New RN frustration tips while on the job?

hypnotizer90, BSN, RN · Apr 30, 2021

Yes, definitely you'll encounter some frustration/anxiety/anger etc when you first start, but you will grow to relax more if you become comfortable in the unit per se.

I work in med-surg/gen surg, day shift, 5patient max assignment, busy/ fast turnover - discharges & admissions. I'm usually anxious in AM since it's busy with med pass/wound care/ ambulation etc but throughout the day when I know the acuity of my patient's/prioritize care, then I tend to relax after. Do deep breathing, smile, and talk to colleagues to relieve the pressure.

I needed to delegate to my nursing techs, ask questions to charge nurse, brainstorm with co-workers, & ask resource nurse for help. There are tasks you could re-schedule in PM.

It's true that I'm task oriented but I accomplish a lot and reflects on patient outcome. I try to forget work when at home.

guest358111 · May 26, 2021

A few ideas:

Make sure you have a hobby or two outside of work so you can recharge. Walking, visiting a park, biking, painting. Something that gives you enjoyment.
Know why you went into nursing in the first place. When you are at work, when you start to feel frustrated, take a step back in your mind and notice the “thousand foot view” such as: The patient is sick and not me. The patient needs my help. At least I’m not the one in the bed today. And remind yourself that nothing is perfect even if you do feel ready to scream because someone didn’t stock a supply cabinet again or something. ?
Make sure you take your breaks. If you can go off the unit for your break, do that. Try to have a time during the day where you shut your brain off, even for a few minutes. This does not mean spending the whole break on your phone.

Stay hydrated and don’t eat all the junk food that is all over on a unit☺️

And you might consider getting involved in some hospital or unit committees. Sometimes it helps with the frustration if you can at least feel like you are playing a role in helping to change things... and taking back some control.

I hope some of this is helpful.

andpeggy · Jun 1, 2021

I’m in a very similar place as you (new nurse, off orientation for 3 months now), and I have found myself becoming angrier and more negative. I used to be Ms Sunshine/Pollyanna on my unit, but as the realities of the job and lack of support from management become evident, I got pretty dark. I gave into the anger, and that made me feel even worse. So, I’ve employed a few stratetigies to bring myself back from the dark side. (A lot of them involve lowering expectations.)

1) Focus on patients. It sounds so simple, and it takes me reminding myself a lot, but it seems to help. I truly love nursing work, but I was so focused on how the system in which I do the work was beating me down, which made me very angry. That served no one and just made for a miserable day. I can stand up for myself and my patients, ask for help and challenge assignments that might be too much for a new nurse, but at the end of the day, if my patients are safe, alive and feel cared for, I’ve done my job.

2) Ignore unit drama and gossip. This is really hard for me. I like being liked, I like being in the know, but I work with a lot of nurses who are (justifiably) burnt out and complain a lot. I listen when I can, but I don’t join in, and if I need to extract myself, I do so. Again, I focus on the patients.

3) I decided to start training for a half-marathon. I’ve been a runner for a long time, but running has more of a fitness/sanity thing for the last year. I realized that I need something outside of work to focus on, with achievable goals. For me, that’s training. But I think any hobby where you feel energized and successful can be good, especially when we feel so drained and not successful in our work.

4) Make it to lunch. As one of the posters above said, I’ve come to accept that the morning is crazy. It just is. I work 12s and I forget sometimes that it’s a long day and there is plenty of time. (I’ll even say that to myself - “there’s plenty of time.”) If I can make it through the 10 am med pass, assessments, doctors entering new orders, I’m usually OK. My new goal each and every day is just to make it to lunch.

5) Celebrate the wins. Write them down. I had a big catch the other day, and I was super proud of myself for noticing the change in condition. It’s so easy to focus on the things we do wrong or not quickly enough, but I guarantee there are things we are doing right.

I hope this is helpful. You are not alone in feeling the way that you feel. I read somewhere that this kind of anger is common in new grads around the 4-6 month mark, and then comes back around at about 2 years.

Sending hugs!

andpeggy · Jun 1, 2021

Addendum: kudos to you, OP, for reaching out EAP. It sounds like they were less than helpful. I see a therapist weekly and it’s quite helpful in terms of processing and creating strategies to deal. If it’s within your time/money budget, I highly recommend.

