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

[mcpnurse]

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

[AnaCatRN]

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!

Oh, I loved that book! My first RN job gave all the new RN residents a copy.

To the OP: Do you study on your own time? Do you re-read your textbooks or the policies and procedures from your unit/hospital (to possibly save your license or avoid losing a lawsuit someday, I implore you to get to know your hospital's policies and procedures very intimately ASAP)? We were not taught everything we need to know in nursing school, not even for a job in med/surg. It is the new nurse's responsibility to study and learn the material necessary to properly care for patients. If your unit sees a lot of something, you need to study up on it! You need to not only have your lab values memorized (based on your facility's ranges), but what those values mean to your patients' conditions. By studying the pathophysiology of the diseases and conditions you see, you will know when to call the RT, MD, etc. Experience (which can only come with time), will also teach you.

Your preceptors should back you up and answer questions you have during your shift (gotta keep the patients safe), but you do need to be able to learn to find answers for yourself. You won't have a preceptor forever. However, if your preceptor is not helping you, or there is a major personality conflict, ask for a new one! Do not set yourself up for failure by accepting inadequate preceptors.

No, you're not gonna get paid for doing this "homework." The hospital is paying you the full rate a nurse gets on the assumption that you are supposed to be studying on your own time at home. Many new nurses don't understand that. Until you are off orientation (or residency, whatever your situation is), you are not really "worth" the full pay because you're not doing the full job yet (you can't - you don't know enough yet). You will never in your career stop learning on your own time (Heaven help your patients if you ever think you're done studying and learning), so you need to get used to it now. The more you study and apply what you're learning on the job, the more confident you will become. It does take time, but it will happen for you! Don't give up, and do give yourself the best chance for success by studying everything you can!