annRN27

The unit I work on requires rotating shifts and we have set weekends. This makes it difficult for me sometimes to make my schedule trying to fit in my days and nights and still allowing adequate time off to recover. I don't do well flipping from days one week to nights the next. I think that's a major contributor to the way that I'm feeling but also I just don't enjoy working the bedside. I thought changing units and specialties would be all the difference but it's really just the same crap, different place. I get very stressed and have bad anxiety at times. I feel claustrophobic knowing I'm going to be stuck at work for the next 12+ hours. I find it very hard to get into a routine on my days off. I think that you're both right. I'm definitely feeling burnt out from the bedside and shift work and that's not going to get better if I continue to work in a hospital setting. I'm going to start looking into non-hospital jobs. Maybe same day surgery centers. I think I would do well working a set schedule every week and also no weekends or holidays would be a huge bonus.

Hi nurses! I'm gonna keep this short as possible. I've worked adult med-surg/ortho for 3 years and adult bedside nursing is not for me. I now work on a peds ortho/rehab/neuro unit and I'm starting to have to same feeling of dread that I used to get before working with the adults. Just the everyday stress of working in the hospital as a bedside nurse is really burning me out. I feel like I need days to recover after working 1 or 2 12 hours shifts. I always thought I would love peds so much so I'm surprised and disappointed that it's turning out to not be that way. It's not the patients, I do love the kids, it's just all the other BS that comes with working as a nurse at the bedside. I'm very much over it. I haven't been in this new position for too long either but I already know, I don't want to stay much longer. Also rotating between night and day shift is for the birds. I'm looking into new opportunities and I've always wanted to do nicu. I have experience with stable nicu babies at my current job and I do really enjoy taking care of the babies, they're always my favorite patients. Not so crazy about the parents sometimes because they can be downright nasty and insulting. I don't want another job that is just running around like a chicken with my head cut off all day everyday so I want to ask you nicu nurses what do you love about your job? What do you dislike? Does it compare to bedside nursing bc if so maybe it's not for me. I feel at a crossroads right now trying to decide where I should go from here. Should I give up the hospital setting for good or give nicu a shot? I know that if I do leave the hospital setting, I may not get the opportunity to try nicu nursing ever again bc it is so competitive.

I'm glad I'm not alone! Sorry you're not having the best experience either! At first I did like having different people bc I was able to see different ways of doing things. As the weeks go on, it's just difficult bc like I said I'm starting with a new person and that can be challenging. I know I will get through it and come out stronger by the end. I honestly forgot how much orientation..how should I put this? Sucks! Lol

I think that is a great idea. Thank you! I need to ask for what I need rather than let them take the lead and hopefully they will be on board. Either way it doesn't hurt to ask!

Yes, I agree. Originally they said 12 weeks but after like 3 weeks they said I probably could do with 8 weeks due to my experience. I feel lucky to be getting that long of orientation being experienced. I just wish it was more consistent. Maybe I just need to lower my expectations a bit. I was on a gen med surg floor and got 6 weeks. Now peds with some trachs and vents so that is why they offer longer orientation but still longer than most other places would do

Hi all! So let me start off by saying that I was hired on a floor that I believed at the time was my dream job. I seriously felt like I hit the jackpot and was so lucky and happy to have been chosen for the position. I have been on orientation for 4 weeks now. My problem is that I feel I have had too many preceptors. I am an experienced nurse. My last job was my first job and I stayed there for 3 years. I couldn't wait to get out of there as fast as possible so when this job came along, I felt so relieved. My last orientation was honestly the best orientation I could have asked for. I had one preceptor throughout the entire process and it was a good match up. I felt supported and there was a trust between my preceptor and I. This orientation, I have had 3 preceptors so far. One of my current preceptors is now getting rotated out and starting next week, I will be with someone new. My experience and skills have helped me immensely in this new position but I feel like my confidence is dropping every week I go through. I feel like it should be the other way around. I felt more confident the first week to be honest and not in a cocky way, I just felt really good about where I was at. Maybe that was the "honeymoon phase" and reality hadn't set in yet. With new jobs come new responsibilities and that is terrifying, at least to me. I actually miss my old job and I never thought I'd say that. I guess I just miss being independent and feeling like I knew what I was doing. My preceptors have been mostly good but the randomness and going from one to the other is throwing me off. I feel like I have to start over every week and prove myself to my new preceptor. My manager actually told me (in the nicest way possible) to work on my confidence and that comment just broke me down even more. Is this a normal feeling of being on orientation? Has anyone else felt this way? Any words of advice or encouragement would be greatly appreciated! I also tend to be very hard on myself so maybe I just need to stop thinking about it so much. I do like this job and I think I will like it more once I get started on my own but this orientation process is beating me down. And once I orient on nights, I will be with 2 more people. I just feel like they are putting me with too many preceptors and I am not getting the best learning experience due to lack of consistency. Each new preceptor doesn't know what I am capable of and I feel like I have to prove myself again and again.

Hi everyone, this is my first post on allnurses but I have been a current viewer of the site for years. I could use some advice. I'm currently a med-surg nurse on a med-surg/orthopedic unit. I've been there for 2 years. I desperately want to work in the nicu. I have been applying and have had several interviews over the last year with no success. I am starting to get very discouraged. Trying not to think negatively but I could really use some advice or tips to get my foot in the door somewhere. It seems like all my interviews go well and when I don't get it, I am pretty much heartbroken. I really dislike med-surg. It is never what I wanted to do but it was a good opportunity for me as a new grad so I took the job. I honestly only planned on staying a year tops but due to my lack of success in finding another job, I am starting to feel very stuck in my current position. I'm sure there are plenty of you who have been at a job you absolutely hated and you can empathize with how I feel. I do not want to dread going to my job where I usually have 6 patients. Most of the time, they are confused elderly people or drug seekers. I really need a change of scenery. I know NICU is going to be stressful in it's own ways but I just know in my heart that that is where I am meant to work. How do you get a nicu job without nicu experience? Any advice/tips would be appreciated!