new grad resigned after 6 months but wants to work again :S

liloadro · Apr 17, 2009

You lasted longer than I did! I also felt very overwhelmed and incompetent. I worked on an ortho/neuro/surgical unit. Everyone kept telling me I, too, was doing a great job - which I think they gauged on the fact that I didn't constantly pester them for help - cuz other than that I don't know how they came to that conclusion. A hospital setting, at least this one, was just not the "right fit" for me. I wanted better supervision and training to be sure I was doing things properly and I didn't like the "just get it done" mentality. I also wanted to know the people I would be working with everyday and feel I was part of the organization. These things were definitely lacking in the hospital setting. When I interviewed for my subsequent job I mentioned all these things as being important to me. WHen asked why I left the hospital I just said those things I valued weren't there for me. In the end, after getting that job, it turned out most of my coworkers admitted the same thing. They also left the hospital for the smaller setting. Not to mention - it's more focused, I don't need to know everything about everything just yet! It's not failure to realize what you don't want. It's smart to recognize it and move on!

connieindc · Apr 17, 2009

I lasted four (4) days at my first nursing job!! And I would have left after only two days but my husband convinced me to stay another two because he couldn't believe I wanted to leave!

The position was at a community health center. I knew from the first day that the job was not for me. I was a brand-new nurse, just out of a community college nursing school, didn't know how to give injections, or draw blood, or do PPD skin tests, or anything. I was put in charge of experienced nursing aides who looked to me for guidance on what to do. The community clinic was extremely crowded and busy; literally, there was no place for me to sit down all day (unless I shared a chair with another nurse) and no breaktime. The worst moment came at the end of the fourth day when I was the only nurse in the building and a pediatric patient had severe breathing difficulties. I didn't know what to do, except call 911. Fortunately, two doctors appeared and took over. The kid lived; I turned in my resignation the next morning.

My next job was a much better fit and I loved it. For your job interviews, have completely honest replies to the questions that will be asked about your previous job. Prepare them in advance and practice saying them. People understand; most everybody has had a terrible job experience in their life. The most important thing to show is what you learned from the experience and how you are a better nurse and a better person now because of it.

FireStarterRN, BSN, RN · Apr 17, 2009

Maybe you can tell them that you had some personal family matters to attend to and they needed your full attention. Although you love nursing and were well-liked on your unit, you needed time off because of some unforeseen events. Since you were a new nurse you felt like you needed time off because of the stress of that first year of nursing.

sclpn · Apr 17, 2009

Don't feel bad for realizing that wasn't the fit for you.

I left my first nursing job in the ER after 5 weeks. I wasn't even finished with orientation yet. I felt like a failure. Most of the other nurses kept telling me I was right on track and that feeling overwhelmed was normal. When I finally made the decision to leave I felt so much peace at home and for the remaining time at work. Every nurse has a place that she fits and the ER wasn't mine and the ortho/neuro wasn't yours.

Good luck finding a job. Just be honest when you interview.

Drysolong · Apr 17, 2009

Your comment, "the bottom line was I just needed the time off to really reflect on what I wanted to do." is a very good reason.

mustlovepoodles, RN · Apr 18, 2009

Maybe you can tell them that you had some personal family matters to attend to and they needed your full attention. Although you love nursing and were well-liked on your unit, you needed time off because of some unforeseen events.

I plan to use this answer if I ever go back to nursing. I've been a nurse for 31 years but this year I had to go on long term leave due to severe depression, including two hospitalizations at a psych facility. At this point I cannot go back to work, but if I ever do I think rather than tell them the full story,which uninformed persons might not understand or even be afraid of, I'm going to tell them I had a family crisis and had to take several months off. Period. That's all they need to know for now.

joannep · Apr 18, 2009

I think it's important that when you prepare your answer you make it brief, and stick to your prepared answer during the interview. Try not to let your nerves overwhelm you otherwise you will have verbal diarrhea and say things you didn't mean to say :)