after 6 weeks orientation I quit

mysterious_one, ASN, RN · Oct 8, 2008

I can so relate to you, I was an extern on a unit for 6 months and then after my graduation started as an intern/GN on the same unit. I was put with a preceptor that I knew was tired of precepting. She had precepted 3 interns in a row and had talked about how she wanted a break sooo bad. I also was not very fond of this person, but I didn't know her that much, so I didn't say nothing. After a couple of weeks I could tell we weren't a good match, but I didn't ever say anything or ask for another preceptor. When I asked how I was doing, she said great. After 10 weeks, almost at the end of my orientation, she went to the manager and requested to be taken of my precptor ship. She also told the manager that she thought the unit wasn't a right fit for me, after she repeatedly told me I was doing good. I was floored. The manager had no other preceptor available for me, and since I signed a 18 months contract with the hospital, I was pretty much forced to move to another unit. Now I am with a preceptor that I enjoy working with and that I feel comfortable with.

I believe you made the right decision, don't stay somewhere, where you don't feel welcomed and are not learning anything. Also if management is not interested in training new staff properly and making sure their is harmony amongst the whole unit, I would not want to be there, period.

PICURN74, ASN, RN · Oct 9, 2008

Kitty-

Sounds like a pretty bad first expierence sorry your first post graduation nursing experience was negative. I am curious who repeatedly told you never to say anything about a nurse? I agree that as a whole our profession has a problem with gossip and talking about people can lead to issues but I don't care what your job title is if you are doing something dangerous I am going to say something. It isn't your place to be a manager so I wouldn't expect you to have to confront your preceptor but you can always tell someone your concerns, as a general rule I try and talk to the person I have a problem with first (nurse, doctor, CNA whoever) It takes time to get confidence to do that (esp doctors and more senior nurses) but if done correctly it shouldn't matter who points out the errors as long as it is done with respect and handled appropriately. Otherwise you can always confide in a charge nurse or NM and they can deal with issues through the proper channels. Unfortunately it sounds like you feel your NM dropped the ball. Sometimes working with people you wouldn't choose to hang out with after work is part of the job and I believe you can learn a lot from people you don't get a long with but it sounds like you tried to make things work and when they didn't repeatedly tried to change them. I hope your next job is a better fit and you feel more support than you did at this job. You should always feel like you can report unsafe situations even if it is annonymously. Good luck and hang in there you will find your "right fit"

kitty55 · Oct 11, 2008

Thank you so much for the reply. I am hoping the next job goes better. I have applied for DE and I have a friend there that says the training is wonderful and there is a clinical educator that will work with me.

southernbelle08 · Oct 12, 2008

**HUGS**

I don't really have any advice, as I have encountered my own trials with my preceptors at my job. Fortunately, in my case, my NM saw what was going on and moved me even before I asked to be moved. I still feel like all the shuffling around cost me a lot as far as my education and learning went and I am still upset that I didn't get the preparation I should have.

I hope the next job works out for you!!

kitty55 · Oct 12, 2008

Thanks mysterious_one and Picurn74

My first real experience with my NM was my first meeting before orientation. She said off the bat she was going to cut my time because I had worked as an extern on the unit. I told her that I really wanted my full time and told her I had zero experience with IV's and asked if she could arrange for me to go to ER for a few hours because I had a friend that did this in her training time. She replied "Quit trying to be Super Nurse." I just knew this was an issue for me and to get more experience would have made me more confident.

I had gone to the PCC week 2 and said that I needed more structured (interperation..less playing, someone to teach) and talked to the NM. She cut me off short and said that I was with who she wanted me with. A few weeks later I had to have some hours changed and worked with a WONDERFUL nurse and those 24 hours were the BEST of my orientation. This nurse said that she was there for me if I needed anything and she taught me alot and did not seem to mind that I was there. I again told the nurse manager how great those shifts were and she said the same thing.

I was told I would have a weekly review. Never happened. When i asked 5 weeks into training for a review we all met and she said she was disappointed in my progress and that I was not doing as well as another new nurse that was already out of training. I was floored. My preceptor said nothing. Honestly my preceptor was shoe shopping and Myspace paging 8 out of a 12 hours shift or taking breaks and socializing. Everytime I would ask her about my progress she would say"don't worry about it" At our meeting I was asked how many pts. I was doing and I said 3 and she said you need to do 5. So the next week I went in and did 5 but told the preceptor I needed the computer and I thought I did fine. She would ask me if I needed help but I said No I would let her know if I did. The first weeks she would say "you do this and I'll do this and then we can be through. She rushed through the paper work and admits and discharges and I was trying to get as much as I could.

I went to nights and the preceptor there was great. She said that she would talk to me each week and go over strengths and weaknesses and my stress level. i was floored. She also did my paperwork at the end of the week. She took the first 5 weeks of paperwork to my other preceptor to fill out. No paperwork was filled out on me and I got no feedback but by then i was behind and because I feel it was known that I had tried to change preceptor's the games began and EVERYBODY had an attitude about it.

