Should I quit nursing?

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Hello,

So I have been working as a nurse on a medical floor for almost 4 weeks now. I am already off orientation( since last week) and I have a full load (5-6 patients). I am truly overwhelmed. I barely take my breaks and I am running around the whole time. I had many near misses and I feel that my co-workers think I am incompetent! I give my report late and I am allover the place when I am doing it. I don't know if I can do this anymore! I did very well at school ( I am a new grad) and now I feel like a total failure! I usually cry after my shift is done and I hate going to work. I only have few helpful co-workers that answer my questions and ask if I need help! The rest are old nurses that have been on the floor for years and are just there to do their job and leave! I am scared to make a mistake, I am scared to fail and I am mostly scared to be a bad nurse!

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Just some thoughts...I'm sure some Med-Surg nurses can chime in and give you some pointers, but I am willing to bet it gets better. Think about things you can do to be efficient and organized throughout the day. Take note of & adopt your co-workers' routines if you notice they are particularly efficient. If you feel that patient safety could be compromised in any way, ask for assistance. Get plenty of rest, and don't forget to feed your face.

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I think many will agree that this is usually a normal feeling as a new graduate. Stay focused and organized and everything should fall right in place. Don't forget to ask questions(better than making mistakes). Take your time and think through everything you do. Don't feel rushed because that is where the mistakes come in. Although the medical floor is a great place to acquire most basic nursing skills, it is not for everyone. If things don't work out, find another area of nursing which you love and go for it. Best of luck to you

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Ok deep breath. It's only been 4 weeks. Relax.Your feelings are completely normal and believe me it gets better. The real world is a whole lot different than school.You will become better at time management and your reports will become more coherent. You will have time for breaks and you won't feel like you have been scrambling all day.Yes you will have days that all you want to do is cry. These days will become fewer and fewer. Before you know it you will be hitting that one year mark and you will wonder where the time has gone. Don't be afraid ask questions or ask for help. Hang in there. You didn't all that work in school to just quit.

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I am not a nurse in Canada so I don't really know how long orientation is for a new gradin Canada but... 4 weeks seems kind of short for a new nurse straight out ofnursing school. Perhaps you can ask for a couple more weeks of orientation.Explain that you feel overwhelmed and need more time working with another nurseto learn a better "routine" and to become more comfortable on yourfloor (things like time management, how to do better med passes, better end ofshift report, task management, etc). And don't be afraid to ask for a differentnurse to orientate with if that was part of the problem. Do whatever you needto so that you feel more comfortable and gain some confidence. Best of luck!

Oh... just remembered. Do you work days or nights? Nights have a completelydifferent pace. Nights tend to be a little slower (less doctors around, less proceduresand tests pt going for, less night time meds to pass out). Anyway, what I amtrying to say is that if you still feel overwhelmed maybe you can talk to yourmanager and see if there is a night position open on your unit. Nights willgive you the time to gain more confidence and to become better at your skillsthat you are developing now that you are out of nursing school.

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The busy day, and inadequate breaks is fairly common on any medical floors. But it will get better! As you gain experience, confidence and learn how to manage your time.

I will say however don't make the next shift wait for report. Nothing is more frusterating waiting 20 plus min to get report, it puts me behind in turn. Give report, then finish your charting ect.

PoetInAHat- 4 weeks is pretty average if not good for a medical floor

Hang in there! It will get better

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Specializes in geriatrics.

It takes an average of 7 months to a year before you start feeling remotely competent on ANY unit as a new grad. The beginning stages are rough, and med surg floors are hell these days. Your feelings are normal. Hang in there and be open to learning. Just give it time. Everything will eventually come together.

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I am so sorry for your experience! 3 weeks of orientation for a new grad in acute care is not sufficient, in my opinion. I was an LPN for 7 years (with hospital experience) before I became an RN, and I still received 3 months of orientation with a preceptor when I got my first job as an RN in a hospital. I am very surprised with the short orientation at your facility. There is no shame in requesting to go back in orientation for some additional training! If that is not an option, you can take that as a sign that your employer does not have the proper resources to invest in new grads; and it may be time to move on to an environment where you will be able to thrive.

Also, do you work days or nights? If you are on days, maybe you could make a request to go to nightshift (if you can) in order to be able to get into the swing of things without there being so many tasks to perform & so many people looking over your shoulders. There may be less help at night, but sometimes its easier to get and stay organized when there is downtime and you can begin to plan out your night and fall into a routine of sorts (although nursing is anything but routine). :yes:

Even after you start to feel more comfortable, there will be situations that come up that you may be unsure of. That is not imcompetence, its acknowledging that you are human and dont always have all of the answers. That is okay, no one does! Be confident enough to know what you know, but be humble enough to ask for help when needed. Just like any other profession, it gets easier with time. I promise!

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Give report when it is time to give it. The reason is you can give report to the next nurse and they assume care of the patient. You can get your charting done and get out of there. If you don't then patient A is calling out for pain meds, patient D needs to use the bathroom. You will never leave! Plus I'm sure your aide has left and you are stuck doing everything. It may sound mean but it is true. The next nurse can start their shift, the next aide and nurse can help the patient calling out and you can finish up your work an go home.

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I know it's scary, but stick with it. The thing is, if you quit and found another job, you would be going through the same process all over again. Eventually, if you kept quitting, then you wouldn't be hired anywhere. Stick it out and get some experience. If you do get to a point of wanting to quit, line another job up first,

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Threads merged.....moved for best response.

The first year is the hardest...what you need are a few good brain sheets here are a few made for the users of AN!

You need a good brain sheet.......here are a few.

5 Pt. Shift.doc

1 patient Float.doc

MTPMedSurg (2).doc

Report Sheet.doc

FinalGraduateShiftReport.doc

DAY SHEET 2 doc.doc

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What you are feeling is completely normal! Adjusting to being on your own is a difficult transition. 4 weeks of orientation is FAR too short! You mention there are some nurses you feel comfortable with. Maybe you could "adopt" one as your mentor??? Just make sure they have their stuff together before choosing (of course, you can choose more than one!).

Try to prioritize your day. Look at med times, wound care/treatments that you need to do. You can do it on your report sheet at the bottom. Start your day by making "rounds" to each of your patients... "Good morning, Mr./Mrs. So and so! My name is ___ and I will be your nurse today. Is there anything I can do for you right now? Are you having any pain?" Keep it brief and to the point. If there is an immediate need, attend to it then if you can. If not, attend to it when you bring medications in. I will usually tell my patients an approximate time that I will be back in the room with meds and ask them if I can bring them pain medication, etc at that time. They almost always say yes. Try to cluster your care for each patient and get as much done as you can at one time.

Keeping a checklist of what charting needs to be done, phone calls/emails, etc. is helpful too. You'll soon find yourself in a "natural" routine. ("Natural routines" don't always work though, so you do have to always be on the lookout for better ways of doing things).

As for report, try to follow SBAR Situation (The patient is Mr/Mrs. So and so, age, date of admission, patient of Dr. ____, here for _____, code status is ____) Background (Medical history) Assessment (physical assessment, any lines, drains, tubes, individual supervision, feeder, transfer status, etc.) Recommendation (Your professional opinion regarding what the next step should be... keep in mind, this will not always be carried through because of differing nursing opinions, but it gives the oncoming nurse something to consider).

It is often difficult to get done with everything before shift report time, but everyone needs to find a way to be ready for report on time as often as possible (we all understand that at times it just isn't going to happen, but it should happen most of the time). It is so frustrating to start your day running 30 plus minutes behind because someone wasn't ready, not to mention the potential problems the patients may have (missed accuchecks, late meds, etc.). This is where planning your day (with flexibility built in) will come in handy. Ask trusted nurses for tips.

Try to keep casual conversation to a minimum during report, as well as opinions about the patient's personality and body! Believe it or not, I see this daily. I once had a nurse take 30 min (GRR!) to give me report on two patients, who were NOT complex! Half the time was (seriously) spent on describing the physical shape of the person's orifice!!! This was NOT a medical ailment of any kind... just the way the person was made. Completely inappropriate! (Not to say that this is what you do, it was just an example to illustrate the importance of sticking to the facts in report).

I used to actually ask nurses that I trusted to "guide" me during report. You could try this too, you'll learn quickly what other nurses want to know in report.

Sorry so long... just a lot of info I wish someone had given me. :)

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