Stressed new nurse

[IamRN08]

Hi, I am a new nurse working on a med/surg peds floor going on about a month now. I am stressed out of my mind to say the very least. I would love some feedback from people who are new (but not as new as me) as well as those who have experience under their belt.

I am so stressed out I my body is starting to fall part to a point. I am not sleeping well and now taking meds to sleep. I knew it would be different from school but I just never knew it would be *THIS* different. This is my 2nd career and in all my past jobs I have always felt capable and competent but now I am just shot mentally, spiritually, and more and more physically as the days roll by.

People at my job are nice to me and I have been *accepted* into the internal workings as it were which I know is hard for new nurses to do. So for that I am grateful but wow wow I just feel like I am chasing my butt all night around there just trying to cross my T's and dot my i's.

From what I am reading from some other new nurses this is a typical state and from what I hear from those with like a year time in it will pass but what can I do RIGHT NOW to get through this insanity?

Honestly, I feel like I need to see a shrink that is how stressed I am. Each day I am questioning my job choice. I want to quit SO bad but I have children and bills and I just worked really hard to get to this point so a small part of me wants to fight this out but the bigger part of me is just tired, and stressed.

PLEASE throw some tips my way (and that of other newbies) to get through this insane time!

[Nantucket1979]

I have been an LPN since last Oct. I remember feeling the exact same way. It does get better. I say all the time that nothing makes you feel more stupid or insecure as being a new nurse. I firmly believe that nursing is all about experience this is what makes you a great nurse. Remember that organization is the key and staying on top of things don't let them build up. I work in long term care and at my facility I so it all. I hope that this experience helps me after I take my RN NCLEX in the next month. I am hoping to be where you are on a med/surg floor. I just say stick with it and remember that you are human and cannot do it all it is a 24 hour facility for a reason, prioritize and do what you can. Hope this helped.

[jjjoy, LPN]

I LOVE interacting with patients, but the loads are so high that it seems the only people who are on top of everything are the nurses who I think are not so patient-friendly. I had a very different idea of what nursing would be, and I hate getting pulled in twenty different directions and not really being able to give the patient care you learn about in the ideal world of nursing school. I feel nauseous on the days I wake up for work, and on the days I am home I cannot get anything done because I feel catatonic.

I could've written that!!!

[Cfitz]

This is really funny to think about and read. I kind of had a little bit of a breakdown this afternoon after I realized I missed a doctor's apt. because I had no idea what day it was. I feel like I'm losing my mind.

I just had my first night out of orientation the other day and I nearly started crying by the time I left. I realized a couple things I forgot to do and I've pretty much stressed out over work my whole 3 days off. I pray and hope all the time that I don't make a big mistake. I try so hard and try to focus and get everything done but sometimes I just can't believe the kind of work and tasks they expect us to accomplish in a 12 hours time. I know you can always stay over and finish up but seriously. It blows my mind, really. I talked to my husband about what I could go back to school for and how I could make good money in something else. I feel that bad. I am almost on the verge of crying just thinking about it. The only thing that is holding me together is the fact that everyone tells me 'it will get better.'

I'm really scared. Did I make the right choice? Is this really for me? These are the questions that constantly trickle through my head and wear me down. Just know that you are not the only one that feels overwhelmed and it's nice to know that I'M not the only one that feels overwhelmed.

I feel ya, big time. I am constantly amazed at how similar so many of our stories are. At this age (44) I realized working in the hospital is just not for me, although many my age and older do it, and do it well. It just wasn't my thing. I'm looking in other places right now and I am cautiously optimistic about finding something else. I just know He has something for each of us.

I had to leave before it "got better" because I was getting absolutely NO sleep and couldn't function like that. But if you are able to sleep during the day then yes, I do believe it will get better for you with time. Hang in there - I think I might have quit too soon, but I can't imagine going on no sleep for more than a few days... I hope it gets better for you.

