I’m trying to give a year at my current job. I’ve been there for 5 months and I notice on Sunday I feel mentally and physically sick. I feel drained.
my issue is I made a terrible mistake. Once I graduated in Jan 18.
I took two prn positions one LTC and one substance abuse.
I ended up accepting a FT at the substance abuse, worked there for 11 months and 15 days. Left because the older nurse eating her young and sexual inappropriateness from patients and higher ups would ignore. When I was leaving to go to my car., twice old patients would be waiting for me.
So I accepted another job ( the one now)
because it sounded good and more pay, my own office, no holiday, on call or weekends.
But then one of the other nurses quit and it all changed.
I work at two locations one an hour away. The job has a lot of nepotism there, the Dr ( the owner) will not respond with me with issues but to the other nurse, we are basically assisting PAs all day, in charge of 9 offices, interpreting labs, scheduling and PAs asking me for advice ( medically-Like orders.
I’m experiencing a lot of anxiety. My thing is a little voice inside told me not to take the job because I knew I wanted to get out of substance abuse But was trying to avoid LTC full time and everyone was telling me home care for a new nurse wasn’t good.
I've been thinking about what I want and I think it’s either home care or hospice.
i feel guilty because I feel like I’m letting some down.
i want to give a notice but it’s been said this company doesn’t accept notices they’ll let you go on the spot.
I don’t feel like a nurse at this job and working 5 days won’t allow me to go back for my RN.
I’d rather work 3 12’s in homecare for flexibility.
I just feel afraid but at the same time I’m not happy.
You are a better person than most if you actually feel in the least bit guilty about leaving this job. Sounds like it's not a great environment in the first place plus since they seem to have a policy of not allowing staff to work through their notice it's painfully obvious they don't care about their employees so why should you care about them?
As soon as you land a new job quit. Expect them to follow their usual pattern of telling you to leave right away instead of working out your two weeks so if you need to commit to an immediate start date with your new employer go ahead. Just keep in mind any good employer will allow you that couple of weeks before starting to finish out your notice time with your current job so if an immediate start date is a must for employment be wary of accepting.
But if your new employer is flexible on a start date and is ready to start you right away go ahead and say you're available immediately if you want to ensure there's a minimal gap in your paychecks. Unless of course you can afford that gap in pay and just want to take a little time off for yourself between jobs.
Besides who knows, for some reason maybe you'll be the first to be expected to work out that notice time. If that turns out to be the case and you've already committed to an early start date I still wouldn't feel bad about leaving without proper notice if I were you.
You owe them nothing but good work while you are there and notice of your decision to leave when you actually want to give notice. Make that notice at least 2 weeks, as is common.
If they let you go on the spot, well, there doesn't seem to be much you can do about it. They sound vindictive. Sounds like they have high turnover.
Yes they do have a high turnover, one of the nurses before me quit basically once I started so I would be leaving the other nurse short. I feel bad because I’m leaving basically after only working 5 months. I just want out of the specialty. For Any nurse ( esp Lpn) this is an easy job it’s just the stress and hostile environment. But I also need more of my days open to go back for my RN because I don’t want to get comfortable and stuck. I’m looking forward for my interview Tuesday. Thank God for prn jobs if they pull anything funny once I give my notice. Your advice has helped a lot. Thank you again.
I have been following this thread. Home care is really flexible. Depending on the agency you can schedule when you want to work, that is when you want to see your patients. There is a lot of autonomy and that is the reason new grads don't do well. You make a lot of independent decisions about patient care. The docs or people at the MD office don't have the full picture and depend on the home care nurse to tell them what is going on. I have plenty of stories for sure. HHC is good for students too.
The bad aspect is hauling stuff around, working in challenging environments, driving, exposure to weather and being on call. Other than that I really like HHC, the charting was not bad, you get faster and faster at it. Hopefully they have EMR so you can breeze through and if you have your own set of patients it is so much easier because you KNOW these people. You know their family, how to get there and their routines, their conditions, etc. I am a strong advocate for HHC and you can't get a better all round nurse than a good HHC nurse. By that I mean doing social work, pulmonology, neurology, wound care, IV's TPN, tubes of all sorts, rheumatology, ortho and most other areas. But, no emergency, not that you won't find yourself in one from time to time. You'll have vent patients and possibly pediatrics if your agency takes them. Like box of chocolates. LOL.