Apple160 · Jun 2, 2021

22 hours ago, andpeggy said:

I’m in a very similar place as you (new nurse, off orientation for 3 months now), and I have found myself becoming angrier and more negative. I used to be Ms Sunshine/Pollyanna on my unit, but as the realities of the job and lack of support from management become evident, I got pretty dark. I gave into the anger, and that made me feel even worse. So, I’ve employed a few stratetigies to bring myself back from the dark side. (A lot of them involve lowering expectations.)

1) Focus on patients. It sounds so simple, and it takes me reminding myself a lot, but it seems to help. I truly love nursing work, but I was so focused on how the system in which I do the work was beating me down, which made me very angry. That served no one and just made for a miserable day. I can stand up for myself and my patients, ask for help and challenge assignments that might be too much for a new nurse, but at the end of the day, if my patients are safe, alive and feel cared for, I’ve done my job.

2) Ignore unit drama and gossip. This is really hard for me. I like being liked, I like being in the know, but I work with a lot of nurses who are (justifiably) burnt out and complain a lot. I listen when I can, but I don’t join in, and if I need to extract myself, I do so. Again, I focus on the patients.

3) I decided to start training for a half-marathon. I’ve been a runner for a long time, but running has more of a fitness/sanity thing for the last year. I realized that I need something outside of work to focus on, with achievable goals. For me, that’s training. But I think any hobby where you feel energized and successful can be good, especially when we feel so drained and not successful in our work.

4) Make it to lunch. As one of the posters above said, I’ve come to accept that the morning is crazy. It just is. I work 12s and I forget sometimes that it’s a long day and there is plenty of time. (I’ll even say that to myself - “there’s plenty of time.”) If I can make it through the 10 am med pass, assessments, doctors entering new orders, I’m usually OK. My new goal each and every day is just to make it to lunch.

5) Celebrate the wins. Write them down. I had a big catch the other day, and I was super proud of myself for noticing the change in condition. It’s so easy to focus on the things we do wrong or not quickly enough, but I guarantee there are things we are doing right.

I hope this is helpful. You are not alone in feeling the way that you feel. I read somewhere that this kind of anger is common in new grads around the 4-6 month mark, and then comes back around at about 2 years.

Sending hugs!

Thank you so much for this.

I actually just had an incident where two older nurses where talking about me, because I asked for help. But I've been trying to stay optimistic despite this and focus on continually learning new things. It can be hard to stay hopeful when you have that, but also have the exception to know everything for the MDs, Patients, patient family members, and other nurses.

I think the goal to eat lunch is so good. I often don't really put much thought into my lunch and breaks, but I'll take on that advice. All of these tips.

Sending hugs back!

21 hours ago, andpeggy said:

Addendum: kudos to you, OP, for reaching out EAP. It sounds like they were less than helpful. I see a therapist weekly and it’s quite helpful in terms of processing and creating strategies to deal. If it’s within your time/money budget, I highly recommend.

Thank you ? I figured to reach out to a place that would know what to do with work related stress. And they helped as a one shot. But I also have a therapist that helps a lot.

Apple160 · Jun 2, 2021

On 5/26/2021 at 7:39 AM, ProfessorNurseRN said:

A few ideas:

Make sure you have a hobby or two outside of work so you can recharge. Walking, visiting a park, biking, painting. Something that gives you enjoyment.
Know why you went into nursing in the first place. When you are at work, when you start to feel frustrated, take a step back in your mind and notice the “thousand foot view” such as: The patient is sick and not me. The patient needs my help. At least I’m not the one in the bed today. And remind yourself that nothing is perfect even if you do feel ready to scream because someone didn’t stock a supply cabinet again or something. ?
Make sure you take your breaks. If you can go off the unit for your break, do that. Try to have a time during the day where you shut your brain off, even for a few minutes. This does not mean spending the whole break on your phone.

Stay hydrated and don’t eat all the junk food that is all over on a unit☺️

And you might consider getting involved in some hospital or unit committees. Sometimes it helps with the frustration if you can at least feel like you are playing a role in helping to change things... and taking back some control.

I hope some of this is helpful.

Thank you so much for these tips! I actually started going off the unit for lunch recently and I think that helps refresh me. Also- thats a great perspective to have with the patients. I deal with my own health issues, and it helps to take care of others in the meantime to help my take my mind off of it.