NEW nurse, too soon to leave my first job?

Atl-Murse · Nov 2, 2016

Nope unless you have a contract liability

The grass is almost never greener on the other side . good luck

Cowboyardee · Nov 2, 2016

It's not the end of the world or the end of your career. It does, however, look bad on a resume and tends to screw over the unit that hired and trained you somewhat. You wouldn't be the first nurse to do it by a long shot, but it's not a good thing either.

Also beware that the first several months (or perhaps even year or two) in your first nursing job is supposed to be uncomfortable. School doesn't really teach you enough to be a functional, competent nurse and growing pains and anxiety are a pretty normal part of confronting this reality and getting up to speed. A different job may be just as uncomfortable; if it is breezy and laid back, you probably aren't learning much and won't be in a position to branch out from there should you choose to later on in your career.

RNperdiem, RN · Nov 2, 2016

Three months is often the low point. The newness has worn off, the realization that nursing is a lot of hard work has set in, and if you are doing nights, fatigue.

You are gaining important skills that you can take with you into your next job. Stick with what you have for now and learn all you can.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Nov 2, 2016

Some people will certainly chime in and insist that life is too short to be unhappy.

Nonetheless, I think you would be more marketable in the long run if you remained in your current role for one year. One year of unpleasantness in the trenches will be water under the bridge when you look back several years from now.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Marisette, BSN, RN · Nov 3, 2016

Do you want a career in clinic nursing? What are your long term goals? I think you will have more opportunities open to you with the hospital experience. Most nursing employment feels beyond challenging the frist 6 months to a year. However, the experience will be very valuable for your future nursing career. Jobs get easier, more routine, once you learn how to organize your work day and master skills. Repetition and familiarity will increase your comfort level and decrease stress. Therefore, if you can stay at your present job for several more months, you will reap some rewards in learning and future employment opportunities.

I will not advise staying in a toxic work environment where you are feeling emotionally abused or mistreated in some way. That's where I draw the line. But if this is not the case, think twice about giving up so soon.

I worked in dialysis most of my nursing career, some time in the hospital, some time in outpatient clinics, some time in home dialysis. My overall experience was mostly good, although like any job I experienced some set backs, especially towards the last few years. Dialysis has a high acuity of care for patient's and I recall coveting the "clinic" job. The idea of ambulatory people coming in and out of my life quickly and "effortlessly" seemed appealing at the time.

I finally obtained the clinic job I so coveted. But today, I would give up my clinic job for a good opportunity working in dialysis. The clinic jobs are not as easy and pleasant as they appear to be. Working for a large practice or clinic may involve supervision of numerous staff. Some not too eager to work or follow through on procedures as instructed. The quantities of people and calls directed at the Rn can be excessive because most clinics don't staff with several Registered Nurses. It's important to have leadership skills and people skills. Electronic records, and clinic work flows are created to facilitate the physician's practice and nursing matters are secondary to physician needs in the clinic setting.

You may seldom if ever have a patient experience a code blue. However, you may be placed in a position of deciding who gets to see the MD today when there are no more available appointments. Some patient's feel they are entitled to see a physician for a hang nail and they will lie or argue if it gets them through the door. Everyday, I see people who come in for the magic pill and will demand and say anything to get it. That means patient's who will argue if they don't get their monthly RX for pain meds. Not to mention, it appears many patient's insist on antibiotics for a cold, laxatives for constipation...

As a triage nurse, I respond to the request by phone and when people decide to walk in without appointments . The physician will not have the time to see all the patient's in one day. Heaven forgive me for suggesting a change in lifestyle as a treatment for some ailments. Some patients will insist the RN speak to the insurance today because they will not survive without the appetite supressant, the anxiolytic, the laxative....no offense intended to anyone who has suffered anxiety because I 've been challenged by anxiety also, but the insurance companies have their own timeline to approve medications.

The clinic RN may be the middle man delivering the news to the irritated customer that their RX cannot be filled because it's too soon, not covered by insurance, not approved or recommended by the physician. Some of the physicians are really good at dissapearing, not responding, not confronting. As an RN, I don't have the luxury.

Short staffing of nurses happens in the clinic setting also. Perhaps even more, because management believes no one coming to a clinic has an acute medical need. True, but do not promise services that cannot be delivered. Also, working for a large partially goverment funded clinic, our patient response times and number of calls received are monitored, heard, tracked. There is regulation, and compliance... This may not be the case in a small clinic, but smaller independent providers may not hire RN's or may not offer competitive salaries and benefits. Even for a large Practice, I took a pay cut for the coveted clinic job. The coveted clinic job is not stress free.

I don't know your situation, but do weigh in all your options. Sometimes, the short cut is not the best route out of a challenging situtation.

SmilingBluEyes · Nov 3, 2016

I quoted this for two reasons. ONE because it's so spot-on and I relate, having been a clinic nurse in a busy OB/GYN practice. TWO because it bears repeating, every word. And someone else said, the "Grass is not always greener". Better believe it. You may jump from a frying pan into a fire. No job worth anything is "easy" or not challenging, for good reason. Also I might add, clinic RNs make a whole lot less than their acute care counterparts in the hospital, yet are expected to work with quite a good base of knowledge and experience (which you don't have):

Telephone triage is not for the inexperienced. And you have to be extremely organized or you will sink, working in a busy clinic. There is more to do than any day allows. You have to have an excellent ability to prioritize, and again, that really requires some experience.

So. Can you afford a substantial pay cut? Think before you leap out and maybe, give your current job time. You are supposed to be uncomfortable that first year. It's how you learn and stay awake/alert. It almost always gets better after that first year. If not, then you have experience and can move on.

Do you want a career in clinic nursing? What are your long term goals? I think you will have more opportunities open to you with the hospital experience. Most nursing employment feels beyond challenging the frist 6 months to a year. However, the experience will be very valuable for your future nursing career. Jobs get easier, more routine, once you learn how to organize your work day and master skills. Repetition and familiarity will increase your comfort level and decrease stress. Therefore, if you can stay at your present job for several more months, you will reap some rewards in learning and future employment opportunities.
I will not advise staying in a toxic work environment where you are feeling emotionally abused or mistreated in some way. That's where I draw the line. But if this is not the case, think twice about giving up so soon.
I worked in dialysis most of my nursing career, some time in the hospital, some time in outpatient clinics, some time in home dialysis. My overall experience was mostly good, although like any job I experienced some set backs, especially towards the last few years. Dialysis has a high acuity of care for patient's and I recall coveting the "clinic" job. The idea of ambulatory people coming in and out of my life quickly and "effortlessly" seemed appealing at the time.
I finally obtained the clinic job I so coveted. But today, I would give up my clinic job for a good opportunity working in dialysis. The clinic jobs are not as easy and pleasant as they appear to be. Working for a large practice or clinic may involve supervision of numerous staff. Some not too eager to work or follow through on procedures as instructed. The quantities of people and calls directed at the Rn can be excessive because most clinics don't staff with several Registered Nurses. It's important to have leadership skills and people skills. Electronic records, and clinic work flows are created to facilitate the physician's practice and nursing matters are secondary to physician needs in the clinic setting.
You may seldom if ever have a patient experience a code blue. However, you may be placed in a position of deciding who gets to see the MD today when there are no more available appointments. Some patient's feel they are entitled to see a physician for a hang nail and they will lie or argue if it gets them through the door. Everyday, I see people who come in for the magic pill and will demand and say anything to get it. That means patient's who will argue if they don't get their monthly RX for pain meds. Not to mention, it appears many patient's insist on antibiotics for a cold, laxatives for constipation...
As a triage nurse, I respond to the request by phone and when people decide to walk in without appointments . The physician will not have the time to see all the patient's in one day. Heaven forgive me for suggesting a change in lifestyle as a treatment for some ailments. Some patients will insist the RN speak to the insurance today because they will not survive without the appetite supressant, the anxiolytic, the laxative....no offense intended to anyone who has suffered anxiety because I 've been challenged by anxiety also, but the insurance companies have their own timeline to approve medications.
The clinic RN may be the middle man delivering the news to the irritated customer that their RX cannot be filled because it's too soon, not covered by insurance, not approved or recommended by the physician. Some of the physicians are really good at dissapearing, not responding, not confronting. As an RN, I don't have the luxury.
Short staffing of nurses happens in the clinic setting also. Perhaps even more, because management believes no one coming to a clinic has an acute medical need. True, but do not promise services that cannot be delivered. Also, working for a large partially goverment funded clinic, our patient response times and number of calls received are monitored, heard, tracked. There is regulation, and compliance... This may not be the case in a small clinic, but smaller independent providers may not hire RN's or may not offer competitive salaries and benefits. Even for a large Practice, I took a pay cut for the coveted clinic job. The coveted clinic job is not stress free.
I don't know your situation, but do weigh in all your options. Sometimes, the short cut is not the best route out of a challenging situtation.

Libby1987 · Nov 3, 2016

I believe if you were drowning, you would have emphasized that.

Out patient/ambulatory/non acute settings will have increasing numbers of openings. And they are going to get harder because those acute patients are and will be increasingly so hitting those settings sooner. Those with solid clincal experience will 1) have a smoother time of it 2) bring broader relevant experience.

In my opinion, with my experience in training nurses without recent acute care experience, right now you are being paid to be prepared for today's and tomorrow's healthcare, don't give that away of you don't have to.