New nurse cracking under pressure

hpfulrn2007 · Sep 27, 2007

I just wanted to give you some support , I know exactly how you feel. I graduated in May took a job in Neuro ICU and was very excited about being there. I quickly found out that staffing was not adeqaute most shifts, no one wanted to be preceptors and if they were they hated it. After 2 months on day shift I went to nights I asked for more time or a preceptor on nights because I didn't feel ready to be on my own yet. Was given an addt'l 2 weeks on days and then a night shift resource for 3 weeks. Night shift was horrible they had never had orientees on nights and didn't want them they expected me to know everything already. First week on nights no one had time to explain anything to me I just had to figure it out on my own. I have never in my life been under so much stress. To top it all off the unit talked about each other alot no one wants to float to our unit because they always get treated bad and theres no support from your co workers. I stayed on nights 1 month and am set to start a new job in a Family pratice office next week. It was a pay cut but, there is no way I was willing to stay there and put my self through that stress not to mention I felt my license was on the line because I was handling assignments that a 10 year experienced nurse would struggle with. Think about yourself on this one you became a nurse for a reason and if this job was not fulfilling that goal move on. As for quitting I had already quit before I got this job offer.

Good Luck

longjourneydream · Sep 28, 2007

Hello,

I too am a new grad, and I work in the ER.

It has been tough, even though I have the 17 yrs experience under

my belt as a tech;the RN experience is nothing like I ever thought.

Taking the heat from the doctors has been a challenge.

For example:

Blood had not been drawn on client before going to ultrasound.

Doctor asks, "was that blood drawn yet?" I stated to him, "No."

He got up out of his chair, pointed the direction of ultra sound and said

you go down their NOW and get it."

I had to draw labs on my patient in the dark ,by feel. Thank God he

had good veins.

Another time, a client with syncopy was put on hold due to getting a

hip fx ready for surgery. The doctor stated, " why havent labs been

drawn yet, on this patient? I told him confidently I was getting my

surgical patient ready for the floor. He stated, you need to change

your priorities. He stated, "Clients on the floor ready to be sent,

come after existing clients coming in, they need to be put on hold until

all existing clients are taken care of, to keep the flow moving."

That day I started to treat those coming in, and my poor lady with

a hip fx was held up.

Later, the ortho doc calls me up and gives me a huge lecture on how

dare I send his fx late to surgical floor and failed to call PT level to him

on time, and that this poor lady may not have surgery till the next

day.

I told the Ortho Doc, he was right, and that I was at fault, he did not

know how to take my humble attitiude. He then said, " I just wanted

to let you know how it works.

One doctor tells you one thing, and the other tells you another thing.

This is where critical thinking comes to play, a decision needs to be

made, and priorities set FOR THE GOOD OF THE PATIENT, NOT TO

WHAT THE DOCTOR WANTS...

These lessons seem to get harder and harder.

I try not to let it eat me up.

I am a new grad, and I am learning.

I am doing the best I can, and doing a good job.

Patients always thank me for a job well done.

I go home thinking, Wow, I have made a difference in someones life

today, dispite some of the imperfections in care.

There will be days that I catch hell, even if I am doing the right thing,

or even the wrong thing, BUT I will learn from my mistakes.

It may be a damn if you do, or a damnd if you don't sort of day,at times.

There will be Docs will not like you because you are messing with their turn around time (makes them look bad on paper).

So as time goes on their will be days of lecturing/yelling,from the

doctors, and this in turn will make you stronger as the days go by.

It is a challenging field, and one must keep themselves together.

It is hard being new, but in the process of this long bumpy road, it makes you a smarter and stronger nurse.

DO NOT SHOW WEAKNESS...

maybaby9 · Sep 30, 2007

I have been working since July, and am still in orientation and I feel the same way!! I am trying to stick it out awhile until I decide what I really want to do, and not make an emotional decision. I dread work everyday, and am depressed ALOT, it has effected my life so much and I am feeling drained. You are doing what I feel like I eventually need to do, but I am a complete DOORMAT sometimes and am just plain scared to disappoint others and look like a quitter/failure, even if I'm miserable. I am happy to hear it can be done, and you won't be black balled from other jobs that you really want. I'm hoping to get into community or public health, I love teaching. I pray for all of us that are so unhappy....we all deserve to find out niche and be happy! A job just isn't worth being miserable. Anyone who can jab me into stepping up and taking control of my life, I'd appreciate the encouragement :wink2:

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Sep 30, 2007

Already so much great advice here!

Life is too short to stay with something that you absolutely dread. That's not to say that you should just give up when things get tough, but there comes a time to draw the line.

When I first started my job where I'm at now, I was incredibly stressed out, I'd throw up before work, and I thought "how will I EVER get used to this and feel comfortable?!" But you know how I knew that I would eventually come to like it? Because I really did like the actual work, but it was just the "newness" that was wearing on me. The inexperience and the unknown. But when I looked at other nurses on the unit, they all seemed to like it. I mean not everyone is all happy-happy-joy-joy all shift long ..... as with anything, it's a JOB, but people aren't complaining and whining the whole time. I kept praying for the day that I would end up feeling like these other nurses, for the day when I wouldn't be so freaked out about going to work. When the good days outweighed the bad. And that's where I'm at now. But if I had worked on a med/surg floor, I don't think that day ever would have came about! So I agree that you need to find your niche, and it might take some time. But it's not worth it to stick with something that you can't see yourself ever enjoying.

Good luck to you, I wish you all the best.

azor · Oct 6, 2007

When the going gets tough,only the tough gets going.I almost cried 2 days ago when i got to work and face challenge that made me look stupid but in all things,i told myself that it'll all come and pass cos it is a phase in my carrier.I noticed that each day at work come with its own challenge depending on the type of patient you encountered.I decide that the best thing is to be confident not minding that you know what you are doing or not.Carry yourself well with your head and shoulder high up and dont allow your face divulge your emotions cos body language says alot about you.Know that this is a phase that'll pass before you know it.Goodluck,my fellows.

woknblues · Oct 10, 2007

you are free. enjoy it, and get back on the horse. don't second guess your instincts. sounds to me like they are right on. pity the "experienced" nurses that stay on and go through melt downs over and over again. It took me 2 years of misery to quit my last job. I kick myself for having endured as long as I did. for nothing. good luck!!

al7139, ASN, RN · Oct 11, 2007

Hi,

Funny how we always think the grass is greener on the other side. I work on a busy cardiac unit (fresh out of school). Our pt ratio is usually 6:1 except on nights where we might get 7:1. Lots of times I have been called by surgery, CT, etc, and asked "where is this lab?" "has the pt been NPO?" What? There were no orders to draw that lab or hold pt NPO. My reply is my mantra "I'm sorry, I am new nurse and am not familiar with these prep orders since they were not in the chart." Live and learn. Ok, I can draw this lab now and send it STAT. The pt has had nothing to eat overnight and only sips of water when I woke them up for meds, is that OK? Usually I get "Yes, that will be fine, we'll come for them at this time." Rarely have I had to cancel or postpone a procedure due to my inexperience. The funny thing is I asked another nurse what the preps were ("No, they don't need to be NPO, no they don't need this lab."), and still got it wrong. I am in the process of trying to formulate a cheat sheet for myself to ensure that in the future I get it right! Even when I have had to call the MD and say "Your pt can't get this done because they ....." They have been very understanding of my inexperience, and usually can work around it, since the pt would not have been discharged anyway. Anyway, the point is, I have made mistakes as a new nurse, and will continue to make mistakes. Noone is perfect after all. I have had MD's yell at me, hang up on me. I have had pts and families that are hard to handle. I have had situations that made me want to walk out in the middle of my shift. On the other hand, I have had pts and family who have thanked me for my care, and hugged me, in spite of their grief because they know that it is as hard on me to lose a patient as it is for them. I have celebrated the patients achievements, whether it is just that they got to go home to die, or got better and walked out of the hospital. I have been told that I am a great nurse, even if I can do nothing more than take the extra 5 minutes to listen to how they are feeling and show I care. So in my humble opinion, even though there are times when I want to quit, in the end it's worth the hard times because I am making a difference in some small way. What the DRs and other staff say has nothing to do with me. I know I am doing the best for my patients in spite of them.

Amy

blueiwahine · Oct 19, 2007

I have been in orientation the past 2 months and have recently passed my boards. I work at a very busy med surg unit that seems so chaotic to me. I feel I have worked hard but yesterday I had a mental melt down. Even the veteran nurses are stressed out. I kept thinking if they can't handle how can I? Well I probably did something stupid. I talked to my manager and told her I wanted to leave and couldn't handle the job. She told me she heard good things about me and that I was doing well. I quit. This makes me look so bad. Only having 2 months of experience. I sent out a resume today and got a quick response. They wanted to know why I left so and so hospital. It doesn't help my husband is furious with me. I might have an opportunity to go back to my unit but I'm so embarrassed. There is just no way nursing school can prepare you for the real world of nursing. I need to find my niche. Should I just go back where I started? Also this unit has had a large turnover of nurses and aides.

Breathe....Just tell the interviewing hospital...that your last job was not where you wanted to be...my first job after nursing school...i stayed 8 months...it was horrible...I quit and never looked back...never had a problem finding another job and was never asked why I had left previous...on application I put that was not the area I wanted to work. My husband was the same way...he doesn't understand that nursing is not like every other job that you stay at the same place for xx amount of years and retire there...I've been nursing for 1 yr and work PRN at 2 different hospitals LTACH and Oncology/Med-Surg and love it...make my own schedule...work as much as I want...never work holidays or weekends if I don't want to...