Imgettingthere

Ah, everyone has offered some really valuable advice, and in an ideal situation I would love to get med/surg experience. It happens that there are no positions available, and in fact there have been some lay-offs at my facility. I am now in a survival mode. I agree that I will lose my hospital skills, and not gain more, in a clinic setting. But for now I may just have to take whatever comes my way. Gotta pay the bills. Thanks for your thoughts.

I am looking for a new job after "not cutting it" in ICU as a new grad. Gave it my best, but it wasn't good enough. Our facility has started huge lay-offs, so there is no other job available for me. I am considering applying for a clinic job, but would appreciate your input. Am I really taking a step down doing this? Are clinic nurses considered "less" of a nurse? Will it be difficult to be considered for hospital work again someday? I have learned that there are so many cliques out there, I feel like I am considering uncharted territory. Here are the big differences as I see them. I would work directly for a MD, so if he/she is good, the job might be good. No weekends/holidays/on call. However, it is 5 days a week. Days are 9 hours long instead of the 13 in the clinic. Job is non-union. Is this a big deal? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have posted in different areas and started reading this thread...I am one of those who didn't make it past 4 months. I accepted a job in ICU (what was I thinking) right out of school, and never stood a chance. My co-workers didn't support me from the beginning. Then the silent stuff started happening...ignoring me, smirking if I asked a question, quizzing me on the floor in front of others for "game", then going to my DON with all of the details...without telling me. I gave it my best. I finally requested a transfer to a unit where I can strengthen my basic nursing skills. My DON was supportive, said she would help. I apply for every job available, few call back. Since I didn't complete my probationary period, I couldn't transfer. This is 2 weeks after the fact. Next thing that happens is I get a letter outlining how I didn't meet expectations, including many accusations from other nurses that I was never even told about until I got this letter. I am advised my employment will be terminated if I don't find a job within the organization within 1 week. (How do find a job when no one is hiring?) I am so depressed after all i went through as a single mom to put myself through nursing school, then to lose my job after trying not to by requesting a transfer. I am still blown away how mean spirited nurses are to each other. I am trying to pay my bills like the next person. Why make me miserable? Thanks for letting me vent. Any suggestions on where to go from here? Clinic work? Private duty? I give up.

I am still with the facility, but have serious doubts that they will "find" another position for me. I have put in for a transfer but have received no reply. So I am just sitting here. I really have no idea if I will get a positive recommendation. I was so overwhelmingly rejected from this staff that I don't know what I could expect from my DON that is positive. And you are right...I did what I did partly to protect my license. I knew it was just a matter of time that I would make a med error in a frazzle of demands without support. Classically, what would happen is that I would look up a med to double check something, or to become familiar with it if it was new to me, and if I took the time to do that, I would be criticized for "dragging my feet" or "not having basic nursing skills". I couldn't win. If I was feeling the pressure to be "fast", I would have been tempted to just give a drug that was ordered. I didn't let that happen. But I also didn't survive on the unit. So go figure. Thanks for your thoughts....

I was interested in ICU work, as the complexity of the unit was a draw for me, however, If I had ANY information that it was going to be like this, I NEVER would have started there. I have applied for a transfer, and of course was taken off of the schedule the day I told my DON I wanted out, but I have heard nothing. In the meantime, my facility is going through lay-offs, so I am not optimistic that anyone will put a huge effort into placing me when others are out of a job. I feel like my nursing career has come to a screeching halt, and for all I went through to re-educate myself for 3 years while being a single mom with no income, I can't believe that this is happening. One of the things that is so sad to me is that NONE of my complaints related to the patients and/or families. I loved working with them. It was my own colleagues who made my life miserable. Can someone please explain this to me? Why did I feel so hated for trying to learn how to do what they do?

Well, I gave it my best. Met with my DON and requested a transfer to another unit. I have learned part of being an excellent nurse is to take care of yourself, and continuing to subject myself to this environment of lack of encouragement and confidence was going to eventually take it's toll on patient care. I stopped before it did. Some parting thoughts that I wish my "colleagues" would have heard from me. (thanks for letting me get this off of my chest)... -If you tell someone often enough that they won't succeed, they won't. Even if they have all of the motivation and enthusiasm in the world. If you want to contribute to the nursing shortage, just beat up a new grad. -New grads cannot do anything about their lack of experience. There is no school that teaches experience. Accept this as fact, and don't spend so much time telling a new grad that they need something they can't get without time. -Just because YOU went "through the trenches", this doesn't mean you are not a "real nurse" unless you have done so, too. -Just because I am old enough to be your mother, I'm not a "has been". No one...NO ONE...gets through nursing school and NCLEX being a wimp. Could YOU have put yourself through nursing school as a single mom and passed your boards if you had to do it today? (Or 20 years from now?) I feel better. Thanks. Everyone here has been a great support. I appreciate that.

