New nurse - wrong specialty- very panicked

PAERRN20 · Sep 22, 2009

Take a deep breath. Relax. You will be okay. I also felt the overwhelming feeling that I made the wrong choice as a new grad. I started in the ER and was terrified for at least 6 months. Over a year and half later, I don't feel terrified, but I'm not in love with the specialty. (I'm actually looking to make a move to psych right now) I would focus on getting the basic of nursing down right now: calling docs, giving meds, assessment, treatments, etc. Stick it out a year, and if you still don't feel it, switch to a different area. Spending a year is important because it takes the long to get adjusted to the floor but also shows that you aren't flighty.

SunnyAndrsn · Sep 22, 2009

Bide your time and make the best of it until you can make a change.

I don't want to sound cold, but there are a lot of new grads struggling to find a job anywhere.

I graduated from nursing school with my BSN this past May. I did very well, but did not gain a lot of confidence, and felt nervous on the floor. I accepted a residency in Psychiatry in January, when we had to choose. Since that time I have become more confident and realized that Psychiatry is not for me. My first day on the unit I was overwhelmed with the feeling that I was in the wrong the place, it was terrible. I feel very trapped and am unable to change where my residency is. I am really interested in Diailysis nursing and realize that it will be hard for me to get there as it is best to have critical care or medsurge at the least.
I put my whole heart into nursing school, i returned at an older age, and I am very sad to not be excited about where I am starting. I am afraid it will be impossible for me to move to another area when my residency is done.
Does anyone have any words of advice that might be helpful or has anyone on experienced this.
Thanks

Sonia,RN · Sep 22, 2009

Sorry . . . what is a residency? Does a legal commitment keep you where you are? If it does not, I have some general suggestions. But I need to know a little more about your situation. Do you have your degree free and clear? Can you leave one position for another? Is work easily available where you are located?

Let me know and I will reply.

neonatal_nurse · Sep 22, 2009

I agree with sunny. It's sooo freakin hard to get a job these days. Just stick it out for a while, sometimes things just need a little getting used to. You can change areas once you become regular- if you still want to.

Residency training is what we nurses undergo post-graduation, when we are already RN's, we need this to prior to working in a hospital.

Good Luck! :)

Anisettes, BSN, RN · Sep 22, 2009

>>

I must be losing it but I've never heard of this I'm embarrassed to say. Is this something new? When did nurses start doing residency programs, is this like MD residencies?

rachelgeorgina · Sep 22, 2009

^ In Australia we call them "new graduate programs". You're employed by the hospital as a new graduate RN. You work as an RN but it's recognised that you're "new", so to speak and you get a lot of extra education and training. The educators on the wards tend to work with you to help you master new skills - like central line changes, dropping tubes etc - things that you probably don't get a chance to master during school but need to be able to do as an RN. You also get to rotate through 1-4 different wards in the facility through the year to get a feel for different areas of nursing and develop different skills. Usually, one of the units you work on will offer you a job for the next year in a permanent position as a "real" RN.

ringtail RN · Sep 22, 2009

Thanks so much for reminding me to take a deep breath. I Know it will work its way out and that I will learn a lot. I like the patients and feel comfortable in psych but not inspired. My only other question is this, on my unit we do not have any medical cases, meaning we don't really do anything with physical assessments, wounds, breathing treatments..., and very little with lab values. Do you think that after this year or so, any other hospital unit would hire me on knowing that I still needed to learn all of the basics. That is my real fear, that I won't be able to move to another unit because I lack the skills needed.

Thanks again,

Ringtail

ringtail RN · Sep 22, 2009

Thanks to everyone who replied, and reminding me to be grateful that I have a job; it is very hard to get a job where I am too. I am going to keep an open mind and trust that when, and if I need to leave, someone will give me a chance to learn the basics that I did not get during my year in psych. The other areas I like are dialysis and surgery. I am glad all nurses is here. It helps to hear other nurses thoughts and encouragement and it means a lot to me that people took the time to reply, it cheered me up this morning.

ringtail

(grateful and little less teary new RN:)

additional thoughts and suggestions still welcome!

LaneyB · Sep 22, 2009

How long are you committed to psych? Is there a nursing recruiter you can talk to where you work? When I was fresh out of nursing school the hospital I worked at requested you commit to one year, but it you didn't like the area you were in they would help you switch to another specialty. They were really understanding that new grads don't always know immediately where they want to be working. You did have to restart your year commitment when you switched, though.

Kittyfeet · Sep 22, 2009

Thanks so much for reminding me to take a deep breath. I Know it will work its way out and that I will learn a lot. I like the patients and feel comfortable in psych but not inspired. My only other question is this, on my unit we do not have any medical cases, meaning we don't really do anything with physical assessments, wounds, breathing treatments..., and very little with lab values. Do you think that after this year or so, any other hospital unit would hire me on knowing that I still needed to learn all of the basics. That is my real fear, that I won't be able to move to another unit because I lack the skills needed.
Thanks again,
Ringtail

I'm a new grad too and I am enjoying med/surg but I know I will want to try other things in the future. A lot of the hospitals in my area offer nursing internships for nurses wishing to change specialties. For example, maybe a med/surg nurse wanting to go into OR or ICU or something. So it's not too late for you, there are always training opportunities! Lots of nurses switch specialties. Obviously having had a med/surg background would help you in an acute care hospital more than psych, but you are still gaining valuable experience by learning how to be a therapeutic communicator! I get a LOT of psych patients on my medical floor. It would be nice to have more experience about how to help them. They always end up confused and frustrated, refusing treatments, trying to leave AMA because it's so busy on the floor and not everyone is experienced in that kind of communication. Just think about how scared and frustrated some of your patients with delusions and anxiety would be in a med/surg setting and how much they could benefit from a nurse that is used to handling their special needs. It will help you in the long run, I'm sure!

Unless you feel completely unsafe or so miserable that you hate going to work every day I would stick it out just to have a good reference and to see if it feels different in a while. Another thing to consider is maybe you could volunteer at a local free clinic... we have a couple around here that some of my classmates volunteered at and they said it was great experience with learning how to assess quickly and efficiently, seeing a lot of different acute conditions, giving shots, drawing blood, etc... might help you with all those technical skills you don't get to use much in psych, and you would be helping people in need. Not to mention how good it would look on your resume. Best wishes!

Sonia,RN · Sep 22, 2009

One field which prepares you for many different fields is telemetry. I recommend telemetry to any new nurse because you get enough patients to practice time management, but not so many they overwhelm you (med-surg has in some places 7-8 patients), sick enough they challenge your skills, not so sick they are unstable, fast-paced, but not so fast you lose the ability to be organized (like in some E.Rs) There is usually a lot of need in tele, too, and most units at a non-open-heart hospital will accept new grads. 6 months to a year in tele, and you can go anywhere. . .

Of course I practice in the U.S., I never had a residency.