Ready to quit!

[FloridaGatorRN]

Hello fellow nurses. I have a conundrum. I graduated from nursing school in May 2013, and passed my RN boards in June 2013! I desperately searched for a hospital position, but none were to be found. I had to start a job as soon as possible so I took a position on a Rehab unit in a LTC/Rehab mix facility. I have absolutely dreaded my decision since I started, and I have been working their for approx. 3 weeks. I received 5 days of orientation, 2 of which I technically was working on my own with another nurse with their own patients to ask questions of. The people I am caring for are referrals from a local trauma center so they are all very sick people, I saw healthier people on the medical-surgical floor during clinical. They mostly all either have a central line, trachs, G-tubes, or some other complication. However I am still given the same number of patients (Up to 24) as the LTC LPN's. I am so distraught, I come to work everyday fearful that I am going to loose my license, this place is a NIGHTMARE!!!! There are days I simply do not get meds done, charting done, or follow-up on labs or meds done. I receive very little support from the administration, they are all kind but it is mostly just "keep you chin up skipper, you willl get the hang of it." The day before yesterday I finally got a call from a nurse manager and he wanted to set up an interview for a cardiac telemetry position (happy dance!!), well I came in the next day and he loved me and I loved the unit (I had done clinical there during nursing school) he said that he would be recommending me to HR for hire, and we spent the rest of the interview discussing his vision for the unit, orientation schedule, and about their schedule buddy system. Well needless to say I was on cloud nine! However I went to work last night and a patient could have almost died because I was not able to respond in as prompt of a manner as I would have liked (he is a glottis ca pt with trach and vent) he suddenly started desaturating on me and was coughing up large chunks of what looked like cancer IMHO. I was so flustered almost to the point of tears that the patient could have died on me and it would have been on me, while the other nurses simply had a good chuckle about it and halfheartedly helped me get his transfer to the ED complete. I am two seconds away from just calling the DON and submitting my resignation IMMEDIATELY, I worked so hard for my license and I genuinely feel in my gut that I am eventually going to be the subject of either a malpractice suit or lose my license. However I do not know whether to really believe that I got the hospital position. I am just stuck and I do not know what to do!!! I honestly can say beyond a shadow of a doubt I do not EVER EVER EVER want to step foot back on that unit again, but I just do not want to leave without serving a two week notice or shoot myself in the foot and be without a job in case the hospital job does not come through. I would also like to add that my employment is considered "at-will" and my handbook states that at any time myself or the company may terminate my employment with or without reason. Any advice? Sorry for the long post!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I am two seconds away from just calling the DON and submitting my resignation IMMEDIATELY

Then again, you might not have another job offer for many months due to the economic climate. Can you go without income for months or possibly one year?

Many of us left job interviews with the idea that we made a wonderful impression on the interviewer, only to discover that someone else was selected for the position.

I worked so hard for my license and I genuinely feel in my gut that I am eventually going to be the subject of either a malpractice suit or lose my license.

The 'losing my license' worries are overrated. Nurses generally don't lose their licenses over the care that they render. In most states, loss of nursing licensure is overwhelmingly the result of addiction, drug diversion, and other issues related to drugs.

In addition, although nurses can be sued, patients and families typically pursue the deepest pockets (read: the physicians and corporations who own healthcare facilities). That's why a nurse's Liability Insurance runs about $100 yearly while a doctor's malpractice policy cost tens of thousands annually. The doc pays more for his/her insurance because (s)he is more likely to be sued than the nurse.

I worked in LTC for six years and dealt with unexpected deaths, threats of lawsuits from families, and the whole nine years. Guess what? My license is still intact and I have not been sued. In fact, I regularly read the disciplinary action pages on the website of my state board of nursing and the vast majority of nurses who have reprimands on their licenses were employed at hospitals, not LTC facilities.

[FloridaGatorRN]

TheCommuter,

Thanks so much for the prompt reply! I completely understand what you mean however the job interview I had I was directly told he would be forwarding my name for hire, and we discussed scheduling and orientation. I do know that this is a difficult economy, however I do truly believe that I have a job lined up.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I was directly told he would be forwarding my name for hire, and we discussed scheduling and orientation.

I, too, have been told at the conclusion of an interview that I would be recommended for hire. Orientation and scheduling were discussed during the interview, too. However, they decided to hire someone else at the last minute.

I know you really want to quit your current job right now, but I personally wouldn't do it without a firm offer of employment from the hospital. Good luck to you!

[Sunnysleeper]

Why not call the person you interviewed with, thanking him for his time and letting him know of your continued interest in and excitement about working on his unit??! If he's not definitely hiring you yet, this may help him make his decision; if he's decided on someone else, he may be impressed enough with your attitude that he will recommend you to someone else in his facility. (Come right out and ASK him if he knows of anyone other unit hiring and if he'd pass your name on to that person.) DO NOT tell him you're desperate to leave your current position!!

In the meantime, IF you ever have a free moment, ask the other nurses if you can do anything to help them (don't ask if they "need help" which they may construe as a comment on their own abilities) and try to foster a collaborative atmosphere. If you keep asking them, eventually I think they will realize you're a colleague and a helpful one at that. This 'eating your young' activity only shows how unhappy THEY are in their jobs too: their way of saying "welcome to OUR horrible world; we deal with it, now you can too". And the next time they try to "eat" you, ask them if THEY were ever new grads??? Good luck, and keep applying for jobs so you can get out of that place. Don't assume that just because you applied at one time, that your application will be remembered: keep calling periodically (not enough to be a pest though) to let them know you're still interested and available. Make a friend of the HR person so they WILL think of you when a job opens up.

[EaglesWings21, ASN, RN]

Good advice for a thank you note. I honestly hope you get the job on the cardiac telemetry unit but if your city is anything like mine, hospitals will go on hiring "holds" for months at a time.

[FloridaGatorRN]

I got a call from the director of HR offering me the position.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

WOOT WOOT!!!! :)

Congrats on your new opportunity. But, be sure to adhere to policy & procedure for exiting your current job if at all possible. You don't ever want to burn any bridges & end up with a "not eligible for rehire" mark on your record.

[VickyMcSkimming]

I am in a similar position to yourself OP. i desperately want to leave my job for very similar reasons to yourself i have only been there two months but i know from my own experience and the way the other nurse in the unit are this is not somewhere i want to be much longer. I have pressure from my parents to stay but they don't understand how unhappy i am or how worried about my license i am. I have the staff bank to rely on until i find something else but I am worried about getting references if I want another full time post and having a big black mark on my file