newer nurse with option to be supervisor

elkpark · May 1, 2008

Welcome to allnurses! :balloons:

I don't mean this negatively about you, personally, at all, but I would guess that the reason you got offered the job is because they can't get anyone more experienced to take it and there's probably some good reason why.

We get threads on this board periodically from relatively new nurses who have been hired into supervisory positions (typically in HH or LTC, it seems) and are finding out, after being in the job awhile, that conditions in the facility/agency are horrible, the owners simply wanted a warm body to fill the position and "take the fall" if/when the time came that a fall needed to be taken :), and they're in 'way over their heads and don't know what to do.

"What have (you) got to lose at this point?" How about your license??

I often find it helpful to reframe these kind of questions -- you say that you're not sure you're up to supervising and teaching others. Turn the question around -- would you want to be supervised by you (someone with your current level of skills and experience), or would you feel that that person was not qualified/equipped to be leading and directing others? Would you feel confident about having that person as your supervisor/boss?

Again, I don't mean any of this to be critical of you. There are lots of unscrupulous employers out there who will take advantage of newer nurses and put them in very dangerous situations because it meets their (the employers') needs and they don't care what happens to you. If you crash and burn, they can always get another wam body, but you only have you. Part of gaining experience as a nurse is becoming savvy and cagey enough to look out for your own best interests (because no one else is going to! :uhoh21:)

Three different jobs in two years, with (only) nine months total of experience in that time -- you're right, you need to be v. careful about your next job. IMHO, it needs to be in some setting where you'll have plenty of solid supervision/support, not a job where you're the supervisor! I would encourage you to not be so quick to give up on acute care, bedside nursing -- you haven't been in any single job long enough to give it a "fair trial" yet. Since you asked for advice, I would suggest trying to get a "new grad" type bedside nursing (med-surg, or a specialty that particularly interests you) job and stick with it for at least a full year. (Two years would be even better, in terms of your resumé -- you can get away with some job-hopping at the beginning of a nursing career, but you're already pushing that idea pretty far ...) I would strongly encourage you not to take something now for "a few months" and then try to change jobs again. If you really want to move home, start looking now for a job at home and do what you have to do to make that work when you find something (even if it means breaking your lease and taking a loss on that -- maybe also start looking for someone to pick up the lease for you? Some landlords are okay with that) But don't put another job of only a few month's duration on your resumé!

Best wishes on whatever you decide! Be safe out there! :)

tweetynurse · May 2, 2008

Hi,

thanks for responding to my post about the supervisor position. I have been leary about taking the job but was so happy to get an offer but I think you are right. I also got offered a job in LTC but turned it down because I did not feel safe doing it.

I like the hours of the hospital and I am looking at smaller hospitals now because I have only been at bigger facilities and I think that is part of my problem. Unfortunately I can't seem to get a job in nursing anywhere near me now and I have a lease for 6 more months. I have been turned down from a lot of jobs. Everyone is concerned about my history eventhough I do my best to explain it in a good light. My history seems to be a very negative thing to everyone I interview with. Even when I only had two jobs under my belt people were "calling me a job-hopper." They also usually have someone with more experience than me. Also, I have had a lot of trouble reaching nurse recruitment people and getting them to call me back. I posted my resume online and some healthcare groups have called to try to help me find work but usually never call back when they hear my history. Some of them say they will call back but never do and when I call them and leave a message I never hear back. I also have trouble reaching nurse recruitment people in hospitals. It can be very frustrating. I went through this with all my job searches but have experienced this a lot lately.

I love pediatrics and would like to do that but right now it does not seem like an option for me now.

I have really been trying for a while now to get work. Not getting paid is bad but I also need the benefits of a job.

I am considering doing home health nursing for about 6 months until my lease is up and I can move away. Do you think it would still look bad to do home health for 6 months to finish out my lease and look for work in the meantime? I have already been out of work for close to 5 months now. I am lucky to have money saved up otherwise I would not be able to pay my bills. That is why I want to try to at least work some while I am still here. It would cost me as much money to get out of my lease as it would cost to just stay here and finish it out. I am also living in a very expensive area. I cannot seem to find any work around here besides home health. I hope other areas will be different. If not then my career is over and I will need to leave nursing which I don't want to do. I feel like I am smart and good at nursing but I have had trouble keeping up in the bigger teaching hospitals I have chosen. Thanks for any other advice you may have.