nursebreelee

Have you voiced your concerns with your supervisor? I would start there.

On my unit our surgical patients come back many times with JP (Jackson Pratt Drains) which look like little plastic football shaped grenades. Anyway... I told a male patient one time that I was "just coming in to check his little balls" nice huh? He wasn't impressed. whoops!

I have to be honest - I also DREAD going to work still - I never know what patient's i am going to have - and sometimes I feel like they only give me the most crazy ones - I find that i have more bad days than good. BUT - I have had days where I left work excited, feeling so fulfilled and warm and fuzzy for taking care of one person really really well (one out of 5!!). It can be so rewarding. I hope someday the good days are more frequent than the bad days.

Thank you so much - any advice on dealing with the biggest jerks on the planet? maintaining professionalism and somehow getting respect? Again, Thank you for your words! BLC

as i read all of these replies - i feel better that i too am not alone. i am 8 months into my nursing career on a med-surg career. believe it or not i actually already quit once and took a job at an obgyn office - only to learn that the grass was greener back where i was! (little pay and boredom) so i got my old job at the hospital back (this was lucky for me - economy-wise). after 8 months though - i also still cry... i feel vulnerable and unsure - but less so... after 8 months - i look at my patient's in a different way - i assess them differently - i see the big picture more clearly - i actually think i know what critical thinking is now... but - i am sensitive and easy to get flustered and cry. i am 33 years old - but get no respect... here's what i am learning. after the incredible tension and anxiety of school (2 or 4 years) then the intense anxiety of taking the nclex - then we have the even more scary job of actually practicing... and our comfort levels kick in- what? after 2 years? chronic stress makes people sick. we all learned this from nursing school. i think we all just need a vacation. to put our lives back into persepctive. we did it. it was hard. it's still hard. and it will get better. that's hope. nursealanarae - i hope you're hanging in there... im with you - all the way.

In Maine - I've heard it's really hard for this years graduates to find work, unless it's in the boonies... the more rural areas of Maine or downeast are still in need of nurses - bad. I just left an RN job to go back to a major hospital (which i was incredbly LUCKY to be able to do - had worked for there for almost 2 years before)... the job i left paid $18 per hour and the benefits were terrible - i couldn't afford to get the health insurance there which was about 580 bucks every 2 weeks (me and spouse)!!! with no vision or dental and a 2500 deductible. this is a private practice - which has been hurting financially as well and raised their premiums this year - because otherwise couldn't afford to offer the benefits to their employees. Maine is getting hit hard... the Maine Mall is doing terribly... the doctors offices and hospitals are feeling it too. everyone is. scary stuff. i hope Obama can really make a difference. Im hopeful. I suggest nursing students try to work as a CNA somewhere where there may be a chance of working as an RN after graduation - foot in the door is good during these times. BLC

Thanks peeps, This was an important experience for me I think... I tend to make decisions based on my emotions - even though I know sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not. I've always been this way, always - and I'm guessing this is how Ill always be. With age I've acted less on impulses than i did in my teens and 20s - but still i act with my heart... great for a nurse. not so great for financial/job matters or moving - I'm still learning this. One time my husband and I moved into a place hastily - based on an emotional reaction to an occurance in the place we lived... and it turned out to be a worse living situation (loud, party-people with no respect for our student status among other things). We learned from that too... together. Being so tapped into my emotions makes me who I am - and mostly I have good control over them on a superficial level... when it comes to making decisions - it certainly doesn't help that Im a LIBRA - queen of the flip-floppers. Anyway - thanks for the encouragement and the honesty! I'm feeling lucky and blessed! BLC

Thanks MERCY65 - I posted an update yesterday detailing how fortune is smiling down on me at the moment. my boss offered me my job back!! in fact to quote her email "would love to have to you back". Im quite relieved. Thank you for your post, BLC

UPDATE: Thank you so much to all you sweet nurses who replied. This site is such a terrific sounding board for nurses. I love reading all the posts and replies! So - i got a response - and was offered my job back - in fact to quote the email i received from my old boss "we would love to have you back". Im relieved and kind of sad about the whole situation. bummed that the new opportunity turned out to be an imperfect fit... but I am a lucky lucky person (it probably helped that i worked my little nurse-butt off while I was there). I informed my manager of the new (now old) job that i would be leaving and she was not thrilled (with good reason) - I told her that I felt it was important to leave earlier rather than later - as not to waste their time in training me for a job that wasn't a good fit for me... and she agreed of course, but was dismayed as well. I've eaten the crow. I've eaten the humble pie... I learned a crazy and valuable lesson. and will look both ways more closely before crossing the street again. Those of you that replied - thank you and you're right - Now Ill be going back to my old job and will need to stay for a long, long time... but it's ok - i will. and ill learn new things there everyday. Thanks again fellow nurses, I dont think I would have maintained the small level of sanity I did through this without your support! BLC

Hey Alex - thanks for that... no callback yet - this is day 2 of the work week for her (unless she had MLK day off). my stomach is still knotted up, but now all i can do is wait. I agree - if I get the call - Ill need to stay forever and a day!! BLC

Thanks again Britney, your words are uplifting - i appreciate it. and Thanks SteveRN and IMBeautiful for responding/commenting as well. I made the call - I gave it a shot... now - I'm just going to carry on and live with my choices. BIG, HUGE, GIGANTIC, MASSIVE, GARGANTUAN lesson learned. Im sure it's not going to be the last one I make in my life. Thanks again all, BLC :smackingf SMACK!!

Hi SMCABEE - thank you so much for your reply. Heres some clarification: 1) i gave 2 weeks notice and worked every minute of it. (they wanted 4 weeks but i was unable to provide that due to the new job needing me to start). 2) I dont think I left the unit high or dry... i only worked 2 nights a week at that point - and they only needed to cover 2 weeks of my shifts (so 4 days) - and they were all signed up for before i even finished out my last day. I really tried not to put them in a bind - and maybe by leaving i DID put them in a bind anyway - I hope not though - it was not my intention to leave that way... I guess we'll see what my old boss says if she returns my call. Thanks for the reply SMCABEE! I appreciate it! B

Hey Vern - it's possible - I think that my decision will be pretty easy... IF my old job hires me back - great. IF they dont - that's OK too - I will stick it out at the new job and try my hardest to learn as much as I can and help out... that's just the way I am. I did call my old boss to ask for my job back - but she wasn't in and i left a message - so we'll see how it goes... either way - im realizing it's going to be OK. When, oh when does a nurse find comfort in her job?! years later I assume. Thank you Vern, B

Hey Britney - thank you for your reply. BIG lesson learned - yup. To clarify: 1) i gave 2 weeks and worked all 2 weeks (they wanted 4 weeks, but i was unable to provide that due to the new job needing me to start). 2) I dont think i left them short staffed. I only worked 2 nights a week - and i believe the shifts were all taken before i even finished up my last night. It just feels so awkward and crappy. Arg... and you are right - i am defintly grateful to HAVE a job - and i don't particularly hate it, i just know it's not for me - lots of people live that way... meh. oh well. by the way - i did make that humbling call to my old boss - I left a message yesterday (saturday) and i just explained that I miss the unit, I miss the patient to patient direct care and that I didnt realize all of the skills they taught me on the unit would be going unused at my new job - and that i felt maybe i would be of better use to patients who needed more care. I also said on the message that I realize they may not be able to give me my job back and that I understand... etc. etc... who knows... maybe she'll at least consider the possibilty of hiring me back - since they did put all that effort into training me... and it's only been 2 weeks since i left? thanks again Britney, B

I did work out my entire notice - 2 weeks. I did not leave the unit high and dry that i know of - people had picked up all of my shifts before my last day even, so it was not difficult for them to fill those shifts, i dont think. but who knows..