praying I make it through my first year..kinda long

Nurses New Nurse

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I started nursing as a new career choice:). I was so excited in nursing school... I thought great I will be right there with the patients and really making a difference :D. I passed my NCLEX in September and I was so excited :D. Fast forward to today... I feel like crying daily :crying2:. I feel like I have forgotten everything I learned in nursing school. Jobs were scarce so I am working in a nursing home. I feel like everyone one around me knows what they are doing. I spend most days on a floor working bymyself with somewhere between 35-44 patients and 4-6 CNAs. I am overwhelmed and exhausted and I feel like everyday I am on the brink of disaster. When I report off to the next shift I often hear "oh you should have done this".

I pray daily for strength to make it through. I read about people having preceptors and think how nice that must be to have had someone near to ask a question. I sometimes wonder if I made a mistake becoming a nurse... I want to give the best care to my patients and yes I am a bit of a perfectionist. I knew nursing would be hard but .... Any advice will help:confused:

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Specializes in Cardiac step-down, PICC/Midline insertion.

wow...35-44 pt's??? I realize it's a nursing home, but still....that's just ridiculous! I'm so sorry to hear that you've had to have such a bad experiece so far. :( You just have to get out of that nursing home. Nursing home jobs are not real nursing. You are not using your skills and very little of your nursing knowledge....and the working environment is very poor. I know the job market is TERRIBLE right now, but you just need to get out of there before you get burned out. I LOVE the hospital environment, it is so much different than a nursing home and more fulfilling. You see people get better and go home.....they don't get better in nursing homes, they get worse generally. I wish you the best of luck! Just hang in there and don't give up on what you worked so hard for.

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you are in the shock and rejection phase (according to a textbook), but that many patients could put anyone in shock! There are so many aspects to nursing that I would suggest you keep looking and try something other than nursing homes. I know- easier said than done. Just don't give up and don't sell yourself short.

Call the nursing recruiters at the local hospitals and ask if there are any openings EVEN THOUGH they don't have any posted. A few local hospitals here in Alabama do paid internships floating between 3-4 different departments, a few weeks at each one, and then they put you at the top of the hiring list and you get the next available position.

Be proud of yourself- you are in a much more stressful position than most new nurses and you still have your head above water, you recognize that you need something that is challenging on more of a personalized level (say 3 or 4 patients, not 34) and you are doing something about it. Just don't give up!

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Specializes in pulm/cardiology pcu, surgical onc.
wow...35-44 pt's??? I realize it's a nursing home, but still....that's just ridiculous! I'm so sorry to hear that you've had to have such a bad experiece so far. :( You just have to get out of that nursing home. Nursing home jobs are not real nursing. You are not using your skills and very little of your nursing knowledge....and the working environment is very poor. I know the job market is TERRIBLE right now, but you just need to get out of there before you get burned out. I LOVE the hospital environment, it is so much different than a nursing home and more fulfilling. You see people get better and go home.....they don't get better in nursing homes, they get worse generally. I wish you the best of luck! Just hang in there and don't give up on what you worked so hard for.

I really think that's condescending to say LTC nursing isn't 'real nursing'. It's just a different type. Some nurses love LTC and find it very rewarding work. I myself love taking care of the elderly and am grateful for the nurses who can do it respectfully.

To the OP, yes LTC can be very frustrating due to time and budget constraints. I know it takes awhile to get a routine down to be able to feel like you're not always running and spinning your wheels. There are other types of nursing out there, I would keep trying, eventually something will happen for you:)

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