New nurse on unit

[MDCNurse]

Hi, I’ve been a nurse for 3 years. I started at the hospital I did my clinicals at and did a residency program for 3 months. I started on nights so I could learn and after 3 years, I felt completely burnt out from bedside, going through 6-8 pts a night, and bad leadership. I recently started a new position on a step down unit at a different hospital. While I find myself less stressed, I am finding myself very depressed. I miss the commaderie I had with the other nurses I worked with. I miss being able to ask for help from anyone. On this new unit, I feel more on my own, not knowing who to ask for help. I only got 3 weeks of training and feel uneasy working on my own. I find myself sometimes tearing up at work. I’m doing the best I can but find it hard to cope with the change. I wanted to do step down to get the experience and eventually decide what I want to do next. Thats my biggest issue in nursing. I love what I do but I also dont know where to go next or what area of nursing I’d love to work in. After 6 months I can transfer, but its hard to think about what the next step would be.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

First I would advise not to even think about transferring until you are more at home in your current position.

Every time you change specialties it is going to feel anxious, similar to a new grad, all over again. You will need to give this six months to a year to start feeling more at home.

Look around at your coworkers. Start making friendly overtures. Figure out who is easy to talk to. Most nurses are helpful to one another.

Consider seeing someone about your anxiety. Being tearful in general while at work isn't a normal state of mental health and there is a LOT going these days messing up pretty much everyone's ability to cope.

Hang in there.