Quit during orientation

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what are my chances of ever working in that hospital again?

I recently quit this past week my 1st ever tech job as a Nursing student b/c i felt it was unsafe. I had to juggle up to 15 patients, some mentally unstable and some being total/complete care with not much help from the nurses/techs and unsupportive management. I thought i'd be gaining valuable skills but all i did was clean patients for most of the day. This was something i was already taught in NS, so i dont need the additional practice. i felt like i was doing all the grunt work. The nurses were mainly charting and giving out meds, but they too seemed busy but their work is alot less physical. I was thinking of just working at my friends dads company as an administrative assistant until i graduate. It pays more and its a lot less work....It was a nice hospital, id like to go back, but only as a nurse.

If someone knows from the beginning that the job is not for them, I rather they quit during orientation than after orientation, saves me wasting my time training them.

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Specializes in Progressive Care/ICU Stepdown.

I just think its funny they thought 15 patients was unsafe.

The nursing home I did clinicals at my first semester in nursing school had a CNA:Patient ratio of 1:18-20

4 CNAs and 2 RNs per wing, (wing=4 halls) 3 wings. Plus various orderly types who didn't chart but could help move patients/change linens.

And however many nursing students the facility could get their hands on.

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Specializes in Women’s Health.
I wonder about some instructors, why they seem so stingy about what they let students do. I just finished my first semester of a LPN program and I did several dressing changes. One was even sterile! My instructor was right there, so making sure I didn't screw up was easy. But she even got to the point where, once she had seen each of us satisfactorily pass oral meds and do a subQ injection, she allowed us to have only our supervising nurse present while doing those things. Was I just uncommonly lucky?

My nursing program is the same way. In fundamentals, our professor had to be there for anything invasive except glucose checks, but in med-surg, once we have successfully performed a skill in front of our professor, we no longer need her present and can complete the skill with the nurse we're shadowing.

I'm still in my first year of nursing school and have had the opportunity to give meds, start and hang IVs, and I even packed a wound (that was really cool). But I still take vital signs, give bed baths, and assist with ADLs, these tasks are just as important as the fun stuff.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Mental Health, Community.

As a tech, all the things you listed are typically the job description of an CNA/Tech position. If you're still in nursing school you must pay your dues there also. The hospital hired you to be a tech..if you're looking for nursing duties at your job you will need to wait until you are a licensed nurse and become hired as one... and you'll still find yourself cleaning up a pt, helping with ADL's etc.. It's part of the package. I would have to say I agree with those that made the observation that you most likely won't be rehired by that hospital even when you do become a nurse.

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I think maybe sticking with being an administrative assistant would be better (especially if you're so shocked by what happens in hospitals). Nursing is extremely physical and gritty. At least you're finding out in the beginning...

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After reading many responses here, I want to start my response by saying that I agree with the majority. Nursing care will involve plenty of wiping butts. That just goes with the territory. It is good as a nursing student that you realize this and can go into something that you enjoy more, OP.

On the other hand, I would hope that nursing would involve much more than wiping rear ends and cleaning up. Else why is nursing school so competitive, and why do nurses need to learn so much? If all a nurse is needed for is to clean, why make him/her go to school for years to do that? Nursing schools want the best and brightest students. I would think there is a reason for that, beyond the capability to clean patients.

I plan to be a nurse-midwife, and have attended several births as a doula. At a birth, I have no trouble at all cleaning up all sorts of bodily fluids and waste. Birth is an earthy event. I'm honored to do the cleaning, because I see the birthing woman as a queen who deserves the best tender loving care possible. It doesn't even phase me. Really.

My father recently had a massive stroke, and if he weren't uncomfortable with his daughter cleaning him, I would have done it. The hospital did not seem to have enough staff to keep him clean, dry, and fed, and his personal/bodily needs were inadvertently neglected. I felt the ultimate in compassion for him. He did not ask to be ill. It wasn't his fault. He was entirely at the mercy of others to care for him. When I get the chance to help others in this way, I will remember how I felt as the daughter of a man who needed round-the-clock care. I will take care of the people in my charge as if they were close family members. It is an honor to do so, and should be done in a way that helps the person retain their dignity as much as possible.

I won't lie though, I know I will crave for the "intellectual" parts of the job. The thing I look forward to the most is the variety involved. That will be great. I want to use my brain, and my heart, and my hands.

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Specializes in Cardiac, Home Health, Primary Care.

What did I learn as a tech?

-time management

-organization

-doing 12-lead EKG's

-normal vitals (actually that each patient may have a different normal)

-I would look up diseases I didn't know about

-how to interact better with patients

-how hospitals work

-interacting with families

-the nurses knew I was a student so if I was around when something cool came up I got to help

-"gut feeling"

One of my tech jobs was a student tech so I was able to practice nursing skills as they came up:

-blood draws

-IV starts

-foleys

-deep suctioning

-rhythm strip interpretation

It's really sad you didn't see the good in the job you had. Would it have prepared you to be a RN? Absolutely not. Would it have prepared to be a BETTER RN? Probably.

