solution. You’re a new nurse. Find a better environment or even consider signing up for professional development courses offered by the hospital, etc. We are all a work in progress. You WILL get through this! Believe you are limitless and anything is possible! Wishing you the best!

jb_mmmm, BSN, RN · Apr 15, 2019

I literally just went through this. Albeit I was only on orientation for four weeks, I was already being told that I was behind two weeks in. I tried so hard my next two weeks to impress them and to make it seem like I had it together. I had my next meeting and I was told that I'm gonna be moved to a different unit where I can learn better.

I'm gonna be honest, I was really upset with myself and thought that I'd never be a good nurse, but I realized that I wasn't really happy on that unit and was relieved to be moved oof of it. I now have an interview with rehab, which is closer to what I wanted anyway, so I'm honestly really excited right now.

I would contact HR and ask if there's someone who helps with nurse retention to see if they can help you find another unit to move to. I know this is really hard right now, but the planets will align and you'll find yourself in the place where you need to be soon, I believe in you!

Workitinurfava, BSN, RN · Apr 15, 2019

2 minutes ago, jtran21 said:
I literally just went through this last week. Albeit I was only on orientation for four weeks, I was already being told that I was behind two weeks in (neuro icu). I tried so hard my next two weeks to impress them and to make it seem like I had it together, but on Thursday I had my next meeting and I was told that I'm gonna be moved to a different unit where I can learn better.
I'm gonna be honest, I was really upset with myself and thought that I'd never be a good nurse, but I realized that I wasn't really happy on that unit and was relieved to be moved oof of it. I worked with a retention nurse in my hospital who helps nurses move units and I now have an interview next week with their rehab hospital, which is closer to what I wanted anyway (I had my practicum at a spinal cord injury rehab hospital), so I'm honestly really excited right now.
I would contact HR and ask if there's someone who helps with nurse retention to see if they can help you find another unit to move to. I know this is really hard right now, but the planets will align and you'll find yourself in the place where you need to be soon, I believe in you!

Nice picture but take it down, put something else up so you can't be indentified, stay anonymous. Great advice about being transferred to another unit in the hospital.

jb_mmmm, BSN, RN · Apr 15, 2019

2 minutes ago, Workitinurfava said:
Nice picture but take it down, put something else up so you can't be indentified, stay anonymous. Great advice about being transferred to another unit in the hospital.

I made edits to it. Does it seem okay or should I just take down the whole post?

DTWriter · Apr 15, 2019

2 minutes ago, jtran21 said:
I made edits to it. Does it seem okay or should I just take down the whole post?

I think Workitinurfava was referring to your profile pic.

Someone you know could identify you.

jb_mmmm, BSN, RN · Apr 15, 2019

1 hour ago, DTWriter said:
I think Workitinurfava was referring to your profile pic.
Someone you know could identify you.

It's changed!

Scrubba Dub · Apr 16, 2019

7 hours ago, jtran21 said:
It's changed!

I took mine down too.

Scrubba Dub · Apr 16, 2019

On 4/14/2019 at 10:31 PM, Workitinurfava said:
Do you work at a teaching hospital? These hospitals tend to be more forgiving to new grads.

No, I don’t and I’m really wishing it was right now. I probably wouldn’t be having issues if it was a teaching hospital.

jb_mmmm, BSN, RN · Apr 16, 2019

3 minutes ago, Scrubba Dub said:
No, I don’t and I’m really wishing it was right now. I probably wouldn’t be having issues if it was a teaching hospital.

I work at a teaching hospital and I'm having that issue. I think it really comes down to how devoted your unit is to teaching new grads. For my case, I feel like they're implicitly comparing me to a few of the other girls whove had their practicums in the neuro icu. Stay strong sweetie!