I have been following this thread. Home care is really flexible. Depending on the agency you can schedule when you want to work, that is when you want to see your patients. There is a lot of autonomy and that is the reason new grads don't do well. You make a lot of independent decisions about patient care. The docs or people at the MD office don't have the full picture and depend on the home care nurse to tell them what is going on. I have plenty of stories for sure. HHC is good for students too.
The bad aspect is hauling stuff around, working in challenging environments, driving, exposure to weather and being on call. Other than that I really like HHC, the charting was not bad, you get faster and faster at it. Hopefully they have EMR so you can breeze through and if you have your own set of patients it is so much easier because you KNOW these people. You know their family, how to get there and their routines, their conditions, etc. I am a strong advocate for HHC and you can't get a better all round nurse than a good HHC nurse. By that I mean doing social work, pulmonology, neurology, wound care, IV's TPN, tubes of all sorts, rheumatology, ortho and most other areas. But, no emergency, not that you won't find yourself in one from time to time. You'll have vent patients and possibly pediatrics if your agency takes them. Like box of chocolates. LOL.
That is what’s scary to me. I’ve only been a nurse 1 year and 1/2 and I feel like I have some stuff down pack but also nervous of being on my own. This company have trachs and vent training and have a lot those patients, so I don’t know.
That is what’s scary to me. I’ve only been a nurse 1 year and 1/2 and I feel like I have some stuff down pack but also nervous of being on my own. This company have trachs and vent training and have a lot those patients, so I don’t know.
If you have the same patients routinely it makes it much easier. You may have to split up your 3 -12 hour shifts across the week if the agency allows. They may want you to do 4-10's.
If vents and trachs make you nervous there is ample online training available. You can readily do CEU's online to study up But, no doubt you will learn a massive amount. You will learn a lot as you will be responsible for educating patients and to be able to teach it you must know it. I spent quality time learning things so that I could transfer that knowledge to my patients. For me, teaching patients and their caregivers how to take care of themselves, how to manage their diseases and conditions was the part of the job I loved the most. The ignorance of lay people will astound you. That is why the job can be so rewarding because you help them learn things they didn't know that they didn't know.
If you have the same patients routinely it makes it much easier. You may have to split up your 3 -12 hour shifts across the week if the agency allows. They may want you to do 4-10's.
If vents and trachs make you nervous there is ample online training available. You can readily do CEU's online to study up But, no doubt you will learn a massive amount. You will learn a lot as you will be responsible for educating patients and to be able to teach it you must know it. I spent quality time learning things so that I could transfer that knowledge to my patients. For me, teaching patients and their caregivers how to take care of themselves, how to manage their diseases and conditions was the part of the job I loved the most. The ignorance of lay people will astound you. That is why the job can be so rewarding because you help them learn things they didn't know that they didn't know.
That’s what I love teaching. But honestly how long should you have experience to work homecare? I would love too esp. how trach pts but still everyone says it’s too soon. But I believe homecare is rewarding. I also love hospice but they are requesting RNs.
I believe that as an LPN the RN co-signs your orders and does the care planning bit. Not sure about your location, but that was one reason the agency where I was decided not to use LPN's and go with all RN's. I am also not sure if an LPN can do an OASIS or not, probably not. And I am sure you won't be able to do admissions, you will get them handed off to you after the admit.
I have seen an agency hire new nurses that had no experience and it was iffy. I mean there are places where you work inpatient and they put you out there, but in home care I mean you are truly OUT THERE ALONE. It takes some pretty good size kahoonas (excuse the spelling) to be able to do. I worked in some remote locations and thought if I disappeared no one would find my body. LOL. Some places I had to use my inner senses to decide if it was safe or not and how to extract myself if I didn't like what the little voice was telling me. You will fine tune your investigative skills when talking with patients too.
I had 9 years nursing before I went in. Stayed for 20, it was great but I got tired of being on call. If you think you won't save lives you are wrong. I saved plenty. Often it was keeping people from accidentally killing themselves. They just need our help so bad.
How many years do you need? It depends on the person. How is your assertiveness and self-confidence? A nurse can have 30 years experience but if there a lack of ability to lead or work autonomously they won't be able to do it.
