Quitting after 4 months.....

Epona · Jul 10, 2007

I am just a nursing student and NOT an RN yet, so take this advice as you see fit. I would NOT give up. You have invested too much and obviously you liked Nursing otherwise, you would have not chosen this path. Look around for other places to work. There are other RN jobs out there. This is not the end of the road unless YOU want it to be.

Good luck!

PyshRN · Jul 10, 2007

I went through a tough period when I started my first nursing job. I'm just passing the 1 year and 2 months mark on my floor. The first floor that I worked on was horrible. The staff was rude and unsupportive. I asked to be moved to a different unit, and things were much better. The staff was wonderful and supportive. I found some really great mentors (my "go-to people). They took the time to teach me and show me the ropes.

After all the time and effort you've invested in this career, don't give up on nursing after yor first job. Stick it out. There are a ton of other positions that may be a better fit. Maybe you should try something different?

Good luck making your decision and best of luck to you!! :icon_hug:

youknowho · Jul 10, 2007

:flowersfo I am sorry that you feel this way. Being a new nurse myself I can relate to the feelings of frustration that occur.

What is it exactly that is bothering you? Too many patients? Time management? Is there something you can ask the manger for, like extra orientation, less patients?

Perhaps you are better suited in another unit.

I believe that not all nurses are meant for all units. I wouldn't see this as a grand failure but as a new insight that tells you when you don't like. However, 4 months is a short time and maybe if you gave it a little longer....

At the end of the day you need to do whatever is best for you.

al7139, ASN, RN · Jul 10, 2007

I am a new grad at my first job. I feel so inadequate sometimes that I want to quit. I can relate to your feelings completely. You weren't very specific with what is making you feel this way, but I suggest looking around for a job in nursing that fits you. I was very lucky, because I had three clinical rotations at the hospital where I now work, two of them on my unit. Ask around to other RNs in you area where the best places to work are. Every day I go to work, I realize how little I really know even after 2 years of school and a degree. It is humbling and often makes me feel inadequate. If you are on a good unit, the staff you work with will understand and remember what it was like to be in your position, and help you find your feet. One of the deciding factors for me to work on this unit was how much they enjoyed having students there. So many other places I had clinicals, the students were treated as an inconvenience, and not welcomed. Try to find a place like that! You could always move here and work on my team!

Don't give up your dream.

Amy

carol72 · Jul 10, 2007

I've been at my first RN position for 4 months now. I don't think I want to continue.
Ok. First of all my heart goes out to you in the time of stress.
This particular nursing job just is not for you - no big deal. There are lots of other career pathways available. Have you considered out patient? You can have bankers hours with weekends off. There are lots of other avenues other than "on the floor" nursing & there should be no shame in seeking them out.
Best wishes.

smile123 · Jul 10, 2007

I've been at my first RN position for 4 months now. I don't think I want to continue. I know that I CAN, but I don't WANT to anymore. The stress is just unbelievable. All I ever wanted to do is be a nurse, and now that I am all I want is OUT. School was really no preparation for this, and it has left me very disappointed
I just cant rationalize to myself why I should subject myself to 12-13 hour days on my feet sometimes without a break at all, along with rude phyicans, rude patients, rude families and RUDE MANAGEMENT. For what reason??? I keep asking myself....the MONEY? NO. No way, it is NOT worth it at all. I rather make half the pay and have sanity and peace in my life. The funny thing is, the word around is that I work on one of the best floors.
I think I'm going to put in my notice this week. The problem is, I have no idea what to do with myself if I leave. Nursing has put such a bad taste in my mouth. What else is available for someone with only 4 months experience? I feel so lost

Hey girlfriend,

Don't despair. First of all, it would be best to look for another job, get an offer, then give notice at your other job. (It's better for salary negotiations.)

Next, ask yourself:

1) Is it the hours? There are other places that offer 8 hour shifts instead of 12 hour shifts. Some places may not rotate from days to evenings if that's your concern.

2) Is it the unit itself? You might want to look at other units at your work. See if you can shadow with another nurse on another unit. For example, if you are on a cardiac floor (very adrenaline based), you may want to switch to a post-surgical floor (a little less stressful from a code point of view).

3) Is it the personality/culture of the unit? This may be it from your posting. It could be that people on this unit are not the right fit for you. You can always transfer to another unit in a friendlier atmosphere.

Nursing is so flexible that you can find the right fit for you. Don't feel that "everyone else says this unit X is the best" and you don't happen to feel that way. It's OK to beat to your own drummer. Hang in there!

Diary/Dairy, RN · Jul 10, 2007

Sorry that things have been so bad there - sometimes it takes a while to find a place that you like, with the type of nursing that you like to do. I had a really hard time my first 2 jobs and hated myself for hating the jobs that I did have.

Can you find someone who can be supportive of your career? I have my mom who is also a nurse and she has been very supportive of my career when I felt stressed out and down in the dumps... Being a nurse is HARD work. It takes time to get used to the work because there are so many things to juggle.

Also, there are many many different types of nursing. Maybe the area that you are working in is not a good fit, wheather it be the co-workers, the unit structure and management. The GREAT thing about nursing is that if you don't like one area, there are a hundred others that you can get into....

Don't give up - there is a place that is better for you out there, you just have to find it....

