thinking about quitting.. please help..

[luvemmaboo]

Hey,

In may, I would be working as a nurse for a year. I hate to say it but I am hating it. I work on a ortho floor. I feel depressed all the time about this job. When I started nursing school I guess I had an unrealistic idea of how my job would be and how I would handle it. I feel the biggest factor for me thinking of quitting is my anxiety. I nervous about making mistakes. I question myself when vertifiying orders. I will ask someone is this what you see? I ask alot about pain management questions to other nurses that I feel I bother them. I work nights so my schedule is all screwed up. I dont leave work until like 9:30 some mornings trying to chart. I question myself about skills that I wish I felt more comfortable with such as central lines. We dont get them much on my floor but I get nervous. For example can I give this through a central line like morphine when I know I can. I think I just cant handle the clincial part of nursing but do love helping people. I am at a point where maybe a should consider changing careers.To something where I am helping people but nonclinical. My husband says to try to find a job like that in nursing but I know it will be hard being new. I am lost at this point and need some guidance. Is this normal how I feel? What do you think is my best choice? Please help.... right now i am in an RN-BSN program and still unsure about even continuing with this profession.

emma

[tokidoki7, ASN, RN]

Are you able to find another nursing job elsewhere? You have almost a year of experience, so it shouldn't be hard to find another job. I've spoken with other nurses who work on the ortho unit at my hospital and they've told me they really dislike it. Wherever you go, it won't be easy but hopefully it'll offer a better experience that what you have now. I feel the same way about my job, excpet its due more to working 40 hrs/wk and having a difficult commute. It's really exhausting!

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

you should be feeling a lot more comfortable with routine ortho floor stuff by now. if your anxiety is getting in your way, then you need to deal with your anxiety. if you had a patient whose anxiety was stopping her from, say, learning how to test her blood sugars and self-administer her necessary insulin, what would you do? talk to her cde and then refer her stat to some appropriate counseling. so my recommendation is that you sit down for some quality time c your nurse education person and then call the eap to get a referral to a counselor who can help you learn to deal with anxiety in a more normal, functional fashion and help you regulate your sleep/wake cycle so your head can get the rest it needs. seriously.

there is no such thing as nursing without clinical. there is such a thing as nursing outside of hospital practice or even any kind of bedside practice but it's still all clinical.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

I had an ortho rotation in school which I didn't enjoy, so I can relate. Know that you won't be there forever. Have you been applying to other positions? I wouldn't leave until you have something else, or at least some interviews set up. Good luck.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I agree with GrnTea. I would also strongly advise the OP to talk to her manager/supervisor. Of course recognizing & dealing with our own problems can be much more difficult than providing care to others, it's seems that the OP is experiencing free floating anxiety that must be very debilitating. Although we (on AN) can offer observations, advice & moral support. . . we cannot provide her with access to concrete resources that will actually make a difference. However, most organizations are very interested in retaining their nurses, especially after investing so much time in to a new grad; I am sure that they will provide assistance needed to improve her job situation.

I have always preferred ortho patients. They normally have a defined illness trajectory aimed at recovery rather than the 'descending spiral' of illness that is so often found in the typical med surg or chronic disease patient these days.

[deenasao]

The best part of nursing is the limitless options (at least before the economy dipped) so if you could find a community position I think you'd be much happier. A visiting nurse, a hospice nurse, a school nurse etc. I am exactly like you so I can totally relate.

[Meliss214]

Congratulations on making it this far! I only lasted 4 mos at my first job as a psych nurse and 2 mos as a day surgery nurse. I couldn't stand the nastiness of the other nurses. I'm 44 so I'm ready to leave the high school mentality. I'm excited about starting my new job as a hospice nurse and relieved that they are willing to spend at least 2 mos preparing me for this job. Yes, the hours are rough as I will be working on-call from 5 pm on Fri to 8 am Mon, but I was exhausted working M-F at my last 2 jobs. Please consider another position since ortho is a tough gig. I did it for my 8 week internship and was exhausted trying to constantly assist the patients with hip replacements.