For some, there's always a "reason" to look for a new job: your co-workers are mean, your schedule sucks, you weren't made to work night shift or a thousand other excuses. There is no perfect job, and the grass really isn't always greener. In fact, it almost never is. The secret to loving your job isn't getting the perfect job . . . it's loving the job that you have
"The nurses here are all mean to me -- it's a hostile work environment."
Actual excuse for leaving her fourth job in 12 months -- and remarkably similar to her reasons for leaving the other three jobs.
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"They're all bullies and pick on me for no reason!"
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"Crowds of mean people are following me all around!"
While I won't deny that bullies exist, there aren't any more bullies in nursing than there are in the general population. If you're having that much trouble with bullies, it's time to do some serious self examination. Chances are REAL good that it isn't THEM, it's YOU.
If you're having problems getting along with others, and those problems follow you from job to job, it's time to take a step back and figure out what it is that you're doing to irritate every co-worker you encounter. It took me too long to figure out that the co-workers in my second job really didn't want to hear how we did things in my first job. It took one particularly straightforward LPN asking me "IF it was so wonderful there, why did you leave?" to make me stop and think about what I was doing -- after I cried for awhile and blamed my coworkers for making my life miserable. After I figured things out, my coworkers were suddenly much nicer. It wasn't them, it was me.
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"It's a horrible work environment! I never get any praise, all they do is tell me what I'm doing wrong!"
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"I don't know what they want from me! I show up every day!"
(Real complaints from real new grads, neither of whom is still employed as a nurse. One of them is asking "do you want fries with that?" and the other is trying to convince her landlords that since they gave birth to her, she shouldn't have to pay rent.)
Not all of today's new grads by a long shot, but many of them, have been raised in the land of "everyone gets a trophy for just showing up" and parents who praised every move they made. I've heard that's a generational thing. Whether it is or isn't a generational thing, and perhaps it's a sweeping generalization, part of growing up is to realize that you aren't going to get praised for every soft, formed bowel movement or perfect attendance record. In the work world, you WILL hear about it when you screw up. Of course you will -- screwing up can kill someone, and even if you squeak by without killing someone THIS time, you may not be so lucky NEXT time. You may hear about it if you have a terrific idea that saves lives or money. On the other hand, sometimes your boss takes credit for the idea. You won't hear about it if you just do your job -- that's what they hired you for, and that's what they expect you to do. Learn to take pride in doing your job well, with or without praise from outside parties.
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"I'm miserable on nights -- I'm going to find a job that's straight days."
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"Some people just can't adjust to nights, and after a week, I know I'm one of them!"
The truth of the matter is that most of us are miserable on nights until we learn how to do them successfully -- which can take months. We can't sleep when we need to, can't stay awake when we have to and are nauseated when we're not ravenously hungry. We think slower, we move slower and we hate life sometimes. That's a normal part of night shift, and feeling that way doesn't make you special. It makes you normal. I know a lot of nurses who have shot themselves in the foot by changing jobs over and over in pursuit of day shift. They wind up in a specialty they don't like or a hospital with poor benefits and then they want to change jobs again.
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"My schedule sucks! This job is killing my social life!"
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"I can't work CHRISTMAS! I have small kids/lonely parents/a solo every year in the church choir!"
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"I don't know why the OLD nurses get such a good schedule and mine sucks!"
Chances are, the old nurse has a better schedule than you because she's been there for ten years and has seniority. Or maybe she's not constantly complaining about her schedule because she's accustomed to it and has made it work for her. One of the beauties of our profession is the flexible scheduling. If you absolutely cannot stand the thought of being at work while everyone else is at the barbecue, perhaps you shouldn't be looking for work in a hospital. If you are working or looking for work in a hospital because only some acute care experience will further your career goals, suck it up and live with the schedule for the two years it will take you to become competent in your job. There's a lot to be said for a "sucky schedule." I personally love going to the movies with my nurse friends on a Tuesday afternoon when no one else is there and the price of a ticket is only $6. Having three days off during the week is prime time to take the boat to that wonderful anchorage all our dock mates are raving about -- and we're the only boat there! Even the most crowded nation and state parks have a free camp site or two, and in the winter the ski lines are minimal. If you're married and have kids you can minimize child care costs by working when your husband is home.
Here's the truth:
Most people are exactly as happy as they make up their minds to be. You cannot choose what happens to you, but you can choose how to react to it.
Happiness comes not from getting whatever you want, but from wanting whatever you have.
And a final piece of wisdom -- wherever you go, you take yourself with you.
I'm still a newbie I think.... August will be one year. I started a job working private duty with the understanding that I would work some nights, but mostly days. I have yet to work a day shift since I've been employed. Turns out it actually works for me and I don't mind at all. I have picked up last minute shifts every single time my boss has asked me to. (I really do want a good reference if I ever decide to leave), but I had to put my foot down when my boss wanted me to pick up a 12 hour shift on my only day off that week. She seriously expected me to work 7 night shifts in a row. Glad I'm finally developing a back bone, had she asked me that within the first 3 months working there I would have accepted and been completely miserable.
Before I became a registered nurse I was a job hopper, I left for so many different excuses.. if you name it, then I've used it only to find myself at another job with yet another excuse on why I hated it. I did always seem to stick around long enough and left in a mature, responsible manner so I was re-hired on many occasions by previous employers.
I also think when referring to the generation that have this "everyone gets a trophy mentality" as new grads is unfair. I am a new grad, but I'm also 31 with two children and I def. do not have this mentality. Why don't we just call it like it is and call them the Generation Y
I think nurses who look down on "job hoppers" are often selling themselves short. The thing is that nobody values nurses - the hospital sees us as disposable people who have a "calling" and will work in all kinds of awful conditions because we're so nice and self-sacrificing, and then other nurses believe that they should stay with jobs no matter what for fear of being labeled a job hopper. I don't believe in any of that. I believe I am valuable and not just a cog in the machine. I don't care if I get recognized for doing a good job. I don't care if people don't like me - for the most part my coworkers are great. There are only two people in the unit I think of as bullies, and only one that I'm sure doesn't like me. What I do care about is not getting taken advantage of. In other professions that require people to be educated and skilled, employees can generally expect raises and good benefits. I accidentally saw over a coworker's shoulder a few days ago that he is only making $1.50 more per hour than I am - and I am still making my starting new grad salary and he's been with the hospital for six years. So, yes - I have every intention of job hopping. I am going to take care of myself because it's quite clear that very few hospitals take care of their nurses now.
Maybe if hospitals started offering decent raises instead of stagnating their employees at low incomes and quit taking away benefits, people wouldn't want to job hop. Maybe if hospitals quit cutting support staff and increasing patient ratios, people wouldn't want to job hop. Geez, I haven't even been a nurse for a year yet and I've already seen my PTO cut and the hospital's insurance premium go up while the insurance got worse instead of better. Is staying through all of that really how we want to portray ourselves? Are we just doormats who will let the hospitals do anything at all to us? Personally, I think we matter and how we are treated matters, and if much more gets cut I will be job hopping my way out the door with no regrets. Yeah, it sucks for the experienced nurses who stay and have to train all of the new people - but maybe if you are being dumped on it's time for you to walk out, too. I feel like the experienced nurses who stay through all of the changes instead of standing up for themselves and finding better work environments are a big part of the problem. If every single person on a floor walked out and there was no staff at all, hospitals would have to treat their employees better. However, why would they do a thing to increase employee satisfaction when there are always people willing to sacrifice their pay and benefits just to avoid being labeled a job hopper, or for some misguided sense of loyalty to a company that cares nothing about them? If I was an employer trying to make as much profit as possible and I knew that people would still work for me if I cut their benefits and pay, I'd probably do it. Hospitals are businesses out to make a profit, and they are only as accountable to to their staff as the staff forces them to be.
I just graduated and wanted to apply for a position in the hospital in which I did my last rotation. I was told by my last clinical professor (who had worked as a manager in the unit for which I wanted to apply) that while she would write me a letter of recommendation, the unit would not hire me as she had helped two graduates from my school obtain positions there and both had quit within six months. Thus, the unit will no longer hire new grads from my school. While I understand and do not fault the hospital for this, as it is in their eyes a high risk/benefit equation, I have to admit I am somewhat livid that I have no chance based on the behavior of prior employees. Perhaps it is because I'm an "old" new nurse that I feel this way, but I cannot imagine quitting a job in a critical unit in under six months. One has barely completed orientation and still doesn't have a grasp on, well, most everything at that point. I met many new grads or seasoned nurses who had been hired into that unit during my rotation, so they are still taking new grads...just not from my school. It frosts my doughnuts, I must say, though again, I can understand why they've done it.
Market forces determine the quality of a job relative to others. If a job is worth staying for, then people will stay for it. If a job is unworthy of retaining the people who fill it, then no one will stay.
You aren't going to convince people to stay in situations where staying is no longer an attractive option.
This thread is reminiscent of shopkeepers who don't understand why their overpriced crap doesn't sell. "Just be happy with my ****** product and buy it!" Similarly, it's akin to country club owners who are calling their members disloyal for not renewing their annual memberships when a better country club opens up down the street. People aren't going to keep buying your crap when market forces have played a hand in providing people with better options. It's the same principle in the job market. It's called economics, folks.
If managers or organizations are becoming frustrated with constantly getting burned, then they have to do something about it. They aren't going to change the mentality of a generation even if that were part of the problem, which it isn't. Rather, they should incentivize people to stay in their undesirable positions through various modalities such as increased compensation, time off, autonomy.
There will always be job hoppers, nurses eating their young, generation Y's that think feel entitled, nurses that complain about working nights/holidays/weekends and etc. This is what we call nursing. Men and women with all different backgrounds, morals, personalities, and goals.
It is nice to vent here on AN, but at some point you just have to let it go and not allow it to bother you so much. Yes we are tired of being preceptors over and over and over and over again. Yes, we are tired of new grads quitting over the "littlest things". Okay, so you're tired of it. What are you actively doing about it? Okay, you haven't seen any improvements so what is next? I hope these posts are just venting and not harboring negative emotions of things that are beyond your control....
If you are tired of seeing these posts then don't read them. It is that simple. You see a post of a nurse saying" I'm being bullied or I hate nights already" don't read them if it bothers you that much for you to continue to post about it.
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I just graduated and wanted to apply for a position in the hospital in which I did my last rotation. I was told by my last clinical professor (who had worked as a manager in the unit for which I wanted to apply) that while she would write me a letter of recommendation, the unit would not hire me as she had helped two graduates from my school obtain positions there and both had quit within six months. Thus, the unit will no longer hire new grads from my school. While I understand and do not fault the hospital for this, as it is in their eyes a high risk/benefit equation, I have to admit I am somewhat livid that I have no chance based on the behavior of prior employees. Perhaps it is because I'm an "old" new nurse that I feel this way, but I cannot imagine quitting a job in a critical unit in under six months. One has barely completed orientation and still doesn't have a grasp on, well, most everything at that point. I met many new grads or seasoned nurses who had been hired into that unit during my rotation, so they are still taking new grads...just not from my school. It frosts my doughnuts, I must say, though again, I can understand why they've done it.
If I were you, I would contact the new manager directly. Write her a letter saying how much you want to work in her department. Acknowledge the problem with your peers, but emphasize that you have no intention of leaving within a year or less. Include the letter of reference from your instructor who was the previous manager.
I'm sorry that you are feeling the consequences of the actions of your peers. It's not fair, and it makes job hunting that much more difficult.
If I were you, I would contact the new manager directly. Write her a letter saying how much you want to work in her department. Acknowledge the problem with your peers, but emphasize that you have no intention of leaving within a year or less. Include the letter of reference from your instructor who was the previous manager.
I'm sorry that you are feeling the consequences of the actions of your peers. It's not fair, and it makes job hunting that much more difficult.
Thanks. I was thinking about doing that. It can't hurt to apply. While I understand I'm not god's gift to nursing, I would really appreciate a chance to interview. I don't usually take things personally, and I've always been fairly pragmatic, but it bothered me for some reason...perhaps because job-searching *IS* my job at this point and there isn't enough to fill my brain to keep me from self-analysis right now. :)
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
Thanks. I was thinking about doing that. It can't hurt to apply. While I understand I'm not god's gift to nursing, I would really appreciate a chance to interview. I don't usually take things personally, and I've always been fairly pragmatic, but it bothered me for some reason...perhaps because job-searching *IS* my job at this point and there isn't enough to fill my brain to keep me from self-analysis right now. :)
Just make sure you talk/write directly to the manager in addition to applying through HR. If you just go through HR, they may shut you down right away.
Hospitals are not nice places to be a floor nurse in 2014. I graduated with a BSN in 1978 and worked for 1 year on a med-surg floor, rotating days, evenings, nights, every other weekend, holidays, etc. The day after my 1 year commitment to that university hospital was fulfilled, I started working agency nursing and absolutely loved it.
I was able to work, through the agency, Monday through Friday, 7:00 to 3:30. This went on for 4 years. (I was trained to work MICU/SICU/CCU by the hospital. And I wasn't even an employee!)
That was when there truly was a nursing shortage. After that, I moved to California and worked in ICUs all over the place. There was a strict 2-patient maximum for RNs. The hours were great, the pay was fantastic. The working conditions were such that I never minded going to work. I enjoyed the actual work and learning new things every day. (This was during the very early days of AIDS, when it was called GRID.)
My colleagues were fun to be around. We were treated with respect by the physicians and management.
It seems that, now, the job is so different. Nurses don't have the time to do everything because staffing is poor and there aren't enough resources to allow them to do their jobs. It's really sad. In such working conditions, it is not surprising that people become tense towards each other and some nurses can't cope or don't want to stay in a certain unwelcoming environment. So they leave.
This post is exactly what is wrong with nursing. Get over yourself and your seemingly entitled sense of self and realize that not everyone will follow the path you took, that not everyone has to, and that not everyone wants to.
I don't have to work with their parents, so why would I go looking to blame them?
Because parents typically raise children the way they think best. If you're seeing an entire generation behave a certain way, you have to look at who made them that way. It doesn't solve the immediate problem, but will help you gain insight into why they behave the way they do.
NightNurseRN13
353 Posts
I'm still a newbie I think.... August will be one year. I started a job working private duty with the understanding that I would work some nights, but mostly days. I have yet to work a day shift since I've been employed. Turns out it actually works for me and I don't mind at all. I have picked up last minute shifts every single time my boss has asked me to. (I really do want a good reference if I ever decide to leave), but I had to put my foot down when my boss wanted me to pick up a 12 hour shift on my only day off that week. She seriously expected me to work 7 night shifts in a row. Glad I'm finally developing a back bone, had she asked me that within the first 3 months working there I would have accepted and been completely miserable.
Before I became a registered nurse I was a job hopper, I left for so many different excuses.. if you name it, then I've used it only to find myself at another job with yet another excuse on why I hated it. I did always seem to stick around long enough and left in a mature, responsible manner so I was re-hired on many occasions by previous employers.
It's all about attitude!