I am a new RN working in oncology, I have been at my present job for 6 months. I am very unhappy working on the unit I'm currently at due to the nature of the field - I see many patients go downhill fast, I feel like I am not doing anything to help them and that no matter what I do the cancer will eventually kill them. During nursing school I worked as a tech in other oncology unit and liked my job and the thought of being a good nurse for people during a difficult time in their lives seemed like it would be rewarding so I had my mind set on working in this field. I love my patients, but I don't feel I belong in this field anymore. I cannot figure out if it is just the unit or a combination of factors...I had a really horrible orientation experience - my preceptor had limited time to spend training me and I had multiple people trying to train me so there was no consistency, and my current supervisor usually just gives me attitude or snaps at me when I ask questions. The people I work with do not work as a team, so that also does not make things easier. I feel like I have had no support since I've started working on this unit. I have told my manager about my negative experience with my supervisor and how I feel and she said she would take action about it, but I have not seen any changes and you cannot change this person's personality.
I had a very idealistic idea of what nursing was all about upon graduation, but my experience so far is disheartening and disappointing to me. I don't want this to ruin my view of the field of nursing, although it has been making me question whether or not going back to school to be a nurse was worth it at all. The staff nurses for the most part have been friendly and helpful, and I've asked them many questions, I just don't feel connected to them or the field I am working in like I thought I would be by now.
I know that there is this standard advice that "things get better after the first year" but I don't think I can stick out working in this type of environment for another 6 months under these conditions. I want to switch units but I'm not sure how it would look to other nurse managers if I would try to apply for other positions after just 6 months of experience. I do have a positive evaluation under my belt, however. This is what I thought I wanted to do with my nursing career, now I have no idea what floor I would want to switch to.
I want to know if as a nurse manager, given my situation, it would look bad to others hiring, if I applied to switch units this early on. This job has caused me to become very depressed and I feel burned out already and I did take action and talk to human resources about it and made an appointment with a counselor. HR told me that I would need to provide them, my manager and house supervisor with reason for switching and that they all would have to agree on my switching units, which leaves me feeling powerless as a new nurse. I don't have a particular unit I want to work on, I just know I hate working on the one I'm on right now.
I daydream about starting over on a completely new, different unit and how I could be happy somewhere else. I cry when I think about going back to work, on my way to work, and sometimes at work because of the sad situations my patients are in. I have not been myself since I have started working as a nurse.
I just need some feedback about what you all think would be best to do in my situation. Thanks.
After six months, you've given your area a good try. You also cite excellent reasons for job dissatisfaction, poor teamwork, lack of supervisor support, difficult patient population.
NEVER burn a bridge, look at your hospital job openings and apply. Because you are employed you can be choosier. If you have options, don't stay where you are unhappy, nursing is too versitile.
I totally agree. 6 months is enough time to truly know if you enjoy working within a certain specialty or not. I've floated to our sister unit medical onc and I know I could not do it. But surgical onc is a lot more rewarding for me. Most of our pts are coming in for surgery and leaving cancer free. The majority are grateful for having a second chance at life so it's a more upbeat and happy work environment.
Thank you so much for all of your feedback! I feel guilty because I don't like a field I intended to stay in indefinitely, but I definitely need to be true to myself and move on. Now it is just a matter of taking action to switch floors and find another job so I can start my journey to find out where I belong as a nurse.
Do any of you have any suggestions for good nursing floors to work on as a new grad besides med surg? I am not ruling out moving outside the hospital to like an outpatient clinic or surgery center, I did enjoy spending time during school in same day surgery and observation. I like the fast pace of an ER but don't feel completely ready to work as an ER nurse straight out of school. I did tech in the ER and enjoyed it, but I floated and helped the nurses out - never had my own patients before I had to leave.
Another obstacle I have is the fact I have a year contract with my hospital and there are only a few open positions available that I am probably not qualified for. If I get a job outside the hospital that means I have to break the contract, which I'm not sure what the legalities of that are, but I'm sure I'll have to pay them money of some sort. I am just a lost soul right now. All I know is that I need to get out of the situation that I am in right now and make a change.
