Quit after first day of orientation!

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has anyone quit after their first day on the job? i just did!

i thought i wanted to be a nurse - my whole life really - but never could afford to not work and just go to school. then, as luck would have it, i was offered a position at a local hospital, who also paid your way thru school and a stipend to live off of while attending school. perfect! (or so i thought)

so, as luck would have it, i had to drop out of lpn school the very first week, due to my mother being hospitalized. the stress of taking care of her and trying to study was too much/stressful, so i dropped out of the program. to my surprise, the hospital wanted to keep me on as a cna - which i have never worked as before but had recently obtained my license when i decided to pursue nursing.

so, i had my first day of orientation and quit that night! i feel like a loser, but i didn't quit because of the job really, but more on the physical demand it took on my body! i could barely get myself out of my car after an 8 hr shift! now, i've always had issues with my back because of numerous car accidents, but it has never bothered me like this until now. i really think it bothers me more because for the past 25+ years of my working career, i sat behind a desk -- and not on my feet for 8+ hours.

has anyone else dropped out of nursing all together for these reasons? does it get better? should i have stuck it out and tried to make it work? it just kills me that i've given up on something just like that ..... when it i was something i thought i've wanted to do my entire life.

thanks for listening and thanks for any advice or for anybody else sharing their experiences to commiserate with me!

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You need to give some serious reflection to your future as an employee, for anyone, doing anything. You can not continue to bow out of responsibilities when the going gets tough or you will find yourself virtually unemployable. You realize now, that you have just poisoned yourself with your best bet for employment as a licensed nurse during an economy where new grads and experienced alike can't get work? Think about your actions when you start to get rejection after rejection in the near future. But more importantly, think about what you need to do to change your reaction to life's problems. Good luck getting another job.

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Specializes in neonatal intensive care.

I agree. If you really want to be a nurse, you are going to have to face much more difficult situations and if you cannot do this, you have no future in nursing.

Did you not think you would have to be on your feet for 8 or 12 hour shifts, knowing that your back was bad? What did you imagine nursing to be?

I hope that you are able to sort all this out and find somewhere that will employ you. Good luck.

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I don't know what to say. Didn't you notice the physical aspects of the job during your clinical rotations? I've heard of RN's crying after their first day . . . but to quit . . .

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No need to beat them up, ladies and gentleman. What's done is done. She has to face the consequences now but hey maybe this really wasn't the profession for the OP?

Sounds like you had a dream opportunity, though. Wish I could be so lucky.

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If you really had a passion for nursing, and then discovered you were having physical difficulties on the first day, you might have considered physiotherapy and massage, for instance, as well as a personal trainer or gym membership. I'm just thinking your discomfort was possibly due to deconditioning. But...to actually QUIT without even a discussion with a sympathetic outside source in order to brainstorm how you might rectify the problem looks as though your passion was not all you claim it was. As the previous posters suggested, nursing would have involved more discomfort than you experienced that first day on the job. Additionally, nursing is very much a problem solving occupation, where you have to be very creative and oftentimes think way outside the box. Your actions don't demonstrate that kind of stamina, dedication or problem solving ability. It seems you had an absolutely PLUM opportunity with the tuition reimbursement and stipend... Please do not take offense, but perhaps some counselling might be in order to help you get to the bottom of why you reacted as you did. It appears from out here that you shot yourself in the foot on purpose. Maybe this truly is not the career for you. In that case, maybe a career counsellor in addtion to the other would help. Best of luck to you in your introspection and future career.

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Specializes in Gerontology.

I would rather someone quit after 1 day, then to go through the entire orientation period, and then quit.

But I have to agree with everyone else - what, exactly were you expecting? You said you've done a desk job for 25 years, so you obviously are not a spring chicken. So why move to a job that is physically demanding now?

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Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.

OP worked 25 plus years of her life, tried to realize her dream only to find out that it wouldn't work out. She stepped out of her comfort zone, even if it was only a short distance. At least she made the attempt.

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Oh my, you guys are really beating her up. Perhaps poor body mechanics played a role? Poor physical conditioning? Forewarned is forearmed. If you really want to be in direct-care nursing, work on your physical conditioning and learn proper body mechanics. I don't think anyone (in the general population) understands just how physically demanding nursing can be. If hospital nursing is too physically demanding for you, but you desire to be in patient care, how about outpatient medical assistant? That might work :)

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, educator.
Oh my, you guys are really beating her up. Perhaps poor body mechanics played a role? Poor physical conditioning? Forewarned is forearmed. If you really want to be in direct-care nursing, work on your physical conditioning and learn proper body mechanics. I don't think anyone (in the general population) understands just how physically demanding nursing can be. If hospital nursing is too physically demanding for you, but you desire to be in patient care, how about outpatient medical assistant? That might work :)

I agree with you if we were talking about someone in "normal" or better condition, but the OP stated that she had many back problems d/t MVA. She should have pursued this with her PCP and the school of nursing first, then made an educated decision. Almost all nursing programs that I know of have physical requirements listed on the application. I just hope she finds something else career-wise.

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I have to add a nod to how physically demanding nursing is. I am entering nursing as a "mature" adult but I am working hard to be as prepared as possible. I've been exercising for a few years and really think of it now as being in physical training for the job. The techs (CNAs, care partners, aides, whatevver they may be called from one locale to another) carry a lot of the physical, hands-on burden of moving patients around -- and patients are heavier now than at any time in history! But if one can make it through the training phase, many RNs do not perform as intense physical activity as do the techs. They are, however, on their feet all day/night, changing positions repeatedly, getting into some awkward positions at time out of necessity, etc.

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Wow babe. It seems like everyone is letting you have it. In a way you deserve it, but you are brave to admit such a thing on this site. I hope you find your way, and dont take the criticism too hard. Just pray long and hard about what it is you REALLY want to do and ask yourself what it was about nursing that made you want to persue it. Maybe you can take on different aspects of healthcare. Good luck to you. Keep your head up.

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