Hi all. Well I have worked in two medical settings and had to resign at one job, and now tonight, was let go at another. AWFUL!!! I am told I am 'very smart' have an 'impressive educational background,' but cannot 'connect' to hands on clinical nursing. At both jobs, I have grown and gotten better, but not fast enough, etc. My husband tells me I am not cut out to be a RN. It's SO SAD... I did so well in school, graduated top in my class, and STINK in the real world. By the way, I went to a BSN program. SO... I have ALL THIS mental knowledge, but no real hands on experience. I am told I would be excellent in admin.
A lot of nursing situations set you up to fail. It can be almost inevitable. I hade a horrible first couple of years. I *have* learned that, while I can handle it, I'm not cut out for being a hospital nurse. I hated it. HATED it. On the other hand I liked LTC and love hospice.
You'll find your niche. And tell your husband to kiss your fine butt.
You're not by yourself, I can't stand hospital nursing. I did it for a year and was sooooo burnt out, maybe it was the floor that I was on. Now I am in LTC.
OK. Your husband is.....substandard. Might want to get rid of him first and do what you want with the rest of your life. The person we spend our lives with should be one who makes us feel GOOD about ourselves. just sayn'.
"You have what it takes, you should never give up"
I see a lot of this sentiment on AN. Thing is, how do people know this? The only thing we have to go on is a posting. Not everyone can do everything, and sometimes people make career choices that are not a good fit. Sometimes "cheerleaderish, power-of-positive-thinking" philosophies do people a disservice...
Thanks everyone! There have been some excellent posts here. As the OP, I can say that NO... I did not get a lot of good clinical training. If I recall, the most we did was give an insulin shot, hand out a few pills, and watch an NG tube be inserted. I watched one surgery and one delivery. WATCHED. In the lab, we did one insertion of a Foley. And that folks, is pretty much it. We TALKED alot about the patient, their health status, etc. There was a LOT of writing and discussion, but how to draw blood, start an IV... NOPE. I DO NOT regret getting the BSN, I just wish we would've had MORE HANDS ON in clinical.
On a brighter note, I interviewed today for a OR Internship. It's I believe a 5 or 6 month training program with HANDS ON clinical to learn the OR. The interview went well and I am going back next week to shadow. This will be GOOD because I will get HANDS ON training from day one. HOORAY! HOORAY!! Thanks everyone!
On a brighter note, I interviewed today for a OR Internship. It's I believe a 5 or 6 month training program with HANDS ON clinical to learn the OR. The interview went well and I am going back next week to shadow. This will be GOOD because I will get HANDS ON training from day one. HOORAY! HOORAY!! Thanks everyone!
Thanks everyone! There have been some excellent posts here. As the OP, I can say that NO... I did not get a lot of good clinical training. If I recall, the most we did was give an insulin shot, hand out a few pills, and watch an NG tube be inserted. I watched one surgery and one delivery. WATCHED. In the lab, we did one insertion of a Foley. And that folks, is pretty much it. We TALKED alot about the patient, their health status, etc. There was a LOT of writing and discussion, but how to draw blood, start an IV... NOPE. I DO NOT regret getting the BSN, I just wish we would've had MORE HANDS ON in clinical.
On a brighter note, I interviewed today for a OR Internship. It's I believe a 5 or 6 month training program with HANDS ON clinical to learn the OR. The interview went well and I am going back next week to shadow. This will be GOOD because I will get HANDS ON training from day one. HOORAY! HOORAY!! Thanks everyone!
I am glad you got the interview and you're going to shadow. Observe, take notes, ask questions when you can about the working environment, call requirements when you're off orientation, etc. Be friendly...make the OR nurses and scrub techs LOVE you as they will be the ones reporting your shadowing experience back to the director.
I can completely relate to your OP and other posters. We were not prepared well in school and I brought this up over and over during school and during the exit interview. I also participated in a survey conducted by a major university researching the subject at the time. I was NOT popular with the program chair, but let's be honest. I went to a very good school, but the training was archaic (to borrow the term)! There was more emphasis on proper bed baths and back rubs, making the beds perfectly than on why is the BP high or low, what do we do...how do we prioritize SIX patients not only TWO? The most patients I was responsible for in clinicals was four patients...FOUR and all of them were being discharged AND it was the last clinical day. Up to that point? Everyone had 1-2. Usually one with heavy cares and meds and the other ready to go home (i.e. learn discharge teaching). I wanted to learn total care for the patient yes...but we basically were taught the CNA's position and not how to delegate those cares and focus on patient care on a real floor. My final preceptorship was a nightmare when it came to the end. I spent most of the time running after the best nurse on the floor talking 100 miles an hour and moving just as fast. I was lost and worked hard at home to be prepared for each day better than I was the day before. I was told "you're doing great" only to get to the final sit down with the clinical instructor and my preceptor and told I was not doing as well as I was led to believe. No I was not up to the preceptor's reality (she'd been a nurse for 20yrs and told me ALL of the time..."you'll get it, but realize I've been doing this for 20yrs!". Only to be thrown under the bus during the evaluation/end of preceptorship. I graduated with honors, but felt so ill prepared to hit the floor running. I was quickly hired and it just didn't click right away. I did not get fired, but felt floor nursing in any form was not for me (except for ICU). I came to PACU after almost a year in tele. I loved PACU (still do) and got my foot in the door in OR because of recovery. I just love the OR. It's just a different breed.
Sorry for rambling on. But basically the OR sounds like it might be right for you. However....HOWEVER....it's not like ANYTHING you've ever done in Nursing School. You can observe for a day and it's awesome (for most), but doing it? It's a LOT of organization, it's knowing what you need to be doing and what you physically need for a case AND what each doctor prefers. KNOW this, understand this. If you've got the money to spend, buy Alexander's (doesn't have to be new) and read what you can to get the idea. Yes, you'll be orienting for 6mos and you'll have people to help you, but a program wants to know that you get it (the entire OR experience). There will days, oh there will be days that you will just scream WHY?! But when you're rolling out of bed at 4am rip roaring ready to go, you'll know it's for you. Even though you'll have six months to learn, you're still going to need to learn the basics quickly. So as many others here have suggested, get a pocket sized notebook and take LOTS of notes. Look things up at home, I still will watch videos of surgeries to see what something is for example. When you feel like quitting, push through it. It's hard to get into the OR...it's near impossible if you leave before a year is up.
Also...OR nurses are OCD and a bit ADD/ADHD...if you feel that's you, go for it! But be relaxed and organized. Docs and others in the OR like calm, cool, collected even if you're falling apart inside. Move quickly and grab everything you need to limit your trips. Better yet, have everything in your room to begin with, but we all know that's not always going to happen. Always have a plan-B!!! And DO NOT CALL IN SICK during your first 90 days and better if you can go the six months. Haul your sick behind into work and get sent home. I know that's not always popular with everyone, but it's the reality of it. Kids, family...have a plan-B again...don't call in.
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
Thanks everyone! There have been some excellent posts here. As the OP, I can say that NO... I did not get a lot of good clinical training. If I recall, the most we did was give an insulin shot, hand out a few pills, and watch an NG tube be inserted. I watched one surgery and one delivery. WATCHED. In the lab, we did one insertion of a Foley. And that folks, is pretty much it. We TALKED alot about the patient, their health status, etc. There was a LOT of writing and discussion, but how to draw blood, start an IV... NOPE. I DO NOT regret getting the BSN, I just wish we would've had MORE HANDS ON in clinical.
On a brighter note, I interviewed today for a OR Internship. It's I believe a 5 or 6 month training program with HANDS ON clinical to learn the OR. The interview went well and I am going back next week to shadow. This will be GOOD because I will get HANDS ON training from day one. HOORAY! HOORAY!! Thanks everyone!
Just make sure you're doing this because you want to be an OR nurse, not because you're desperate and leaping at the first opportunity that comes your way.
It would help to know how long youve been a nurses. Maybe slowing the pace down would help to start off . Maybe you could work less hours so you can absorb it better and give you time to think about it. Home care is a good option as usually you can work as little or as much as you want. Private duty another option.
I am so sorry you got let go from your job but I wanted to say the most disturbing thing about your post is that your husband saying you are not cut out to be a RN, what inda crap is that??
I hope you don't believe that, you need support right now instead of critisim, hang in there, people get fired all the tume doesn't mean you are not a good nurse OK
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
unless your husband is a nurse, he has no idea whether you're cut out for nursing or not. and even then, if he hasn't actually worked with you, he has no basis for an opinion. i'd tell him that his role is to be on your side, no matter what and enough with the judging.
that said, i shudder that someone would advise you to try management, advanced practice or teaching when you haven't actually been able to cut it at the bedside. that's a lot of what's wrong with nursing today. give it another go at the bedside if that is what you still want. but if you cannot actually do nursing, you really ought not to be managing or teaching.
Its a sad fact of life that not all "book smart" people are "job smart," I encountered this on a daily basis in my former life in finance. That being said, as pointed out here, you have MANY options to choose from, such as LTC, teaching, administration, etc. I don't know what department you worked in, but have you ever thought about trying a different department, such as the ER or ICU - one that might be more challenging? If you're like me, you don't like monotony and those two areas are quite UN-monotinous.
As to those saying her husband shouldn't have said what he said: a spouses role is not only to support the other but to also give them a dose or reality when needed.
Am I reading that correctly? OP states that she is having a hard time "connecting the dots" in bedside patient care and you're suggesting the solution might be that she needs a more challenging department such as ICU ??
Those moving emoticons make me dizzy so I never use them but if I did, I would insert the shaking head one right here :)
I am told I am 'very smart' have an 'impressive educational background,' but cannot 'connect' to hands on clinical nursing. At both jobs, I have grown and gotten better, but not fast enough, etc. My husband tells me I am not cut out to be a RN. It's SO SAD... I did so well in school, graduated top in my class, and STINK in the real world. By the way, I went to a BSN program. SO... I have ALL THIS mental knowledge, but no real hands on experience. I am told I would be excellent in admin. 
sweetnurse63, BSN, RN
202 Posts
You're not by yourself, I can't stand hospital nursing. I did it for a year and was sooooo burnt out, maybe it was the floor that I was on. Now I am in LTC.