:confused:I have been working on a very fast-paced med-surg floor at a fairly large hospital in the midwest since March. At first, I loved working. I was getting great assignments (being a new nurse) and was adjusting well. But now that the assignments are getting more difficult, and I am being trusted with more responsibility, I dread work. Its a horrible feeling, I really never wanted to be one of those people that hated going to work. There are two big issues I am dealing with that seem to be making going to work really hard for me.
First off, almost every weekend before going to work (especially if it is 3 or 4 nights in a row) I have HORRIBLE anxiety attacks. For the first few hours of work, I feel a huge lump in my throat and struggle getting my assessments and medications done in a timely fashion because I have to step into a private room to calm my nerves so often. Its horrible. I am going back tonight after 2 weeks off for my wedding, and cannot stop crying. I know its anxiety, because it has happened so many times before. I talked to one of my unit coordinators, but she really didn't have any advice, and I don't want to talk to too many other people at work about it because I don't want people to know about the anxiety. I know one thing I am going to do is start signing up for weekend DAYS instead, because it seems to be coorelated to the night weekend shifts. But has anyone else ever delt with this kind of anxiety? Maybe its because I am new still, or maybe I just am not cut out for weekend nights, but either way I will have to work them sometimes, and would like ANY advice on how to deal with EXTREME anxiety at work!!
Second, I am having a horrible time adjusting to working every other weekend. I just got married last week, and I just realized how much it will suck losing every other weekend with my husband in our "newlywed" stage. I know I have to push through this first year (already counting down to March) before I can make any really big changes in the actual JOB area, but what has everyone else done to adjust to losing all those weekends for the first year or two? And how do you make up the time you lose with the people you love??
If there is ANY advice you think might be helpful, I will be looking at it for the next 4 nights :) Thanks in advance!
Yes, I knew about shift work before I started. My problem is adjusting. I guess coming from nursing school/no weekends to full time work, every other weekend, every other holiday is just getting to me more than I thought it would and am looking for advice on how to work through it. I have thought about clinic jobs, but right now i can't afford to take the pay cut and even clinics want at least a year experience. I know I am in this for at least another 7-8 months at least, and am looking for advice on how to get through those months!
As for the anxiety, I have already seen a doctor for it, but its hard to take medications because they make you cloudy and many I could not take at work. So again, just looking for ANY advice other nurses have in dealing with anxiety at work!
I'm a little confused about what the big deal is re: working weekends. It's always been my experience that weekends -- and especially weekend nights, which is what I normally work -- are considerably slower and less stressful than weekdays. You have fewer scheduled procedures, fewer teams roving around en masse writing orders and making changes, etc.
If you think it's true anxiety, then it's something you should talk to your PCP about and not something we can advise on here. Unfortunately, if it's just an aversion to working weekends, there's not much to do besides grin and bear it.
I purposely requested weekend nights, every weekend, so I could have a set schedule, and because of the above- less brass hanging around, and anybody with sense was home in bed- LOL.
I'm wondering if the added responsibility that comes with more experience is really the issue- and weekends just happened to get in there somehow.... it's pretty normal to feel anxious until you're further along - but if it's messing up your life, a trip to the PCP sounds like good advice from the pp.'s.... :)
It is normal to have some anxiety when in nursing especially at first when you are still learning and settling in. But you don't have to suffer, talk to your doctor and see if you can get on some medicine to help cope. There are a lot of meds that could help. Also consider seeing a therapist, hypnosis, meditation, prayer can all do wonders. Believe me you are not alone in dealing with anxiety, women in general tend to have anxiety problems and nursing can be a very stressful job.
Do you have a MRT team or if you have a mentor you trust that you can rely on when you have a question or for guidance to help you calm down. I think the MRT teams are a real improvement and knowing they are available and have your back can help lower your anxiety.
Where I work, you can call upon the MRT nurse unofficially if you have a question and want guidance versus calling the MRT team for an actual emergency. Also that's what a good mentor is for.
Also it is common for us to ask questions advice between coworkers if you aren't sure of the right thing to do in a situation.
Yes, I knew about shift work before I started. My problem is adjusting. I guess coming from nursing school/no weekends to full time work, every other weekend, every other holiday is just getting to me more than I thought it would and am looking for advice on how to work through it. I have thought about clinic jobs, but right now i can't afford to take the pay cut and even clinics want at least a year experience. I know I am in this for at least another 7-8 months at least, and am looking for advice on how to get through those months!
As for the anxiety, I have already seen a doctor for it, but its hard to take medications because they make you cloudy and many I could not take at work. So again, just looking for ANY advice other nurses have in dealing with anxiety at work!
You can try to focus on each task- don't look at the whole shift- just take it an hour at a time, writing a check list of what needs doing- meds, assessments, treatments, etc.....each hour has it's own block on your assignment sheet. Focus on one block at a time. It also serves as a double check of things to do before you do final charting for each. just an idea :)
abakrn819
24 Posts
Yes, I knew about shift work before I started. My problem is adjusting. I guess coming from nursing school/no weekends to full time work, every other weekend, every other holiday is just getting to me more than I thought it would and am looking for advice on how to work through it. I have thought about clinic jobs, but right now i can't afford to take the pay cut and even clinics want at least a year experience. I know I am in this for at least another 7-8 months at least, and am looking for advice on how to get through those months!
As for the anxiety, I have already seen a doctor for it, but its hard to take medications because they make you cloudy and many I could not take at work. So again, just looking for ANY advice other nurses have in dealing with anxiety at work!