[Cfitz]

I am in the same boat, questioning is this really for me? Did I blow several years of my life in nursing school for THIS where I feel like a slave and work 14 hours (supposed to be 12) without ever having the time to go to the bathroom or eat? (Yesterday, none of the nurses on my unit took a lunch or went to the bathroom, and one was joking she is probably going to get toxic shock syndrome because she never had time to get to the bathroom to change her tampon!) Will the stress and the lifestyle kill me or take decades off my life? This is a second career for me as well, and I never felt so incompetent in my previous jobs. I took time off when I had kids to stay home with them, and my skills for my first career (computer programmer/analyst) became obsolete, and instead of updating them, I went to nursing school. Now I am wondering what the heck I did to myself, and I daydream about what OTHER degree I could pursue to make a decent paycheck without compromising my health and without completely checking out on my family.

I thought in school that prereqs took a lot of time, but I love school and didn't mind. Once I was in nursing school, I could not believe the stress and looked back at how easy prereqs were. I pretty much hated NS, but I was driven work toward my goal. Now that I am a nurse, I look back at NS and think at least I got regular pats on the back in the form of grades. I am so stressed out in orientation because it seems like there is SO much to learn. I only have a couple weeks left, and I can't imagine how stressed I will be when I am on my own. If I had known that it all would have just gotten progressively more stressful and that I would feel like this was slave labor, I doubt I would have pursued this route. I LOVE interacting with patients, but the loads are so high that it seems the only people who are on top of everything are the nurses who I think are not so patient-friendly. I had a very different idea of what nursing would be, and I hate getting pulled in twenty different directions and not really being able to give the patient care you learn about in the ideal world of nursing school. I feel nauseous on the days I wake up for work, and on the days I am home I cannot get anything done because I feel catatonic.

My only hope is that I have heard over and over that it does get better. I hope that is true.

Holy schmoly, you are me. I can't get over the similarities in our stories. And I agree with you 100% about the stress and slave labor. It is RIDICULOUS. I just don't think the hospital is for everyone. I know good and well it isn't for me. I said it before and I'll say it again - I'm not killing myself for a JOB. The pay is decent (but not decent enough) but it's not worth my sanity, my health and my family's wellbeing. It's just not.

I'm in the process of seeking other ways to work as a nurse. I pray something comes through or I'm afraid my nursing days are over before they began.

[vonsay]

I totally understand how you feel. I received my license in May and started working in June. Everyday that I went in to to work I would tell myself that it would be my last day there. I was so stressed and so confused about half and what I was being taught. I had never seen so much paperwork in my life and the preceptors were not good teachers either.

After about a month things began to get a little better, at two months I was still confused about some things but still it got even better. It DOES get better trust me!

I think what messes up a lot of new nurses it that we don't really know what we are getting ourselves into while we are in school. So reality slaps us in the face once we get into the "real" world and boy is that a big giant slap!

So through the grieving process of coming to grips with "reality" it becomes very difficult. It will get better! I tell myself this everyday....

It also helps a great amount to get a shift that your body works with. When I was on days I was a mess. I absolutely hate getting up early and takes me hours to finally "wake" up in the morning. I started my shift at 7 and wasn't really with it until about 9. Now I am on afternoons which are really good for my biological clock. So I am now alert and oriented x 3 for the whole day! LOL

[Cfitz]

I totally understand how you feel. I received my license in May and started working in June. Everyday that I went in to to work I would tell myself that it would be my last day there. I was so stressed and so confused about half and what I was being taught. I had never seen so much paperwork in my life and the preceptors were not good teachers either.

After about a month things began to get a little better, at two months I was still confused about some things but still it got even better. It DOES get better trust me!

I think what messes up a lot of new nurses it that we don't really know what we are getting ourselves into while we are in school. So reality slaps us in the face once we get into the "real" world and boy is that a big giant slap!

So through the grieving process of coming to grips with "reality" it becomes very difficult. It will get better! I tell myself this everyday....

It also helps a great amount to get a shift that your body works with. When I was on days I was a mess. I absolutely hate getting up early and takes me hours to finally "wake" up in the morning. I started my shift at 7 and wasn't really with it until about 9. Now I am on afternoons which are really good for my biological clock. So I am now alert and oriented x 3 for the whole day! LOL

What are your work hours?

[vonsay]

3pm to 11:30pm