New grad wanting to quit

[hw1992]

Hi everyone. I'm feeling very deflated at the moment about my new position as a aged care nurse. I've always been passionate about aged care and knew that was the path I wanted to take. i applied for a mainstream hospital as a back up with my main focus on a large aged care organisation. Upon hearing I got the job within the aged care organisations new graduate program I was ecstatic and decline the offer I recieved from the hospital.

Im 5 weeks into my role now. And I've done next to no clinical. I spend most of my days sitting in an office with nothing to do. They have made me supernumery for the entirety of the year (which makes me incredibly upset as I've worked so hard to become a RN and here I am as a first year still with no patient load, still observing like I did as a student). All my friends who went into the hospital system are running on their feet managing so many clinical tasks I could only dream of right now.

I have spent the last two days in training that was "mandatory" however I was the only nurse in the training with a room full of carers. The entire training with exception of fire safety and elder abuse was aimed at the carers including what to do in their role etc. today I've spent the day learning how to document, don gloves, wash my hands - which are tasks that I have spent my entire degree perfecting. I had carers ask me "why are you working as a carer if your an rn? "Why aren't you participating in hand washing with us?". Have any other nurses experienced this?

I feel so deflated that I've spent so long obtaining my degree to be spending my days doing nothing and learning about tasks that RNs should know.

I think the fact that these training sessions have had no other nurses in any of them - except me has made me feel so isolated and dumb.

I feel i have made a massive mistake taking this job. And if I do decide to leave after my new grad year and enter the hospital system I will have on my resume "a years experience of supernumery" compared to every other nurse at my level with a year of proper nursing.

I feel so deflated. I'm considering just giving up and leaving nursing all together.

Any adivce would be great

thank you

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I suspect from the language you used that you're in a different country than me, but in the US RNs have to take classes on fire safety and elder abuse. It could be that you got scheduled to take the class with the with the carers because theres was the first class that was given after your employment commenced. Documenting, handwashing and donning gloves are all classes that brand new RNs are expected to attend early in their employment as well. Again, you may be in that particular group because of scheduling issues; or you may be there as part of a team building exercise. Healthcare is teamwork; perhaps the idea was that you would get to know the carers better by taking the class with them.

Don't let mandatory classes or scheduling issues turn you off from a career you've had your heart set on. This is just a small bump in the road.

[jennylee321]

From reading posts on this site, sounds like the majority of new grads working in aged care and thrown into the deep end and drowning. Try to be happy that your getting so long a supernumerary period. I agree with the previous poster about taking a class with carers. It'll be good that your all in the same page about basic skills.

[dayandnight]

It sounds like you are from Australia (aged care = Skilled nursing facility. Carers = certified nursing assistants). How about talking to your friends and applying for a hospital new grad position in places that are a bit far away if employment is tough around your area??? It's not easy being a new grad anywhere these days. Apply far and wide and apply for everything