So grateful to have a job but I'm hating it =(

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Hi Everyone... Just need a place to vent a little..

I started my first RN job on 1st week of April. I was so excited and grateful to land this job after searching for 8 mos. after graduation. I'm now working at a med/surg unit.... (which isn't what I want but I want the experience) ... but now after 2 weeks of working, I feel dumb at work, overwhelmed .... and I'm hating it. I thought my rotations at school have prepared me well but once I start getting my own patients, it's so different and it's very tough! Esp. the critical thinking part ... I just can't seem to put all the pieces together right now. sigh

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I think that most new nurses feel this way regardless of where they start to work. Did you get any sort of orientation/training to the floor? Med/Surg is very hard, but in time hopefully you will begin to feel more comfortable with it. Good luck and congrats on the job! :yeah: :nurse:

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I get 6 weeks of orientation. This is my 2nd week and I started out with 1 patient to 3 and working my way up. I feel scared when taking care of my patients, have a feeling of not knowing what to do next... my preceptor isn't so helpful whenever I ask her questions. I'm also having trouble with documenting b/c I don't know what to write, don't want to be too detailed or too brief.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

This is NORMAL. Until you feel comfortable with your job, you will probably feel like you hate it and you dread coming to work. Just give it time, and you will become a skilled and proficient nurse, and you will most likely no longer hate it.

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Specializes in PICU/Pedi.

Hang in there! I have had several nurses tell me recently that thay felt the same way for the first 6 months or year of nursing, and then it all came together. You can do it!! (we need a Rosie the Riveter smilie on this forum)

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

It usually takes six to twelve months for the typical new nurse to feel comfortable and be able to exude some confidence in a bedside nursing setting. Also, critical thinking skills are not learned overnight. Rather, you receive some exposure to it while in school, and it is cultivated while in the workplace over a period of time.

Just keep on truckin' because it will get better progressively. Good luck to you!

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Specializes in ICU, Education, Peri-op.

I felt the same way and that was 20 years ago! Something that helped me was Patricia Benner's book From Novice to Expert. It helped me to understand where I was in my skills and give me a practical goal to work toward. Good luck and hang on!

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Specializes in ED.

So absolutely normal to feel this way, and it does take a while! Nursing is not your run of the mill job where after a few weeks of repitition you've got it down. Its very challenging, but that's part of the beauty of it! You WILL get better and begin to feel more comfortable with time and experience. Seek out mentors. They don't necessarily have to be your assigned preceptor. Never stop asking questions! No matter the number of years experience under your belt you will never know it all. And you're never alone! There were days when I would confide into nurses that had been in the field longer than me saying "Sometimes I really feel like I don't know what I'm doing..." and they'd say "Oh, I feel that way all the time!". Give yourself some time and credit. You've got this ;)

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I started out in a med/surg type floor as a RN after being a LPN for over 5 years. I felt just like you do. And any new nurse that says otherwise is fooling themselves. Take each day as it comes, learn as much as you can - it will come together. You will not learn everything in orientation, but as long as you get the basics down and know where to go for any new questions, you will be fine.

I ditto the 6-12 months time frame. But you should always be learning something new - even years later.

Take care and keep with it! :)

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Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, LTC.

med/surg totally sucks the first 6 months. Then it just sucks the next 6 months. Then it gets a little better... Hang in there. Just stick it out a year before switching, you won't be sorry 5 years from now!

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thanks everyone for you encouragement. I'm trying very hard to think of the positives. I just have some questions... which i think it stupid to ask. How do I know when to call the respiratory therapist? the nutrionist? the doctor? if for example: a pt refuses to eat their meals, and they're on a special diet... what do I do? do i tell the nutrionist or the doc? How can i improve my documentations so I don't have to spend hours on progress notes? I just don't know how to word things sometimes... and lets say doc orders antibiotics piggyback 1 g, daily IV ...and no rate is stated... what do I enter in the pump for rate ? as for VTBI, that is the total volume that's in the bag , correct? see... questions like this my preceptor could've answered but she said figure it out on my own. My unit is very short staffed... so I don't even see the other nurses around for me to even ask questions ... :cool:

thank you everyone for letting me bother you!

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Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, LTC.
:confused: your preceptor should be answering all of that stuff. Can you ask for a new preceptor?
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