Struggeling New Grad working in the med surg floor.

Nurses New Nurse

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Hi everyone!

This December would be my first year after nursing licensure.

I have been working in the Med Surg Floor for 3 months now. i work night shifts. i had 2 months of orientation and its been a month now since i worked own my own. i have good and bad nights. this past few weeks was always been the bad nights. specially last night.

I feel like i am struggling nurse. i feel like im so slow with everything! charting, giving meds, discharging patient and admitting patients. i ask so many questions to my charge nurse and other nurses and i feel like im such a pain and just added trouble to their work. they are not saying anything to me but i just feel like they had enough of my questions. i feel so frustrated and just feels down because i dont think i am productive enough as a nurse. i want to be the best nurse that i can be but some of the things i really dont know like chest tubes, some med clarifications, blood transfusions and other nursing procedures.

sometimes i cry when i get to my car after work because i feel like i messed up. like surgery check list that i didnt not even go half way and when the nurse asked me did you do the check list i just said no.. the patient is scheduled at 1300 hr and i just thought that the next shift can do most of it because i stiil need consent from a family member because the patient was not capable of signing anything.

anyway.. it takes me double the time to admit and discharge patients than other nurses. and sometimes i forget to do some of the charting and i just remember when i get home. :( i just feel so frustrated, discourage and sad.

will i ever feel competent enough?? had other nurses felt the same way?? am i alone feeling this way??

thank u for listening..

mochafrap

Specializes in Pediatrics - hoping to get into the NICU.

hi all. i work on a pedi med/surg floor. im suppose to be on my own next week and im kind of scare. i am doing my overnight/off shift orientation this week. i still feel like im doing bad eventhough all my preceptors say that i am doing great......i dont see it. my thing to get me through is to pray and ask God to be with as I go and work with my patients. i also pray for His wisdom.... i still have alot to learn.

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Specializes in Cardiac Step-down.

I feel so defeated...what happened? The first 3 days on nights were awesome, went smoother than a criminal, (This is month 3 of orientation on a hectic Tele/Step-down unit), and the last two have been simply, self-defeating, frustrating hell. I'm on my own this Sunday and tonight is my last night on orientation. I started having having panic attacks a few weeks ago, which I've never had before. Work haunts my dreams. My preceptor told me today at the end of the shift when I stayed over to finish all of my charting from the heavy load I have that she thought I was doing really well, but that I just get too flustered and lose track when something aberrant happens. She's partially right; I do get flustered really easily and I know that's gonna have to change if I want to not drop dead of a simultaneous heart/head implosion. However, mostly it's just because I'm slow and cautious; if I went at the speed she and some of the others went, I would hurt people, probably myself as well. I hope they are lighter on my assignments in the beginning or my computer may be in danger of drowning due to some major eye leakage as I seek solace on allnurses... I guess I just gotta restrategize and work around my relative slowness, which is fundamentally a disability at this point...

I want to talk to my patients and listen to their stories... there's just no time though... one of the greatest tragedies of all. Maybe I should be a psych nurse- I think I might be good at that... or I should've just followed my head and been a biochemist instead...

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I'm so thankful to be reading all of these responses- I've felt SO alone! I am a new grad on a busy med/surg floor, I am on days- which is like a war zone- and I have now finished my 8 wk orientation and am on my own this Sunday. I'm terrified...I do not feel ready...I feel I suck... I feel I couldn't possibly be trying any harder- I truly am doing my best and I feel it is just not good enough... I feel that my preceptor gives me a lot of 'constructive criticism' but not much positive reinforcement... I didn't realize how incredibly HARD and STRESSFUL this transition would be. I've had some awful experiences so far with the dr's (one actually said to me after I introduced myself to him "Why do I care who you are?")... I've had veteran nurses be ***** toward me during shift change because of what I failed to do... I drive home crying often.... and to top it off I find it VERY hard to de-stress on my days off. Aghhh!! I'm so glad to know that there are others out there feeling the same, it means I'm not defective. Thanks so much everyone for sharing on here. :crying2::eek::mad:

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Really appreciate all the stories.

My experience was totally unexpected because NS was great and I actually loved school. It was a second career for me. I am in my 40s, have experience in many fields, raising 2 kids, and been through some tough things in my life. BUT I could not handle floor nursing- it almost killed me.

I graduated last year, got a job 2 months later. It was not my first choice, but with only 3 interviews and 1 offer, I felt a little pressure to take it. Sounded good though: regular stuff, preceptor, 8 weeks orientation, training, etc.

Reality was a little different. No preceptor- just following an available nurse ( some absolutely hated it). Second day on the floor (ever) I had to take a pt because she "fired" my nurse. Did all care while the nurse stood outside the door. I couldn't chart or get into the pixis. After 5 weeks, I was on my own. Started getting full assignments of 6-8 patients. Then my 3rd day out of orientation I had 6 pts and 2 STUDENTS! It was overwhelming. I loved the pts and families, teaching, counseling, etc. BUT there was no time for all that. Any mention of stress was brushed aside and I was made to feel guilty. the floor was crazy, understaffed, etc.

