RNleena

Hello fellow nurses! Apologies in advance for the long post! I'm a relatively young hospice nurse (under 25) who recently transferred from an acute medical ward to palliative nursing. I have been working at the hospice's IPU for a little under a year. I should also note that I'm very much new to nursing in general having only graduated about a year and a half ago. I came across palliative nursing while working at the hospital and felt very positive that this was an area of interest for me. Throughout my time in the hospital I felt a strong need to have more time with my patients, their families and strengthen my clinical assessment skills and my interpersonal/communication skills (which is something I had a lot of difficulty in doing while in the acute hospital setting due to time restrictions and the general BUSY/intense environment). Personality wise, I didn't deal well with the stress and the busy environment of the hospital too well either and it was affecting my general well-being. A colleague recommended to apply for a hospice nursing job as she had also been offered a position and found very supportive. I interviewed and was offered a job position too despite being under the 2 year post-grad mark. To summarize my experience so far.. I love palliative nursing, it is an amazing and challenging area of work. I feel very privileged for the opportunity I have in working so closely with my patients and their families, as well as the touching memories of my incredible patients and their stories. TLDR; however.. I feel I might have come into nursing too young and this has been a comment made by many of my current colleagues. This upsets me as I felt I finally found where I belong (in nursing) and now I am having many doubts. One of the main thoughts I have been having is whether I would be deemed a candidate for other non-hospice jobs after transferring to hospice nursing. It was brought up by a senior colleague that many nurses come into hospice at the end of their careers. In my situation I came into palliative nursing thinking that my career had just begun! This made me very doubtful and worried about the decisions in career choices I have made. Another issue I have been working to overcome is the fact that I am VERY junior compared to my very experienced work colleagues, (I mean they are absolutely amazing- It's incredible how much knowledge and communication skills they have!) Nevertheless (and despite the amazing encouragement and support from some of my colleagues) I feel very incompetent and "stupid" due to the difference in age and experience. I do understand I don't have the life experience that my senior colleagues have and perhaps this is why I do not fully belong in palliative/hospice nursing. I am also very doubtful and ask many questions because I'm not very confident in my own nursing skills yet (I have so much to learn) and do not relate well to my confident and very experience colleagues. To finish my very long post.. I wanted to know whether you have any advice for me and whether you think I may be too young for palliative nursing being under 25yrs. Should I perhaps try seek another job position to remain "hireable" and come back to hospice nursing later on in my career? Would love to hear your comments and thoughts. Many thanks for reading and best wishes to you all.

Hiya super mega late response. I stayed and endured for a year but now trying to find another job. How did you go with yours?

Hello my fellow nurses. I graduated from university last year in November and got a job through the Netp programme at a general medical ward. Unfortunately I'm not enjoying my experience working at the ward and I'm coming up to one year working there. I have applied to other areas of nursing as I'm quite unhappy in my current job. However most areas seek a minimum of two years experience. I wanted to ask what opportunities (if any) could be out there for me with only a year's worth of experience? I'm in between wanting to leave nursing as a career or find another nursing role.. I know I sound like a quitter but the emotional, mental and physical demand of working in a busy gen med ward is taking a toll on me. I know it'll be busy and very demanding elsewhere but I need to try another environment before giving up on nursing. Would love to hear any advise or experiences. Best wishes you you all. Thanks for reading.

Hello, as the title says:... I want to quit. I am a newgrad and have been working in general med for 3months now. At first it was exciting but now I dread going to work. I am an emotional wreck, crying before shifts and fighting with my partner. I feel I can't hold my life together and I'm having depression and anxiety. Although I believe I'm not too bad at the job (despite being super new)... I feel I'm not cut out for it. This has been a feeling I've had for quite a while even as a student. I thought I'd push through and see how far I could get but now that I'm here I'm having terrible regret. i feel trapped because I know I wont be able to get another job since I am only a level 1 nurse and have minimal experience. i feel ashamed because there are other nurses who feel the same but are pushing through. i just don't think it's normal to feel so miserable. is there any way out of this? (I am currently seeing a councelor too). I have so much respect for all you nurses who never gave up and are amazing at your job (in my opinion). I would appreciate any advice.. thank you