I made a final meeting with NM and said that I felt the feedback would have been enormous for me and she took the paperwork from the night preceptor and said that I really didn't have to see the paperwork anyway. I had asked repeatedly how the whole thing was suppose to work and was ignored and always told that I needed to know and do things on my own. I did not step up and really do because sometimes the people training me would be out all night and once with one hour sleep I didn't feel AT ALL comfortable being around that. My NM would have a list of every little thing I did wrong and I did not trust her enough to say what was REALLY going on. They kept saying you should already know all these things but yet I witnessed my preceptor doing things and handling things in a way I KNEW was wrong, wrong, wrong. Some of the other nurses on the floor said DON"T SAY ANYTHING BAD about my preceptor because it would cause me ALOT of problems. I had also heard this from my new graduate friends. As it turned out even saying I wanted to change preceptors because it "wasn't a good fit for me" caused enough of an attitute that to say anything else would have been suicide.

I feel discounted, disregarded and really beat up on. I knew it was a no win situation. It was heartbreaking for me because i loved so many, many people on that floor. Many of them said that they would not want to be trained by who I had.

I know there are people with different personalities and personally I liked this lady but don't share her lifestyle. I just wanted to be the best i could be but can't do that without support.

I now have to decide where to go and have a friend at an ER that had a great orientation time with team/work and support. I really hope it is going to be different. My confidence was at an all time low but I'm ready to start again and just chalk it up to just a bad experience.

I thank you both for the reply. I had no one really to talk to. I have wanted to be a nurse for years and years and finally went to school and made it. I know God has a place somewhere for me. I LOVE THIS SITE. You have been a life saver. You just don't know what it has meant to me.

kitty55 · Oct 12, 2008

Thank you southernbelle08. I now have a new support system on this site. I'm grateful for your response!

clementine109 · Oct 15, 2008

I have also been in a really bad situation at my job. I graduated in May, passed my boards, moved to a new city, started a new grad position on a med/surg floor. It was anything but good. I had a lot of conflict with my NM over whether I was getting proper training.... In the end I am no longer there (after about 2 months). I was not being supported at all and felt like it was not the right place for me.

My question is how are you handling applying for new positions now after such as short time in your first position as a nurse. I am really freaked out that no one will hire me now - even though I was great at my job!

Any advice?

kitty55 · Oct 15, 2008

I have been told it may be a plus. Irecognized that it was not a good fit and left and some would view it as honorable instead of staying and quitting after orientation. I have spoken with many many nurse friends, some of them have nursed for 25+ years and they all say don't worry about it. I found out after I left that a few new nurses on my unit had actually come from other units because it wasn't a good fit. Evidently their NM's helped them to find another spot. My NM is not doing that but I have no hard feelings. Everything happens for a reason.

There are so many nurses that are in our situation....alot of them on this site. The stories give me hope and confidence that I made the right decision. Many have gone on to find a good fit and a fabulous preceptor. It was a nightmare for me because I truly loved the people on my unit. There were many on my unit that completely understood my dilemma.

One nurse friend said "sometimes you have to try on a few pair of shoes to find one that fits."

My fear is that this will happen again BUT I am stronger and wiser and I KNOW this is my calling. The trials will just make us stronger. Please let me know how the next job goes.

When I interview I will just say it was not a good fit and not say anything bad about the unit or my preceptor. I believe from this site there are many many nurses that want to see us be successful.

nursespunky · Oct 15, 2008

Wow!! I'm about to start my floor orientation....now I'm scared. The people and the NM all seem very nice and even glad that I'm coming on. Wish me luck!! Sorry you had such a bad experience. I doesn't have to be this way.

Gizmo44 · Oct 15, 2008

I feel for you. I am kinda going through the same thing but in LTC. I am an LPN doing PRN (New grad.-May 2008 and licensed Aug 2008). I just got 2 extra days of training. That is in addition to the 3 days that are standard plus one day going over all the paperwork we are responsible for. I asked for 1 extra day to help tie everything all together since I don't know when I'll work next (being PRN) and that was today. My trainer (they don't assign preceptors), decided I could use an extra day because she wasn't sure I was getting it. I get it but, admittedly, I am slow. For one thing there are approx. 30-35 residents in EACH of the two main units plus 19 in the alzheimer's unit. One nurse to each unit plus CNAs. Evening's have QMAs. We have 2 hours to pass meds. Now, I don't know the residents, not all have their picture in the med books, and I am not real familiar with the facility yet either. I resisted going into LTC because I really want to work in a hospital but they aren't utilizing LPNs like they used to where I live. I am not sure if it is me (I always got excellent evaluations in clinical) or the way this place trains new nurses. I am wondering if I made the right decision. The nurses I trained with always go so fast that I don't feel right asking questions or even realize I have one until later. Its totaly crazy!

FromNH2VAwherenext · Oct 16, 2008

Me too! I was given the option to quit or be fired. It was a crazy situation all around, very similar to yours... including preceptor playing games on the computer, reading fiction, chatting with other RNs, taking breaks. :banghead: The only time she "helped" me was to bag on me for not doing something right... and 9 times out of 10 I was literally "fixin' to get to it" -- like I grabbed a 2 mg syringe of Dilaudid out (what Accudose dispensed) and was getting ready to waste 1 mg, I just hadn't gotten to it yet (Accudose kicks you out after something ridiculous like 10 sec.s). One time, first time I went into a "contact precaution room" as a new grad and I forgot to put on gloves -- stuff like that.

Anyway, I was informed that I don't even have to list this position on a resume or application, I'm checking on it with my Dad (a legal guru)... I hope this is the case cuz I've already applied to another RN position locally WITHOUT listing this job. I figure if they push as to what I did between graduation and now, I could A) "stretch the truth" and say I was taking the boards, moving, etc or B) say where I worked and that it "wasn't a good fit. Does anyone wanna contribute their 2 cents worth on this issue? :twocents: