loconno2

I tried to approach my manager about this but she closed me down pretty quickly. I don't know if my timing was off, if she was in a bad mood, etc. Part of the problem is that I originally started out in the ICU at this hospital but wasn't able to complete orientation. So I never broached this subject with my new manager because it wasn't an issue with the previous manager. This department does scheduling in something called a "master pattern" and because I am "low man on the totem pole" I am left with all the shifts that no one else wants. Thanks everyone for your feedback.

Working 3 consecutive 12 hour shifts exhausts me. I usally finish the third night by crying in my car on my way home from work. The last shift I worked I had to practically run out of a patient's room because my IBS symptoms were flaring up. I've started a new job and sure enough I am scheduled for 3 consecutive 12 hour shifts for 3 weeks in a row. I actually quit my first hospital job because of this issue. At this point I am considering asking about a Baylor position (working weekends only) or getting a note from my doctor saying I cannot work this schedule for health reasons. What should I do? I like being a nurse. I even like working 12 hour shifts. But every employer (this is my third in 3 years) seems to expect me to work an exhausing schedule to accommodate them. Honestly, I think it is unreasonable for my employer to expect me to fit a fulltime work schedule in only 3 days. But other employees work this schedule and so I am expected to as well. Am I being unrealistic?

I'd like to be an ICU nurse. In my previous job I worked on a telemetry floor where the predominant dxs were CHF, COPD and diabetes. The pace was fast but overwhelming for a new grad. Now I'm working Ortho/Rehab at a small rural hospital and I am bored out of my skull. I used to love a "good chest pain" at my first nursing job and miss the action now. My current job just doesn't require much use of critical thinking skills. My dad has been in ICUs 4-5 times within the past 9 years for various reasons, primarily due to his long battle with diabetes. So I know what it's like sit in an ICU for hours on end knowing your loved one is on the cusp of life. I think I could add a level of understanding and compassion for my patients and their families due to my first hand experience. But I've held two different nursing jobs in two years and being an ICU nurse would likely require a change to another hospital. Plus, I'm concerned about the reality of tackling a job that is so prone to burn out. What do I do?