priyaremi

I am about to start my first nursing job on med/surg too. I can really identify with how you feel but look on the bright side. I am in Ireland and I will be getting one week supernumerary and that's it!!. They know I am a new grad nurse but I will have my own patient load after one week on the ward. I am completely bricking it but this is my fourth or fifth job offer and my anxiety has prevented me from progressing so I have accepted this job. We can do it!!. I just hate the unknown and not feeling competent but I am sure every single nurse has felt that way. It will take time but so does everything. I am expecting to feel overwhelmed. I am even expecting to dislike it for a few months so anything else will be a bonus. Best of luck in your new job. Rest assured and hugs, there are plenty of us who know how you are feeling right now.xx

It was a regular doctor and she seemed reluctant to refer me elsewhere. I think the first line of treatment here is SSRI's and CBT. Looking back, I remember once becoming so depressed and anxious in pregnancy that I self harmed. I have a long history of mental health problems so I really hope that it is just anxiety!

Viva, I have been reading your posts and you really are such an inspiration. Thank you. I went to the Doctor today finally and she said that I have severe anxiety/social phobia with depression and binge eating disorder!. She has prescribed Prozac 20mg od and a course of 8 sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy. In the past I tried CBT for one session and never stayed on SSRI's for longer than two months. I guess I never really gave anything a chance!!. I have a long history of job hopping but graduated from Nursing school in December 2015. you may be aware from my other posts that I have received a total of 4 job offers. I left dialysis after 3 days and the other jobs, I declined. My family is now in a state of severe financial problems and here is me with my fear of nursing responsibilities turning down all perfectly good jobs!!! I was extremely anxious as a child and would always turn red if a teacher talked to me in class and this has continued to this day. I would avoid any debates/presentations etc to avoid being embarrassed in public. I have lost many opportunities in life due to fear of people and situations and stress. I was in the USA for two years at 20years old with a friend and had no visa or job at that time so I worked drifting around as a house cleaner and then as an 'escort' for a few months. I was very promiscuous which I am now very embarrassed to admit and put myself in very dangerous situations to get my 'fix'. Who knew that I would go from 'escort to nurse' lol. I got pregnant from an impulsive fling in the US and came home and had my Daughter. I then met my Husband and suffered post partum depression after each of my four kids and many issues with binge eating and impulsivity. However, my Doctor said that it is not bi polar but an anxiety disorder. I don't know as Ive spent my life burning bridges with people and quitting every job from boredom/stress. Sorry for the big long story but it feels so so good to talk where I am not know by anyone. I am so thankful and happy to have found AN and people like you Viva.

Hi, I have nothing to add except that I am starting with Fresenius in Ireland next Monday. I am a new grad and have offers for med/surg, PDN and dialysis. I am nearly 40years old and decided that dialysis sounds immensely interesting and there are no Sunday or night shifts which mean that I can pick up agency shifts as I want for extra money. I know it is a speciality area and they are paying me the exact same money as the hospital but I am very interested in all the co-morbidities that come with dialysis patients and having the ability to build rapport with them. They will come to the clinic 3-4 times per week and the max amount of patients that I will have is 4. However, USA clinics may be run differently. I was told that I will have 8 weeks training in class and on the floor and then I will have a mentor to work with and will build up to my four patients over time. The hospital were offering me 4 days training as a new grad!!. I decided with the support that the clinic would give me starting out, I would accept the position. I am just worrying now about how to word an email to the hospital turning down the med surg position as I do not like to burn my bridges as I have signed a contract with them but have not started yet. Anyway, I have to do what is right for myself and my family!! Good luck at your interview!. Let us know how you get on!. I am very happy with my choice.

You are dead right nurserebs!!!. This guy said that he wanted me to start in the hospital in limerick straight away with those rates!. He sent the rates through on a contract in the post with two uniforms!!. However, the fact that I have no experience and he was willing to send me to work in the hospital without a garda vetting through or checking my refs!!!. Crazy!. He offered 25 euro for days shifts, 30 for nights, 40 for sunday day and 55 per hour for sunday night and said i would be paid every Friday. I have all the documentation but have no idea why he was willing to send me without reference check or vetting!!!!!. Obviously, I will apply with CPL or TTm as they seem to be a lot more kosher lol.

Thanks nurserebs!. I don't have nurse on call in my area of Clare /Limerick but an agency in Dublin called your world healthcare offered some really good rates and said they have tons of work in my area. However they are offering double the money of any other agency which makes me a wee bit suspicious!I am a new graduate which I told them and he offered me 55 euro per hour for Sunday night!!! Surely there is something wrong here. He even sent me a contract with the rates on it! I didn't sign it as one zero experience! The midwifery director told me that sometimes they even find it quite difficult to get applicants for the conversion course which is why they don't mind what experience one gets post reg nursing. They require 6 months only now. However, I will give dialysis a couple of years if I can as they seem to be giving me some good training. Another girl is starting with me too 😊 thank god lol! Thanks for your advice again.

Thanks nurserebs!. I don't have nurse on call in my area of Clare /Limerick but an agency in Dublin called your world healthcare offered some really good rates and said they have tons of work in my area. However they are offering double the money of any other agency which makes me a wee bit suspicious!I am a new graduate which I told them and he offered me 55 euro per hour for Sunday night!!! Surely there is something wrong here. He even sent me a contract with the rates on it! I didn't sign it as one zero experience! The midwifery director told me that sometimes they even find it quite difficult to get applicants for the conversion course which is why they don't mind what experience one gets post reg nursing. They require 6 months only now. However, I will give dialysis a couple of years if I can as they seem to be giving me some good training. Another girl is starting with me too í ½í¸Š thank god lol! Thanks for your advice again.

Thanks so much nurserebs for your reply! Just a few moments ago, the dialysis clinic rang me with a start date for next Monday!!! Woohoo!. It will probably mean that I will be burning my bridges with the hospital but I went to see the ward that I have accepted the job on and a feeling of dread just keeps coming over me even though the staff seem so lovely!The midwifery conversion course director told me that they take nurses with nursing home experience so I'm sure dialysis won't be looked at negatively!! It's how I present myself at interview, I think that's important. However I hope to get 2 years as a nurse first. I am definitely going to take up agency shifts as often as possible as. I know I have every night and Sunday off with the clinic. I've booked myself in for an bord altranais approved courses for venepucture, cannulation and iv med administration and paid for them. Thanks again for your feedback. I'm so excited to start my career next Monday!!

I meant to say that med surg is acute and my husband feels that it's best to get the acute experience so that it is a good foundation for the future. I can see where you're coming from GrumpyRN in regards to the clinic outpatient setting becoming tedious after a while and seeing these patients repetitively!. At least in the hospital if we encounter an unpleasant situation or patient, it's not generally long term!!

Thank you for all your advice and feedback. My Husband really thinks that acute experience will serve me much better for the future going forward. I am very anxious but the only way to deal with that is to just get on with it now!!. Thank you again.

Thanks Spacemonkey, that's a great idea regarding speaking to the ward manager. I'm not due to start until 7th March but you've really given me food for thought going forward for midwifery training. Thank you í ½í¸Š. I appreciate your advice.

That was the same where I trained in northern Ireland, Vandiola! It appears to be a whole different kettle of fish since I came home to Southern Ireland!! I really don't think that I will get a booklet of competencies to be signed off! I have already organised my iv my training myself and the hospital told me that they have booked me in for venepuncture training for 8th March if I start! That seems to be about it! UK is much more structured, organised and patient safety centred it would seem!

Thanks Spacemonkey15. I think its pure terror on my part as I have had 5 months off now since graduation and the thought of being thrown in at the deep end on the ward is scaring the bejesus out of me! I have signed two contracts now. One for dialysis outpatient clinic and one for med surg ward. I know I will burn my bridges with the hospital when I turn them down as I feel as if the clinic will give me a lot more support. This is how it appears anyway! I'm dreading turning down the hospital!! It would be worse to start the job and be unable to handle it. However my dream is to complete my midwifery conversion so I hope the dialysis is just as good as medical acute experience when I go to apply for midwifery!!

Thanks a million for your reply vandiola but I am in Eire and that's what the clinical nurse manager told me over the phone!!. The hospital is notorious for bad treatment of staff and the turnover is crazy with staff. I cannot go there as a new graduate with 4 days training. I am definitely taking dialysis as you're right in regards to it sounding very interesting. I am not ready to risk my registration by having 8 or more patients after 4days supernumerary!

I trained in the UK as an adult Nurse and qualified in Sep 2015. I live in the Republic of Ireland and had to transfer my NMC Pin from UK to Irish registration. Here is my issue!. I have had offers in dialysis clinic, agency private duty and on a medical and surgical ward as a HSE (like NHS) ward. I was originally accepting dialysis as they give a lot of intensive training and support. However, I have decided that the best training to go forward to do my midwifery conversion course would be on the ward. They have informed me that they are very generous and I will be receiving 4 days supernumerary. 4 days!!!. In Ireland the nursing degree is four years and the final year is a full year internship on the ward. We do not get that in the UK as part of our training. I am absolutely TERRIFIED. Please offer me some words of wisdom. I have signed and sent back the contract. The dialysis job is still open to me but it takes 6 to 8 weeks to process my documentation and I don't really want to be pigeonholed into dialysis, even though it seems extremely interesting. Do you think 4 days training as a new graduate nurse in setting me up for trouble?. I will be getting between 6-8 patients and maybe more on nights!!. I do need to learn though. Please advise me!!

Thank you so much dishes. I will contact my bank and the hospital to inform them.

I did not send any bank details but he did text me to tell me my uniform was on the way and ask me what my registration number was. Like an idiot, I gave him my full home address and my registration number on a text message! I really feel like such an idiot and I should know better at my age! Thanks dishes.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply to my post. I was hesitant to send any paperwork to him when he said that if I scanned the paperwork he would get it faster!. He also said that he preferred to text me instead of email??!!. Therefore, he does not have my bank/passport details. Also, I informed him that as I was a new graduate that I would need to do my IV medication course in order to hang IV meds in a hospital setting (as per requirement in Ireland). He was very surprised and told me that there was a course up the country for 200 euro whereas there is the same course in my area for 80 euro. When I told him this, he said that he was delighted with this new information and proceeded to send out an email to his current staff saying that he had "made" his research and that all staff MUST do these "trainings" in order to meet compliance standards of the hospital!!!. He mis-spelled a lot of words in the job postings also. Just weird!. This does need to be reported. The money/pay they were offering for a new grad was far too good to be true!. Thank you all for your feedback and replies. I will steer well clear!!

Hi all, I recently started a full-time permanent position in chronic outpt position and this is my first position as a newly qualified registered nurse. However, as the pay is so low and I have a family to support, I decided to take some supplemental agency work and herein lies the confusion!! The agency is not local and has offered me twice the money that local agencies are offering to work on a seriously under-staffed med/surg ward at a city hospital. I had posted that I turned down a permanent contract offered to me by said hospital due to no staff/patient ratio etc. This agency has said that I do not need any experience and asked me to send all my details either by scanner or post but preferably by scanner as it will get there faster. I have never met the recruitment consultant and spoke only over the phone to him. Part of the application pack entails my sending passport photocopy and details, bank details for wages and a copy of my nursing registration certificate. Before I could start the application, the consultant informed me that he is sending me out my uniform and id badge. I replied that he does not have a photo but he said that he had taken one of my photos of a social media website!!!. I was really shocked and he says all is in the post!! Do you guys think that this is very shady?. Double the money is hard to resist as I have so much to pay for. However, I worked very hard to become a nurse and do not want to risk my qualification in any way or worse patient safety and care!!. Please advise!. TIA.

Thanks kitiger for taking the time to reply. I have the two contracts and I am still a bit confused. Fresnius has no Sundays or nights and extensive training. Hospital pays the same money but obviously nights and weekends involved and high patient to nurse ratio!. However, the only thing is if I work for a while in med surg, my options are limitless. However, I'm a 40 year old new grad and am scared if I could hack it for long with the conditions in our hospitals!!!. Help!

Can I just say that I find this forum a fantastic support!!. I am always reluctant to say what Country I am in for fear that the mods will shift the post and the other forums are not nearly as active as this one eg Nursing worldwide. There are so many similarities regarding training, practice etc between different Countries. However, I understand that lack of a nurse/patient ratio legislation may be a European thing alone lol!!. Anyway, thank you guys for taking the time to reply. I absolutely love allnurses and come here from my binge every day at some stage!!!. I am officially addicted!

Thank you so much for your replies. I declined the hospital but they said that they will put my file on hold and if my circumstances change, to contact them in April. I have started filling my forms to start my new job in dialysis. Thank you for your advice and feedback. x

Hello, just looking for some thoughts/advice please. I am currently awaiting my registration certificate but am on the Irish register as of this morning. Whilst waiting for my license, I applied for a variety of jobs as is normal for new grads. I have received offers for staff nurse on med/surge, PDN working with one patient on a vent/trach/peg tube and agency working. Yesterday, I interviewed with Fresenius in Ireland and I really loved the place and the training support they are offering. I was only home 30 mins and they called and offered me the job. There is eight weeks training and after that time, I will still have a preceptor until I can manage four patients alone. There are 22 stations. I found it very interesting and love the renal side of things. No Sundays and no nights. The hospital offered me the same money but no training/precepting/orientation and no patient:nurse ratio eg could have 8-10 patients and sounds as if I am thrown to the wolves. They could not answer my question regarding any training whatsoever. I am inclined not to accept this as the local city hospital is like a war zone and has the reputation as such. Finally, community pdn. One patient but I feel as though it would be difficult dealing with one patient and family dynamics etc. The money is this setting is much higher than either hospital/dialysis chronic outpatient clinic. 13.50 per hour in hospital/dialysis and 23 euro per hour in Community. The fact that I would have every Sunday off in dialysis and no nights means that I can pick up an agency shifts to supplement my income. I am more interested in support and training as a new grad rather than money. That will come down the line. Fresenius seems to offer the best training and support and I am inclined to accept their offer. I had hoped to train in midwifery specialising in gestational diabetes in the next few years but this could really be a solid career. Please, I would appreciate anyone's comments/advice regarding starting as a new grad in Chronic outpatient dialysis!!. Thank you in advance. Claire

Thank you so much 😊 everyone for the lovely and encouraging feedback. You are so kind to take the time to reply. I start my new job next week.

Thank you roser13 So excited to start my first nursing position.