I started getting major problems (dr couldn't find physical reasons)- heart palpitations, lost 25 lbs in 2 months, hair falling out, n/v almost daily, sleeping and crying on days off. I dreaded going in every day. I knew it was really bad when I started having thoughts of injury to avoid work. It's terrible to admit, but I wanted to drop a rock on my foot so I couldn't go in.

My hubby confronted me because he was worried about my health and also that I'd start drinking!

I quit the job after 90 days. It might have been too quick, but I was losing it. It's been 5 months & I am healthy again- even my hair. I've Been substituting and working at my kids' school, doing home improvement projects, reading, and cooking real meals. I'm happy.

I might try to go back in another area or even go back to grad school in education or counseling- things I loved about the job. Not sure what to do right now, but that's okay.

Thanks to all of you for sharing & best of luck!

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Specializes in med-surg, MCH home visiting.

it is so helpful to read these posts. i had a 3 month orientation, but honestly i didn't feel prepared to go on the floor myself. my last preceptor didn't take much iniative to work with me on my goals for the week, and i feel like my learning came to a hault the last 5 weeks. but anyways i have been on the floor of the surgical unit for 2 weeks now.

i don't enjoy being there! i'm hoping i will enjoy it more once i can feel more comfortable and confident in my role as a nurse. i am still intimidated by IV's... ugg. i take it day by day. it is discouraging when you are trying your best and then the next nurse on shift starts pointing out all the things you forgot to do. i'm not trying to do a bad job. honest!!

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Really appreciate all the stories.

My experience was totally unexpected because NS was great and I actually loved school. It was a second career for me. I am in my 40s, have experience in many fields, raising 2 kids, and been through some tough things in my life. BUT I could not handle floor nursing- it almost killed me.

I graduated last year, got a job 2 months later. It was not my first choice, but with only 3 interviews and 1 offer, I felt a little pressure to take it. Sounded good though: regular stuff, preceptor, 8 weeks orientation, training, etc.

Reality was a little different. No preceptor- just following an available nurse ( some absolutely hated it). Second day on the floor (ever) I had to take a pt because she "fired" my nurse. Did all care while the nurse stood outside the door. I couldn't chart or get into the pixis. After 5 weeks, I was on my own. Started getting full assignments of 6-8 patients. Then my 3rd day out of orientation I had 6 pts and 2 STUDENTS! It was overwhelming. I loved the pts and families, teaching, counseling, etc. BUT there was no time for all that. Any mention of stress was brushed aside and I was made to feel guilty. the floor was crazy, understaffed, etc.

I started getting major problems (dr couldn't find physical reasons)- heart palpitations, lost 25 lbs in 2 months, hair falling out, n/v almost daily, sleeping and crying on days off. I dreaded going in every day. I knew it was really bad when I started having thoughts of injury to avoid work. It's terrible to admit, but I wanted to drop a rock on my foot so I couldn't go in.

My hubby confronted me because he was worried about my health and also that I'd start drinking!

I quit the job after 90 days. It might have been too quick, but I was losing it. It's been 5 months & I am healthy again- even my hair. I've Been substituting and working at my kids' school, doing home improvement projects, reading, and cooking real meals. I'm happy.

I might try to go back in another area or even go back to grad school in education or counseling- things I loved about the job. Not sure what to do right now, but that's okay.

Thanks to all of you for sharing & best of luck!

Your story rings entirely true for me...I too have had fantasies of injury as a way of escaping my current job. Similar story, went to NS as second career, raising four kids, (two done two in HS,) did well in NS and felt good about myself, have handled a lot in my 52 years. Floor nursing is breaking me, my spirit, and I question on a daily level what I was possibly thinking when I signed up to be a nurse. I recently heard nursing described as a pink-collar sweatshop and I couldn't agree more. Another similarity...my husband has voiced many times that he is worried about me and my health as a result of the stress I'm under and my generalized level of misery.

Good for you for doing what any self-loving, mature, sensible person would do...I'm getting awfully close to making a similar move.

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Specializes in med-surg, MCH home visiting.

that is one nice thing about nursing. just because you don't like working in the hospital doesn't mean you have to give up nursing all together. there are so many different area's to explore. that's what i keep telling myself anyways! :)

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eyeball- my heart goes out to you. I haven't shared my story before & no one in my real life knows all the details. It's a relief to finally get it off my chest and know i'm not alone. I'm really sorry that so many of us are experiencing this.

I am hearing more and more "why did I do this" "I thought nursing would be ...." Did we all have an old fashioned view of the job? The nurses in my family loved what they did and were well respected. It has changed it seems. Or maybe I was just in a bad place-

Honestly, I am very blessed to have the ability to just quit. My hubby supports the family and encourages me to go back to school- he says I was happier then. I hope you can find a way to make a change.

I wish you the best.

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I feel the grief, I am a brand new nurse, who just recently started on a PCU floor. I have 5 more days of orientation, and I still feel as though I have not got what I need, but I feel it will come with time and experience rome was not built in a day and neither is nursing care, documentation, so take your time and care for your pt, and not causing harm or neglect. I think this is the most important matter of being a nurse I am being precepted by 2-3 different nurses and they all have their own way of educating,and are always telling me how much time it should take to do certain task. I do not like rushing because then there could be mistakes make, so I still take my time. I rather be a little slow than be going to court.

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