I did meet with my DON and said I wanted a transfer. She was very professional and understood my perspective. I made a point of not getting into specifics, as it was too late to tell her how the nurses in her unit really are. I just told her I couldn't succeed or learn in a unit where I didn't receive encouragement or confidence. It is all very sad to me, but I look forward to a more positive experience somewhere. Although I know things are tough when you start, there is NO WAY I could have lasted in a unit for a year like the one I was in. Every shift I was snubbed, ignored, smirked at, and criticized. No way. They've lost a great addition to their team, even if I didn't have the years of experience behind me. The frosting on the cake is that I had the meeting, cleaned out my locker and left. No one said boo. No thanks, no good luck, nothing. Just knowing smiles confirming what they wanted all along....that I wasn't going to make it there. And they won. But....actually.....I won. I don't have to work in that hellhole any more. We'll see.

I have posted several times with great responses regarding my situation as a new hire/new grad neuro ICU nurse. I have given it my all, worked extremely hard to meet expectations, but bottom line, after 4 months,is that the majority of the time I am told I am not providing "good patient care" or that I do not "see the big picture". I meet with my DON today. I will request a transfer, but will prepare for the worst (termination or resignation). Any tips on what to say/not say in this meeting? At this point, it seems that the specifics don't even matter. I have been in an environment of anticipated failure from the beginning. No matter how far I have come, how much I have learned, and how willing I am to do it, it has never been enough. (see previous posts). Also would appreciate your advice regarding what to ask of my DON. A referral? Advice? Or should I just say thank you very much for everything and best of luck? I never thought it would come to this, but it has. I have never worked so hard only to be viewed as unsuccessful.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I wondered if I would hear anything positive once I advised my intent to transfer, but I agree with you, it would be too little way too late. AND it would be a very sad way to learn that I was doing well. Can I ask what unit you transferred to, and why it is different?

I have posted in other areas, but basically, my story isn't a positive one either. My first preceptor I swear was convinced after my second day that I wasn't going to make it. and the rest of her energy was spent proving her point. I never felt like I was going to be valuable. I was just a slow learning new grad. I am asking for a transfer next week and I am very sad about it.

I can't thank you enough for your words of encouragement. I know this will work out, and I have already made the decision to tell my DON that I need to transfer to a unit that allows me to get a stronger foundation. This is very difficult for me but I have to do it.

Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. I'll tell you I am so on the edge of giving up that I need to keep hearing this to hang on.

Thank you....I agree!!!

Thank you for your supportive, thorough response. I requested a meeting with my DON. I guess what it boils down to is that I need to decide if I will be able to succeed in this unit. To help me make that decision, I really need to ask the same question of my DON. Even if she says yes, I still have to decide if I really want to work in a unit that is like this. I just fear that I have been in the dark all of this time and this is just the way nursing is. This is tragic to me. Again, thank you!

I am a new grad. Been on the job 4 months. Hired out of school into ICU. I knew it was going to be tough, but given my drive, personality, and ability to tackle just about anything, I was willing to go for it. I am not sure what happened first, but I am realizing now that I perhaps never had a chance. My evals continue to point to what I don't know/don't do with little notice of what I do well and how far I have come. My attempts to be part of the team (thank you! good morning! How is your daughter doing? You did a great job in there!) are either ignored or interpreted as non-productive. I can go on and on, but bottom line, the harder I try to meet the expectations, the more I feel like I am sliding. It came to a head on my last night shift when I felt confident, took control, gained efficiency, and felt positive and contributory. Then I got feedback at the end of my shift that I wasn't. I was stunned. If I am so far out of touch that I think I am doing well, and I'm not, it's time to look into options. Should I expect this? Should I stick it out? I feel like the glass is half empty and at this point all of the energy of my co workers is to "prove" that I won't cut it. This is devastating to me. I am one of the most hard working, dedicated, compassionate people out there. I truly don't know where I fell off of the boat. Is it going to look horrible on my resume that I was in a unit for 4 months and moved out? Is it unreasonable to expect that as a nurse it would be nice to have people say "hi" to you or ask how your day is going? When I ask questions, should I be surprised that it is perceived as ignorance rather than wanting to insure I am "doing it right"? Am I incapable if I am shown a complicated, multi-step procedure, and can't do it perfectly by myself without asking questions the next time? Is part of being a nurse feeling like a drain because you are new? I am ready to bail. Help.