Probably looking for a new job

allnurses Guide · Sep 9, 2012

Are you adaptable? Able to learn? Your current situation may not be your ideal, but unless you start to mentally decline, your ability to learn time management skills and other things won't go away just because you have a slightly less chaotic situation for a few years. Honestly it just sounds like this isn't your dream job, so you are coming up with reasons why staying is a bad idea. None of them are really all that urgent unless the pay is so low you can't support yourself.

I would strongly urge you to stay at your current position for at least two years before seeking something else out.

DutchRN09 · Sep 9, 2012

I think I would stick it out for at least a year, hone your med skills, your time management skills, take a class, offer to everything that comes your way, be a part of a unit council or start a PI project. All things that take time, look good on a resume and who knows what might come of that in the future.

amzyRN · Sep 9, 2012

My time management skills are not being challenged at this job. Nursing is a very mentally demanding job and there are lots of things that are forgotten after 1 or 2 years, especially if one is a new grad and starts in a facility that doesn't practice skills. There is a lot of down time, hours of downtime, and it's getting very hard to just sit around. Of course I provide patient care, but all that is required is CNA type stuff. I'm doing extra certs and such too, but there is a huge difference from book learning and actual experience on the job. There are not a lot of hospitals that will be this slow, I know that for a fact, and I am going to be foisted into a much faster flow at any other facility. Once I am at 1 year I will be expected to know what I am doing and I will not know what I am doing if I stay at this job. Unless I want to work in a nursing home after this, and even another nursing home would be way way faster paced than this job. I really don't think it is wise to stay here for 1 year.

Nurse ABC · Sep 9, 2012

I would hang in there at least a year esp if it's doable and your only complaint is you aren't busy or challenged enough. Otherwise, you will look like a quitter. No matter where you get hired from here you will go through an orientation and they will NOT expect you to know everything already.This job will NOT hurt you career wise. It's giving you experience and even if it's not the kind you want, it will look good to the next place that hires you IF you stay long enough. If you absolutely don't think you can hang in there that long try to find another job close by first and then go per diem there. If there's nothing else close by and you really want to then take your chances and move on because there are a lot of nurses that would appreciate your job-esp those that can't even find one!

allnurses Guide · Sep 9, 2012

Why did you post the question then? You obviously know what you want to do. You can quit but don't do so until you have another job lined up. Finding one without a year or more of experience will be quite a challenge in this economic environment. You won't find many people here encouraging you to quit without putting one to two years in.

amzyRN · Sep 9, 2012

I posted the question for feedback and I'm very great full for all the replies! I'm just really worried about not learning what I need to for my next job. In this economy employers don't want to spend too much time training, so I'm worried that I will need a lot of orientation at my next job that employers will have the option of not giving me that because there will be someone who can easily take my place. I need to have some solid skills not just something that looks good on paper. The idea of trying to find another job per deim nearby makes sense. I will look into that option.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Sep 10, 2012

So I moved several states away to take this job that I though would be a terrific learning experience plus I would be giving the facility an awesome RN. Well things haven't been exactly what I expected. Some things have been overwhelmingly positive, my coworkers are awesome and my boss is awesome. I have never been treated so well in any job. It's the nicest little town of people I've come across in a long time. The problems are that the pay is very low and I'm not learning as much as I need to to be able to excell at my next job. I'm really worried that I won't be able to handle another job if I stay at this one too long. It's basically a nursing home with a small ER attached, and the ER would be great but there are times that we don't have any patients. I am going to be going back to a busy place where this type of environment won't exist, plus I really want to be challenged. My time management skills will be poor if I stay, I just know it. What do I do? I don't want to **** anyone off or look like a flake on my resume and dissapoint my boss and coworkers, but I have to look out for myself. How do I fix this and how long should I stay so that I will be able to find something else? Thanks in advance for any suggestions on how to proceede.

I would worry more about being competent at this job than about your next. I see a lot of confidence here -- way more than a new grad should be entitled to. "Giving the facility an awesome RN" and "excelling at my next job." If you're a new grad and aren't learning anything at your first job, it's because you're not trying hard enough. Stay and learn.

mariebailey, MSN, RN · Sep 10, 2012

Stay there forever if your boss and co-workers are that awesome.

SquishyRN, BSN, RN · Sep 10, 2012

Yours just might be the very first case I've ever heard of of working in a nursing home and losing time management skills. SNFs are notorious for having understaffing, which leads to nurses never having enough time to dedicate as much time as we'd really like for patient care. For every SNF I've ever worked or come across, time management and the ability to prioritize are the KEY skills that are needed to get through each day... So hearing you say specifically that your "

time management skills will be poor if I stay" is a real shocker. Anywho, I digress.

I completely agree with Ruby Vee in that you should worry more about being competent at this job than your next and that if this is your first job as a new grad and you aren't learning anything, then you aren't trying hard enough. Even your most experienced nurses learn something new every day. Slow paced environments are the best places to get your basics down pat. For example, practicing assessments would be a good place to start. Good assessment skills are sooooooo important in nursing no matter what niche you find yourself in in the future. And unlike putting in Foleys, putting in NG tubes, doing dressing changes, or whatever skills it is you think you're not getting enough practice for in your facility, you don't need a doctor's order to assess. All you need is a nice and willing patient... And I'm sure you have at least a few of those. For example, an important part of starting IVs is finding the right vein. In my opinion, that takes more skill than the actual insertion itself, especially if they're a "hard-stick." Start asking those nice and willing patients if you can assess their veins, especially those that are hard-sticks. Even though you're not actually doing the stick, you'll develop your assessment skills just by exposing yourself to different people's veins. You wouldn't want your first exposure to thin, hard, rolling veins to be in an ER with a rapidly deteriorating patient

MPKH, BSN, RN · Sep 10, 2012

My first job was in an acute care unit at a small rural facility...while the unit was named acute care, much of the patients' acuity there is quite low (all the high acuity ones were sent out to urban centres). At times it felt very much like a nursing home, with many of the patients there awaiting placement. Like you, I thought that I would lose my time management in a slower paced hospital...but I stuck it out for approximately one year, and I gained many new skills, including delegation, charge nurse experience, and improved on my "hands on" skills. While a slower hospital will not have the "rush" feeling, it is a great place to pick up many nursing skills and to learn new things. You WILL learn time management skills--I did. And I'm glad that I had that one year of experience as a foundation to my new job in the city!

joanna73, BSN, RN · Sep 10, 2012

I also moved to a small town from a large city. The change in itself is a learning experience. Focus on the positives and ask your manager for new learning experiences as they arise. You don't "lose" time management skills just because you're in a smaller centre. Instead of worrying about that next job, focus on learning as much as you can right now. If you truly enjoy your coworkers, commit to putting in a solid 18 months- 2 years there. Too many new grads want to leave their first job too soon, IMO. Given the economy, you're best to keep the position and build a foundation.