I have done hospital work( about 5 yrs). It is task oriented, passing meds, doing treatments (and assessments if you have time) and putting out fires. In home care you lead, you plan, you are the one who puts it all together. Now, that being said, being an LPN takes some of the responsibility away.
Hope I have been of help. If you have any more questions ask away.
I believe that as an LPN the RN co-signs your orders and does the care planning bit. Not sure about your location, but that was one reason the agency where I was decided not to use LPN's and go with all RN's. I am also not sure if an LPN can do an OASIS or not, probably not. And I am sure you won't be able to do admissions, you will get them handed off to you after the admit.
I have seen an agency hire new nurses that had no experience and it was iffy. I mean there are places where you work inpatient and they put you out there, but in home care I mean you are truly OUT THERE ALONE. It takes some pretty good size kahoonas (excuse the spelling) to be able to do. I worked in some remote locations and thought if I disappeared no one would find my body. LOL. Some places I had to use my inner senses to decide if it was safe or not and how to extract myself if I didn't like what the little voice was telling me. You will fine tune your investigative skills when talking with patients too.
I had 9 years nursing before I went in. Stayed for 20, it was great but I got tired of being on call. If you think you won't save lives you are wrong. I saved plenty. Often it was keeping people from accidentally killing themselves. They just need our help so bad.
How many years do you need? It depends on the person. How is your assertiveness and self-confidence? A nurse can have 30 years experience but if there a lack of ability to lead or work autonomously they won't be able to do it.
I have done hospital work( about 5 yrs). It is task oriented, passing meds, doing treatments (and assessments if you have time) and putting out fires. In home care you lead, you plan, you are the one who puts it all together. Now, that being said, being an LPN takes some of the responsibility away.
Hope I have been of help. If you have any more questions ask away.
Thanks for all your help I’m soo excited I’m going to study my patient disease process like I’m in nursing school again.
I went for the interview for home care today with Bayada. It was long but great, I told her to let me think about the offer. She’s only willing to pay me the exact pay I make now. I spoke with two people, the recruiter and HR. The recruiter promised 3 12’s and told me that what their shifts consists of. Hr told me otherwise so I’m not sure.
On the the other hand, this behavioral health and mental health facility. That has 3 12’s a week has called me for an interview but I haven’t called back due to substance abuse patients are usually dual diagnosis and that’ll be too close to my current job. So overall I’m confused still, I’m kinda at the point if this job doesn’t work I’m giving up nursing altogether because it seems I can’t find what I love and it’s a big let down because all my colleagues aren’t having issues.
The recruiter promised 3 12’s and told me that what their shifts consists of. Hr told me otherwise so I’m not sure.
3-12's I would be not the norm. But, I am not surprised that you were told this by a recruiter. I really liked home care but some people don't. Have you considered talking to a career coach? Nurse Beth can recommend one.
3-12's I would be not the norm. But, I am not surprised that you were told this by a recruiter. I really liked home care but some people don't. Have you considered talking to a career coach? Nurse Beth can recommend one.
Hey, yes I feel like she lured me in. I will absolutely love to talk to a career coach. That would extremely helpful for my situation right now!!
kbrn2002, ADN, RN
3,970 Posts
You are a better person than most if you actually feel in the least bit guilty about leaving this job. Sounds like it's not a great environment in the first place plus since they seem to have a policy of not allowing staff to work through their notice it's painfully obvious they don't care about their employees so why should you care about them?
As soon as you land a new job quit. Expect them to follow their usual pattern of telling you to leave right away instead of working out your two weeks so if you need to commit to an immediate start date with your new employer go ahead. Just keep in mind any good employer will allow you that couple of weeks before starting to finish out your notice time with your current job so if an immediate start date is a must for employment be wary of accepting.
But if your new employer is flexible on a start date and is ready to start you right away go ahead and say you're available immediately if you want to ensure there's a minimal gap in your paychecks. Unless of course you can afford that gap in pay and just want to take a little time off for yourself between jobs.
Besides who knows, for some reason maybe you'll be the first to be expected to work out that notice time. If that turns out to be the case and you've already committed to an early start date I still wouldn't feel bad about leaving without proper notice if I were you.
ETA: good luck on your interview!