If you are unhappy, don't feel guilty about looking elsewhere or transferring. This place doesn't sound like a right fit for any nurse. Health care is a challenging field and extra obstacles, such as those you described, are not needed.
I had a contract too, as did the other two interns who have also quit. They did not make us pay it back. They said there was nothing they could do, and nothing would happen in regards to the contract.
I actually checked about the contract and I got clearance to transfer :) yay!
Where I work there is a process to transfer in which I have to talk to my boss and have an open honest conversation with her about being unhappy and wanting to switch floors. I plan on focusing on the fact that oncology nursing is not a good fit for me and trying to stay away from other issues I have with the unit - any tips on how to go about doing this? I don't have a job lined up yet, but I have to talk to her so HR can clear me to start applying for other jobs - they want me to notify her that I am looking around for another job and that I am unhappy and state the reasons.
I know this post is old, but I was just wondering where you ended up transferring to and if you are happier? I am also wondering what you said to your boss; I'm in a similar situation and very scared to approach my manager, as she stated she wanted me to stay on my floor for one year. I also have been there 6 months and am very unhappy.
I am so happy to say that I have moved on from this position :) Yes I transferred to another job. You shouldn't let your boss scare you into staying somewhere you are miserable at - I left my position at 8 months of working there.
I spoke to someone in HR shortly after posting my original comment last year. I explained to them that I was stuck in an unsupportive work environment and that I had confronted my manager about problems going on during my shifts with my charge nurse but no action was taken from our conversations.
I also had some resistance from the contact in HR about transferring before my one year mark hit. They told me that it is common to be stressed out as a new nurse and that I would get more comfortable as I gained more experience. I directly told this person that if there was not a way to transfer to another unit then I would have to leave the hospital system completely.
After I said this, I found HR to be much more supportive. Think about all the money a facility or hospital spends to train a nurse - they didn't want to lose the money they invested and to lose an employee as well.
Luckily my contact in HR was a nurse and had been on units in the past she was not happy working on and could understand in some way from where I was coming from. She said that the hospital would not want to lose me and that she would help coach me on how to talk to my manager about the situation.
In the meantime I searched for other jobs while I was still working on the unit - I started actively looking for a Job in June 2010 and found one in August. After I scored an interview with a position I was really interested in I scheduled a meeting with my manager.
I was coached to have two meetings with her - the first one was to let her know I was searching for another position and to be open with her about how I felt in my current position. I focused on the fact that the unit I was working on was not the right fit for me and that I was unhappy working there due to the nature of the type of nursing I was doing (oncology). Which was all true. HR told me to stay away from complaining about my charge nurse because that was not going to make a difference. My unit manager was surprisingly very supportive and understanding of how I felt. She was not by any means happy about it, but she respected that I went and spoke to her about it before putting my notice in and was honest with her.
My manager did not retaliate against me and my fellow staff nurses were really happy for me when I was offered another job, because they could visibly see how emotionally and physically exhausted I was working there.
So I was able to make a lateral transfer within my hospital to another area of nursing.
I currently work as a nurse in a preventative health care setting outpatient and am loving it. I feel like I am making a difference in the lives of my patients and I am able to develop a strong working relationship with them since I see them in medical visits weekly. I basically went from working with dying people to the other end of the spectrum and am so happy I did.
I went through hell in nursing school because I care about helping others and also so I could have great career opportunities. Floor nursing is not the only career option you have and you should not settle in working your ass off in something you hate.
I also thought about completely leaving the nursing field because of my old job. That would've been the biggest mistake of my life. I am so glad I didn't let that experience ruin my nursing career.
Start looking for another job and get out of there. What area of nursing would you be interested in working in as an alternative?
Up2nogood RN, RN
860 Posts
I totally agree. 6 months is enough time to truly know if you enjoy working within a certain specialty or not. I've floated to our sister unit medical onc and I know I could not do it. But surgical onc is a lot more rewarding for me. Most of our pts are coming in for surgery and leaving cancer free. The majority are grateful for having a second chance at life so it's a more upbeat and happy work environment.
Good luck in finding your niche:)