HUGS!!!!!

hlfpnt, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2007

The first year is tough...my heart goes out to you! I'm just finishing up my first & I'm in a place where I have to convince myself to go to work every day. I agree with all the OP. You've invested alot of time & energy in your education...nursing has so many avenues you can take. You just need to find something that fits! Beside out patient, doc offices have good hours & no weekends. School nursing might be a possibility as well. Good luck to you!

Lorelai22RN, RN · Jul 10, 2007

I feel your pain. I have been a nurse a year and a month and I hated my unit, med/tele.........I started looking for something else after 4 months.............because I knew I didnt like it......people kept telling me to give it a chance and try a new unit blah blah but I was also told I was on one of the better units. Plus I was depressed, miserable and crying all the time, not taking care of myself........a crappy existence! I found this great job in precert. I still get to use my nursing knowledge.......it's 8-5, M-F, no weekends or holidays, I'm making bit more than I was in the hospital, great coworkers and supervisors......almost no stress whatsoever. I love it. I feel soooooooo much better. I still do 2-12's month on my unit since I am PRN. To keep my skills up and for extra cash and to remind myself why I left in the first place. Bedside isnt for everyone.........and I worked for a year and then found something else. I have no desire to go back to the hospital because I felt awful........my quality of life as poor. Sleep all the time.......ugh. Now even if this job paid less, I dont care. I am happier now...........and thats all that matters. Some people tried to make me feel bad for leaving and at times I felt like a failure and that I was wasting all my school but....I have learned to do what is best for me and sometimes you have to choose your own happiness first over your original plans. When I go in to do my shifts........I still dread it but I am gonn go home and not have to come back the next day and deal with all that BS..........no job is perfect but I was sooooo unhappy at that job. I am so glad I left. I would suggest you write down your reasons you dont like your job and then look for another that would suit you better. Alot of times in nursing.....alot of what we dislike about our job we cant fix, we just have to deal with it. I wish you the best! Life is too short to be unhappy. If you truly dont like where you are, there are other things out there......I wouldnt put in my notice til I found something else. But bedside wasnt for me and I didnt think anyone would hire me for a nonclinical job when at the time I had barely a year under my belt but they did!

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 10, 2007

I strongly agree with the above posters who suggest that you analyze your feelings in a little more detail before you make any big life-changing decisions. A lot of new grads experience "reality shock" in their first jobs, but it fades after 6-9 months on the job. Others hate their first job, but find their nursing niche in the 2nd or 3rd job.

1. My first suggestion is to keep your current job for at least a couple more weeks to give you time to make a plan before you quit -- unless you are wealthy and really don't need the income. Finding a new job that you like might take a little while -- and you need things like health insurance in life.

2. Reflect back on your expectations prior to beginning your nursing career and at the beginning of this job. Sometimes, we set our expectations so high that nothing in real life can measure up. Even if your expectations were not "fantasy-land unrealistic," they were probably pretty high. Now as you discover that they were a bit too high, you may be emotionally crashing in disappointment -- maybe emotionally over-reacting a little. Don't let that disappointment (which is common and normal) get the best of you and push you into a decision that you may regret later. That's the big danger of reality shock.

3. To help you get a balanced view of your current situation, make a list of the specific things that disappoint you in your job. How many of those things will fade in time as you get more skilled and efficient? How many will improve as you get more emotionally comfortable working with the staff? Can you find some resoureces to help you deal with some of those negatives? (e.g. former preceptor, unit educator, friendly senior staff member, etc.)

Also ... make a list of the reasons you went into nursing in the first place. Did you really expect it to be easy? (Probably not.) Are you really want to be the type of person who gives up on your goals easily? (Probably not.)

Also ... make a list of all of the positive things about your current situation. Do you get to help people? Are you learning new skills? Are your organizational skills, etc. improving with practice? Have you met some nice people along with the not-so-nice ones?

Make another list of all the things you do to cope with stress. Examine the list. Does it seem healthy? If not, maybe you should explore some healthy ways to relieve stress before you surrender to it.

3. After you've made your list, then think about those things for a little while to help you decide on a plan. Maybe you'll decide that you should stick this job out a little longer to see if some of your reality shock fades as you develop more skill and comfort with the job. Maybe you'll be identify a few people in your environment who can help you better cope with some of the job stresses.

Maybe you'll decide to try a different job within nursing. Your analysis will help you better understand what went wrong with this first job selection and help you make a better choice next time.

Maybe you'll decide that there is no area of nursing that could possibly be of interest to you and that you should leave nursing altogether. Hopefully, you will have learned from the reflection and analysis what led you to make a wrong career choice to begin with so that you don't make a similar mistake in choosing a second career.

Regardless of what you decide ... don't jump into something (or out of something) on the spur of the moment when you are feeling down. Your original post said that your COULD stay in your current job a little longer, you just didn't WANT to. That sounds like it's not a critical emergency that needs your action today. Give it a couple of weeks and take the time to think it tthrough properly before you make a decision that could just as easily be the wrong one as the right one.

Good luck to you.

48RVRN · Jul 10, 2007

Oh, hun! I understand compleately how you feel!

Just know that you CAN ask for a transfer to another department. Or even to a satilite area like a clinic.

Just give yourself a solid year as a nurse; then make a decision.

What ever you decide you have my support! :icon_hug: