rue2235

Had anyone had any advice, experience, good or bad, they would care to share on travel contract nursing? Is it difficult moving to another assignment after so many weeks, or even getting another assignment that is? Are the staffing companies trustworthy and serve their purpose? Are staff accepting of you at these facilities they place you at or are you ostracized? I would appreciate the input! Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

I have heard of burn out from being in the job awhile and needing a change, sure, but here I am just through my one year mark and I feel like I'm there. I'm beginning to question whether this profession which I thought suited me so well, is just not for me at all. I work in med surg in a small hospital and due to the flux of census we are horrible at staffing. I am often the only floor nurse, sometimes not even with a tech (aide) with a patient ratio up to 7. At times I have taken 9 patients, doesn't matter acuity, nobody looks at that. Even so I do not feel I am growing as a nurse as my exposure to things are limited, my experience narrow. I am just rushing to shove my meds, the only nursing part i have time for, my time is spent doing hygiene, bathroom, etc, then charting due poor staffing/teamwork. Maybe I am thinking too self righteously and if so please, that why I seek counsel, but is it necessary to come into the break room to get me on my unpaid time to answer a patients question/demand that moment? These are non emergent things. I am finding it difficult dealing with a lot of our patients, argumentative, who don't seem to care why or what I need to do for them. I am angry all the time, dread going into work, and am taking it out on my family . nursing is making me feel...used? I am happy I made it through my first year, the positives are I like a lot of the people I work with and the place is close to me. Please I need encouragement.

Having been only a week into my orientation and feeling just as overwhelmed, writing things down, making notes about any points my preceptor tells me or I find important gives me some sense of stability. It has been hard for me to ask questions at times because I feel even worse for not knowing but then I realize its better to ask now than to do something wrong later and put a patient at risk. My preceptor has looked at me sideways at times but I told her the difference in our educational backgrounds and I just have to let her frustration slide. I am trying to learn Meditech on a med/surg floor and the process of charting alone is time consuming. I am scared, I am nervous, but I worked hard to be where I am and I love it in the end and its worth the stress to learn. I just keep telling myself that. Remembering why you wanted to be where and what you are can motivate you, take the time to write a list, keep it in a private place and on those rough days, go back and read through it.

So yesterday as many may know was Nurses' Day. I had my on unit orientation to my new hospital job as well. As I drove to my place of employment I was listening to the radio, a local station was having nurses call in to talk about their work and experiences and in exchange, they had a chance to win prizes. I grew emotional, more than having that swirl of nerves from anticipation, from the weight of seeing "RN" hang from my ID badge with my name on it as I looked down. I cant believe its there on my badge. How many times did I wear my less than crisp full white scrubs with my name badge with "SN" carved out after, still proud of it, yet feeling like it mentally held me back somewhere subconsciously? Now that "RN", I hold it with respect, with honor for all those who work hard to make it a profession. I want to continue this in my attitude, my ethics, my ability. Maybe I sound like a doe-eyed new nurse, but I want to be my best.

Thank you so much for your replies. All have helped. How could I expect my short education to teach me everything?! I begin my orientation this Tuesday and even though I am still nervous, I am excited as well.

So I am wondering if anyone can pass along some advice on how to handle the first professional nursing job. I am a new grad and was recently hired as a staff RN in a community hospital, med/surg dept. I am feeling so incompetent already, full of self doubt, negative thoughts, and wanting to just run away from the job, feeling like I should start somewhere else where maybe I would feel more comfortable, like in a smaller office or LTC. The problem is my fiances nurse manager at his work pretty much got me the job so if I turned my back on it now, it would be quite an affront to both of them. I know it will teach me a lot and its normal to be nervous, but I truly feel like I bs'd my way through school so I am unprepared and I am a fraud and now everyone will know, including my fiance. Please help. Thanks.