I'm a new grad RN who has been on my own for about 2 months. I had a 6 week preceptorship. I'm working days on a very busy med-tele floor where we have 6-7 patients. Sometimes our CNA's have 16 rooms each, and when we have 6-7 patients and the CNA is swamped the whole time, it's SOO hard to get things done. On top of that, our hospital never closes it's doors. Our ER is so busy all the time that we have patients in the hallways waiting to be assigned rooms. Our hospital doesn't assign rooms based on acuity. When there's an open room, it's booked before it's done being cleaned, and it doesn't matter if you just had 3 discharges in a row, you're getting 3 admits in a row. Also, it doesn't matter if you already have 3 total care patients, a 4th one will be assigned. It's so hard for me to learn in this type of environment. I never even really know what's going on with my patients, and I have no time to think about what anything means. As a new grad, I want to learn, and I feel like I don't have time to learn because I have so many tasks to do. On our floor, patients are given dilaudid like it's candy. You can have 7 patients with 4 of them getting dilaudid q3h prn, and believe me, they call NONSTOP right at 3 hours. On top of that, a lot of them have breakthrough roxicodone in between the dilaudid. All I do is pass medications the entire day. I barely have time to chart, and I have NEVER had a chance to read doctors notes.
I've come to the realization that I absolutely HATE nursing. I don't enjoy any of this any more. During nursing school, I never felt this way. I had wonderful experiences and really connected with my patients. But now I just can't take this anymore. I don't want to be a nurse at all. My patients annoy me so much. Although I never let it show, I just wish they would LEAVE ME ALONE with their requests every 10 minutes. And on top of the patients everyone expects so much from the nurse, we are the maids, social workers, therapists, middle men for communication between doctors, janitors, professional narcotic dealers. I just can't take this anymore. I dread going into work every single day. I used to be so cheerful and smiley and now I just feel like a zombie. I cry at the thought of having to work and I count down my days until my days off. I'm only 22 and just started my career, I don't want to feel this way. I can't imagine being a nurse longer than 6 months to a year. I spend hours after work charting, and there are many experienced nurses who stay late to chart as well. What should I do? Unfortunately, I signed a 2 year contract d/t no new grad jobs being available.
I want to go back to school and never look back at nursing again. Except, I can't. I wish it would get better.
Thank you everyone for all of the responses and encouragement. I'm going to hang in there for now and see if it gets better. I want to at least make it to 1 year. Although I feel like quitting every shift, I'm hoping that the more experience I get, the easier it will be to handle everything.
I've been working 4 shifts a week d/t having to pay back a huge amount of student loans, but I'm going to go down to 3 days to keep my sanity and see if that helps me. Thank you for showing such great support and really making me feel like I'm not alone.
I'm surprised no one else has mentioned that the staffing ratio is too high and if you found a job with a good staffing ratio things would be easier and you might actually enjoy nursing. Get your experience and then get the heck out of dodge and find a better job!
I felt like you did in my first med-surg job. Some floors are VERY bad to work in. I moved to a different med-surg unit in a different hospital and it was much better. So don't condemn nursing; it could just be a horrible place to work.
I'm going to play devil's advocate. I've been at it for six years and I still hate nursing :) Thankfully, I've found a job away from the bedside for now. Healthcare in America is just FUBARed. RNs are set up to fail from the beginning. Your ratio sounds average to me, despite what others have said. The fact that you're getting admission after admission isn't fair. Nor is staying late to chart (make sure you ARE clocked in and ARE getting paid). Don't kill yourself over this job. If it's too much, quit and find something else. Most people regard nursing homes as the end of a nursing career but maybe you could enjoy it. RNs there get more personal time with staff and residents. LPNs do med passes, CNAs do ADLs. Or maybe home care. Again, more time to connect with patients. Chart at home AND get paid. Acute Care nursing (in hospital) is brutal for all of us. And it will be so until there is a revolution in American healthcare. I have lots more to say on the subject but I'll leave it there. It might not necessarily get better. It never did for me. My goal is to get out but I've got a lot of student loans to contend with first. Good luck. All of us here feel your pain and are rooting for you.
I'm going to play devil's advocate. I've been at it for six years and I still hate nursing :) Thankfully, I've found a job away from the bedside for now. Healthcare in America is just FUBARed. RNs are set up to fail from the beginning. Your ratio sounds average to me, despite what others have said. The fact that you're getting admission after admission isn't fair. Nor is staying late to chart (make sure you ARE clocked in and ARE getting paid). Don't kill yourself over this job. If it's too much, quit and find something else. Most people regard nursing homes as the end of a nursing career but maybe you could enjoy it. RNs there get more personal time with staff and residents. LPNs do med passes, CNAs do ADLs. Or maybe home care. Again, more time to connect with patients. Chart at home AND get paid. Acute Care nursing (in hospital) is brutal for all of us. And it will be so until there is a revolution in American healthcare. I have lots more to say on the subject but I'll leave it there. It might not necessarily get better. It never did for me. My goal is to get out but I've got a lot of student loans to contend with first. Good luck. All of us here feel your pain and are rooting for you.
I actually really enjoy your comment. Can you send me a pm of what are your whole thoughts on healthcare in America?
I'm in my last year of prenursing and I'm unsure if I should continue on with nursing. Aside from you not liking nursing is there any way to tell if I would like nursing? Chemistry was complicated and Anatomy is really boring right now.
In lab, we're on muscles and lecture I can't even remember now.
The floor I work on sounds very similar to yours. I would recommend that you switch to night shift if you can. That's what I did and it made a huge difference. The adjustment to my sleep schedule wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I'm not as new as you are but I was still feeling very overwhelmed on days and like I had no clue what was going on. There wasn't 5 minutes to slow down and think. I was getting pulled in 100 different directions and my phone was ringing off the hook.
I'm able to spend more time with the patients, reading their charts, and looking things up when I need to. There are few, if any, MD's rounding, no PT/OT, no dietitians, and no management asking questions or interrupting me. I'm not trying to work around the patient's three meals and various visitors, etc. Night shift can still get busy but it's a much calmer pace and I'm much more suited for it. I don't foresee going back to day shift anytime soon!
I hated nursing until year seven. The first six or seven were the most miserable. But since then, I have been fortunate enough to fall into the right specialty, the right group of coworkers and docs, the right pay, the right hours, and the right boss(es).
If you can make it to year six or seven...you got this.
Specializes in ED, Telemetry,Hospice, ICU, Supervisor.
Try getting into the OR. Keep in mind there is bull-work no matter where you go. The level of bull-work in the OR is nothing compared to the level of bull-work found on the telemetry and med-surg floors. DO NOT stay on a floor you hate, it will only eat you up inside and carry over to your personal life. Imagine coming home every day and just complaining to your spouse, being angry, being sad, and irritable for days of the week. DO NOT let work run your life.
DO WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU!
The hospital will look out for its own best interest. ONLY YOU are responsible for your best interest.
Think of the hospital as a profit driven entity (which it actually is). Business will always come first (which it actually does).
SO, go and handle your business.
Would you ever do business with a place that makes you feel miserable? Would you ever agree to terms that make you feel like poop?
I empower you to not fall for the guilt trip some nurses may place on you. I empower you to make a change for the better and live a happy and successful life.
Oh chica! You're 22!!! You're saving lives at 22!!! You are awesome!!! At 22 I was about to drop out of an ADN program and working front desk at a hotel (not fun). You can do this- time and wisdom... Time. Things change with that... What's hard now will be easy in 20 years. :) Or less!
CrunchRN, ADN, RN
4,558 Posts
Look for an outpatient job. Don't quit until you get one.