New RN here needing some advice. I graduated in May and have been working in a very busy post surgical floor for the last 5.5 months. I have learned ALOT...both about nursing and about myself. I had two very good preceptors and most of the staff on the unit is very helpful and supportive, the unit manager is very involved with her unit and has an open door policy. BUT, I just don't like it. I took the job because I worked in the hospital as an aid and had a foot in the door, but now I'm just second guessing everything I have worked for. I know being a new grad takes time, but things keep getting wrose, not better.
I am on a 8 hour Days/Evenings WEEKLY rotations and my personal life (I used to love to run/work out, spend times with family/friends) have fallen to the wayside. My work schedule is irratic and my personal life has suffered. The unit itself is one of the most stressful of the med/surg units in the hospital. We take on extended recoveries and observational patients along with our regular post ops, so some days I discharge my whole team and readmit all new ones....adding up to 8-10 patients a day.
I have made some mistakes...thank God no one was hurt, but it has made me fearful of, and very anxious of, high risk meds and high risk patients. I am very anxious in general. I feel like any day someone will sue me for missing something. I have spoken to my unit manager, and she was very understanding, and also said she did not want to lose me as a nurse and offered me positions on her other units (ortho and rehab....ortho openings are because she had 6 nurses leave at once...not a good sign) Rehab opening is only for midnights, which I feel would screw up my personal life even more. Also, she also offered to have a senior nurse follow me for time management (since I wasnt getting lunch breaks and staying over 2+ hrs charting) but I havent seen it, and I have reminded her three times.
It all comes down to this: I don't want to stay in a position where my mental health takes a beating. I don't want to strain my personal life anymore. I don't want to fear being sued or killing someone every day. I dont want to start taking anti-depressants because of a job!
I want to go into pulbic health or occupational health nursing, maybe even pre admission testing....more of a clinic nursing type job with regular hours and a less stressful atmosphere. I want to teach patients, I love explaining the How's and Why's. The local health dept. has an opening I applied for (same pay as the hospital), along with another occupational health position that is an hour away. I'm not sure if I am making a mistake by getting away from the floor so early. I am afraid that if i go somewhere else I won't like it either and jobs are so scarce i dont want to burn bridges. What if they aren't as supportive? What if the MD is a nightmare? What if I dont have enough experience to be in a more independant nursing setting? Maybe I should just stay until something less stressful opens up at the hospital? AHH! These quesitons are never ending!
Thanks for being patient and reading all of this, I really appreciate any advice you can offer :redbeathe:redbeathe:redbeathe
Especially if you have made the transition between the hospital and the office setting with less than a year experience.
I did Tele at first, rotating days/evenings. Hated it, total reality shock.
12's made it a bit more tolerable, but I hate floor nursing so much I started working on a computer science degree...didn't work out as the tech industry went kaput at the time.
Anyway, ended up in Critical Care and for a while it was pretty good.
I say suck it up for a year then make the decision. There are many lateral moves that could be made at that time (procedure stuff, critical care, case management, etc)
Also consider a return to school for something at the advanced practice level (aka my eventual long term plan)
A little burned out myself, but I have plans. Hope things work out for you!
larry v
32 Posts
I did Tele at first, rotating days/evenings. Hated it, total reality shock.
12's made it a bit more tolerable, but I hate floor nursing so much I started working on a computer science degree...didn't work out as the tech industry went kaput at the time.
Anyway, ended up in Critical Care and for a while it was pretty good.
I say suck it up for a year then make the decision. There are many lateral moves that could be made at that time (procedure stuff, critical care, case management, etc)
Also consider a return to school for something at the advanced practice level (aka my eventual long term plan)
A little burned out myself, but I have plans. Hope things work out for you!