I'm not necessarily trying to harp on you but you barely even gave it a chance. For me to quit during orientation I'd have to have seen outright negligence.

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I was a CNA for 13 years and I just graduated from nursing school and started my first nursing job. I have worked in nursing homes, hospice, private care and hospitals. I almost gave up on nursing after working in a nursing home for about 6 years. Anyone that has worked in one can relate, I am sure. It is just downright hard work. Very demanding and always understaffed. I walked away from it for a few months because I was just burned out I think. I thought "If this is all there is to nursing, I don't want to do it." I have since learned that there are MANY MANY avenues of nursing, and if you REALLY love the profession and all of the vast, ever-changing, everyday knowledge that it brings you will find where you belong. If you really love it, don't give up so easily. You will ALWAYS work with difficult people, and most likely in less than favorable conditions, but only you control your attitude.

I have since started working in a hospital. I can tell you, it is VERY different from any job I have ever had. To assume that all places are created equal and give up so soon shows very poor attitude and is very naive. I would suggest maybe trying different places to gain different experience. I would NEVER suggest just up and quitting a job without notice. I once had a professor that told us to "Never burn a bridge when it comes to nursing. You never know when you may need a good reference." BEST. ADVICE. EVER.

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Come on people! Just because someone was never a CNA or would ever want to be one doesnt mean they will make a terrible nurse. One of the best decisions I ever made was to NOT work as a CNA before becoming a nurse. I am scrawny and weak and know I couldnt handle the physical demands of a CNA. I'd much rather work fast food or retail than make a few bucks more as a CNA, regardless of the experience I'd get. It would not be worth it to me. I have seen and learned enough working as a phlebotomist, plus I got paid more. That doesnt mean I view cleaning up after someone as "beneath" me. Not everyone is cut out to be a CNA and that is ok. It doesnt mean nursing isnt for them or that they should find a different career.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I worked as a CNA in a LTC facility through nursing school. It helped me immensely during school and contributed to the way that I practice as a nurse. Great way to get a foot in the door and learn useful skills (not just cool stuff but patient and family interactions, social skills in the work setting, ect..)

Anyway. That being said, if I had the opportunity to work somewhere else that was 1. less stressful and 2. paid a significant amount more, then I would have taken that job and had no regrets. Nursing school is not easy or cheap, so if you have the ability to work somewhere that pays more and is not as stressful/demanding, then I would not say you are wrong for quitting a CNA job.

What I do not think was wise was quitting without notice. You truly did burn a bridge at that hospital and probably any other hospitals affiliated with it. Doubtful you would ever get hired there as a nurse.

So you don't want to be a CNA? I don't blame you. It's a tough job and you don't get paid enough. But quitting without notice is unprofessional and definitely hurts your future there as a nurse.

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Specializes in Cardiac, Home Health, Primary Care.
Come on people! Just because someone was never a CNA or would ever want to be one doesnt mean they will make a terrible nurse. One of the best decisions I ever made was to NOT work as a CNA before becoming a nurse. I am scrawny and weak and know I couldnt handle the physical demands of a CNA. I'd much rather work fast food or retail than make a few bucks more as a CNA, regardless of the experience I'd get. It would not be worth it to me. I have seen and learned enough working as a phlebotomist, plus I got paid more. That doesnt mean I view cleaning up after someone as "beneath" me. Not everyone is cut out to be a CNA and that is ok. It doesnt mean nursing isnt for them or that they should find a different career.

I do agree some cannot handle the physical demands as an aide. It's great you still got patient experience and had to home organization and time management skills. Sometimes I wish I'd worked in lab instead lol (less dealing with crazy families). I think the main point is how the OP seems to explain the reasons for quitting so abruptly. Not so much mandating work as an aide. I think it helps for sure but not absolutely necessary.

I'd much rather have skipped the whole work thing during school but, alas, I had to eat...how else would I achieve my apple shape?

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To the original poster:

I think you need to reevaluate why you want to be in the profession of nursing. Personally, it sounds like you are more focused on the hierarchy and the "lazy RNs" who are above you, rather than providing excellent patient care like you were trained to do, and the hospital hired you to do. You said you quit because conditions were "unsafe," but I'm inclined to believe that was a convenient excuse and a cop-out. It sounds like you want to become a nurse because it's an easier job...I think you are in for a rude awakening and implore you to reevaluate your career goals.

The hospital will look at your future RN application, see that you were already hired and quit, deem you unreliable and look at other applications.

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