AZNewRN

Hi sjyRN, As I was reading your post, I felt some familiarity in regards to my current situation. I am also a new grad working nights that started in October 2019. I have been told that the first year of nursing is rough no matter what, let alone us starting our careers as baby nurses when covid 19 hits. You should have received much more training than just a couple of weeks. I work pediatric med surg floor and received 10 weeks of training. The new grads in ICU at my hospital get 12 weeks of training. My best advice is to know your resources on the floor for when your busy and need an extra hand and to have friends you can vent to about your frustrations and concerns. I bet other new grad nurses on your floor feel similar to you! Night shift has been a hard adjustment for me as well. Some times I barely sleep before or in between my shifts because of the stress and anxiety I feel for the upcoming shift and struggling to sleep. Some of my days off are completely wasted being so exhausted and anxious. Day shift is always an option too if your hospital will let you switch. If I were you I would see if you can transfer to a lower acuity floor in your hospital. That may help your stress levels decrease and you may find your "niche" there. Keep your head up, nursing is full of options and avenues. Bedside nursing isn't the only form of nursing out there! You got this.

Hello! I am a new grad RN currently working on a pediatric med-surg floor. I started in October 2019 and have been on my own since December 2019. So far, the team working on my floor has been great, understanding and supportive, some of the patient loads I can handle and some are more challenging (to be expected) but something still feels off and I feel like I have not become comfortable yet compared to the other new grad nurses that started with me. Some days I feel like everything I do is wrong, I forget to chart something (even though I did it) and I am noticing it is negatively effecting my sleep and personal life by constantly feeling anxious and stressed. I always knew that I did not want to do bedside nursing forever and I eventually see myself as a public health nurse. So my question is how long should a new nurse stay at bedside before venturing off to a new non-bedside job? Thank you in advance for your responses ?