Thinking about quitting

I was in a weekend program and used my vacation time to do my preceptorship. I worked four days a week. M-Thurs work and study, Class on Friday then sleep, Sat & Sun clinicals and study. I would leave my house on work days at 4am and get home at 7pm and study until midnight.

I am a new grad ADN actively seeking my BSN who is thinking about throwing in the towel. I had plans to acquire my MSN but now don't see a reason. I even took a pay cut and gave up 22 years seniority in another career for nursing. I live in Arizona and have found that with an ADN you are not desirable as a nurse. I have put out over 200 applications and the only thing I could land was my worst nightmare...a SNF.

In this facility I am basically a higher educated med passer who can hang the occasional IV. There is no time to assess patients because you have 20-30 of them and reports are a joke. I am losing my skills with each passing day.

In the last week I've had two interviews for a PCU position with Banner and another one set for today for med-surg but they put a halt to everything and cancelled since I do not have a BSN. Eventhough I am working on it they still refused me because of their magnet status.

So here is the dilemma. I am a new grad working in a place for "experience" where I am losing my skills and cannot get into a new grad program because I do not have a BSN. So by the time I graduate with my BSN in 1.5 years and have lost my skills I do not qualify for the new grad program because I will have had my license for over a year.

Because of this it will take me who knows how many years to acquire two years experience in critical care before I can pursue an MSN in the field I was working towards.

I am currently 45 years old and do not have time for these kinds of delays because of oncoming retirement and the cost of the education.

I feel defeated and betrayed plus I'm starting to dispise the nursing profession. I just don't know if it's worth it. I got into this profession to help people but I do not see anybody getting any real help from my current prospective. Help.

I understand completely what you are experiencing. My first job as a ADN qualified RN was in a nursing home too back in August of 2013. It actually took me 5 months to get this job. I felt somewhat discouraged because many of my fellow graduates with their ADN got jobs in the ER, telemetry, step down, trauma units, med surg at both magnet and non-magnet hospitals. I felt sorry for myself some what but grateful because some still did not have a job. While I was at the nursing, I learnt as much as I could and after 6 months I started checking out hospitals. It was in my 10th month as a nurse when I got my first hospital job on a cardiac/tele floor. Honestly, I don't think I lost my skills at the nursing home because I had trache patients,I inserted foleys, peg tube feeding/ care, I learnt how to give medication via every route, I became familiar with many medications, I learnt time management, developed good communications skills with patients, families and doctors, I also developed a 6th sense to know when my patient were crashing and needed to go to a hospital. During my orientation, my preceptor told my manager how great my clinical skills were. I may not have learnt drip administration, ekg interpretation, developing skills at pig backing IVS, ACLS certified but trust me, the foundation that was laid at my nursing home was more than ok to help me transition into an acute setting/hospital. Best wishes.