Please offer persepctive for new grad

[Male RN BA]

Hi, I am new to the board as member but have used it as a reference several times. Keep up the good work.

I have been working an nurse for about 4 months in a small 25 bed critical access hospital. Most of our pt are elderly, some are SNF, and some are hospice. We dont do many surgeries at all and will be getting an ortho in the summer.. I got a 4wk orientation and based on the types of patients we get I didnt get much experience. I continue to ask tons of questions and enjoy being second nurse in the ER; 1 because I like the ER environment and 2. I can get the experience that I need.

All of the staff have been excellent, the job pays extremely well (wkd pkg) for a new grad and I am so thankful that they gave me a chance being a new grad. With all of this said; I am not getting the experience I need to feel comfortable or really improve my skills as a nurse imo (I know you cant see everything but mainly I have dealt with skilled, hospice, and acute elderly pt). I also dont feel like I am making a difference although I have gotten good feedback from pt and in my reviews I dont feel that I am making the type of difference I want to make - - which is prevention, prevention, prevention. This type of prevention stance is hard to do as a nurse in this capacity imho.

This is going to sound really negative but I dont care to pass some pills and have a pt. say thank you. I want to make a difference with their health. Ideally I want to work in diabetes ed but of course they req. 2yrs exp and most want CDE. I continue to look though.

7/9 nurses there say they wouldnt be nurses again, are too stressed, etc.. I'm not implying that since they regret it then so should I but many nurses I talk to dont recommend it and it just makes me think - well I'm still young and am willing to go back to school to pursue my passion. (Nursing is not my passion, I did it because I thought I could make the biggest difference compared to all other careers).

If you are still reading; thanks, I will be done shortly. I have lost about 60lbs since starting this job 4 months ago and although I am managing the stress to avoid a breakdown its not healthy. I am contemplating getting a masters degree or PhD in something outside of nursing (dietetics, nutrition, or food psychology) and quitting my job. I would feel horrible because I dont want to be unloyal to my place of employment but there is only so much I can take before I stand up for myself (stress), my career, and most importantly my health. I also understand that we arent in the best economic times and I am thankful to have a job; just not the one I have. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this. I greatly appreciate it and am up for any feedback that is offered: positive, negative, or otherwise.

P.S. My BA is in business if you are wondering.

[Moosey32]

Another area you might consider if you want the feeling of making immediate changes in someone's life is maybe like EMT/Paramedic stuff because being first on the scene, you could be the one who saves that person's life. It's more of an immediate gratification.

However, I would suggest either maybe finding a different job, or at least staying with it for a year. From what I have heard, new nurses go through a lot of mixed emotions during their first year. So maybe you ARE meant to be a nurse, you just aren't "feeling it" right now. Or maybe you need to try another area of nursing, and after a year, you'd have experience to apply in other areas.

But, nonetheless, you are your own best judge of character. If you feel you could put up with a little while longer, go for it, but if you are near your wit's end, find another area.

Good luck in your encounters!

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Since you are very interested in preventative medicine & wanting to make a decent living, I would suggest you explore the public health arena. Pursue an MPH or even DPH. These are great options for you, and there are a lot of options if you have one of those degrees & a clinical background. I know of several nurses & physicians who have gone the PH route. A couple of them work with public health departments. One is with CDC and helps with investigative work - waaaay cool.

If you are keen on working with individual clients instead of systems - prepare yourself for a big financial letdown. Jobs opportunities are much more scarce in the preventative realm and they pay much less - that's not what "health" care in the US is all about; all the resources go to "illness" care.

In the meantime, don't think for a nano-second that you are not making a difference in your Critical Access facility. Y'all are what keeps rural communities alive! You make all the difference for each and every one of the people you provide care for.

Best of Luck!

.

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

You sound a lot like me! I had a prior bachelor's in business admin, went back and got my BSN. After a short time in the hosptial I felt like I was a task-master and not getting to do what I consider the heart and soul of nursing, education and health promotion. I switched to school nursing and could not be happier with the decision. On all but the most hectic of days I get to really talk to my "patients" (aka students!) and do a ton of teaching and health promotion. Teachers invite me into their classrooms occasionally for talks on special topics, and of course I do a ton of one on one education. I can develope programs on staff wellness, student wellness, and family wellness at my discretion (and principal's approval of course).

There are hectic, crazy days of course but it is generally a slower pace than the hospital floor (although this may vary depending on your school, I know some school nurses who RUN all day and might as well be on a floor!). I still get to keep up with some of my skills (g-button feedings, intermittent caths, etc.).

In all honesty, I feel more like A nurse than I ever did working the floor, and I absolutely love being THE nurse for my school and the community. I ran into a student in the mall once and said hello and she excitedly introduced me to her family "this is Mrs. Purple_Scrubs...she is MY nurse!" Nothing feels better than that!

[RedhairedNurse, BSN, RN]

Maybe it's not real obvious but we nurses do touch lives even if it's just passing a pill,

the kindness and compassion we show make a huge difference.

I was feeling the same as you recently. I thought, I have all this education in nursing and here I am just pushing IV drugs all night, makes me feel that my skills are just gone to waste, sometimes I feel like a drug pusher.

I'm very kind with my patients, I smile at them and try to make them feel as comfortable as

possible. I'll stand by the bedside and listen to their concerns. I had a patient that is

dying with cancer tell me directly the other night how I've touched her life and made a difference and basically all I was doing was taking her dilaudid q3h.

So my point is, your making a difference, you probably just don't realize how much.

[Perpetual Student]

I also dont feel like I am making a difference although I have gotten good feedback from pt and in my reviews I dont feel that I am making the type of difference I want to make - - which is prevention, prevention, prevention. This type of prevention stance is hard to do as a nurse in this capacity imho.

I think that before you throw in the towel in nursing you should explore other options. Your current facility is obviously not providing you with satisfaction, but I do encourage you to see all of the good that you do accomplish. Ensuring that those hospice patients are comfortable in their last days is an enormous task that I believe is just as valuable as any other type of nursing. I realize that you're bummed that you're working with mostly elderly patients, but go to any acute care unit in any size of hospital (outside of pediatric and L&D units, of course) and you'll find that elderly patients make up a large portion of the patients there, too. They generally are the most likely to need to be hospitalized.

Based on your post I recommend that you consider working in a bigger ER until you have the experience necessary to get into diabetes education, public health, etc. type jobs.

I'm going to tell you a sad truth. No matter where you go you won't feel that you're able to prevent enough problems. Most people will always scoff at what you have to say before they develop problems. Or go "yeah, I should stop smoking" and go outside to smoke immediately after. Sure, some will listen and actually implement changes, but not many. Perhaps becoming a diabetes educator in the future will be a good venue for at least making some impact, but many diabetics fail to follow the recommendations anyway. I suppose Purple_Scrubs's line of work in school nursing might be a major exception to my above comments, as it sounds like she does make a difference. And working with kids is certainly more likely to be effective in terms of prevention because they're not set in their ways yet.

[Male RN BA]

Thank you for all of the feedback! I greatly appreciate each and every one of your posts. Sorry for the delay- was at work lol :) I think I will voice my concerns to mgmt and see what they say so that there is open communication and then look into bigger trauma 1/teaching hospitals. I have a friend that started off at U of IA in ER as a new grad RN. Ideally take 15wk paramedic program at U of IA, then work there as ER nurse and start a masters program following.

I have been looking at several Masters degrees in health promotion and MPH with specialization in nutrition.

Thanks again for your responses! Keep changing lives!