I am a new nurse and I am struggling so much right now. I work nights on a med/surg floor and have been for 3 months now. I am a new nurse, a new mom with a little baby at home, and my husband is in med school and is very busy. We have no family in the area.
Nursing is so difficult as a new grad and there is so much to learn and do. I dread going to work every day and pray everyday that I can practice nursing safely and take good care of my patients. But nursing isn't my only stressor. I am constantly trying to keep up at home and care for my child and husband, which I believe should always be my priority. I'm so exhausted all of the time physically, mentally, and emotionally and switching from being up working all night to taking care of my daughter during the day is really taking a toll on me. I have to work nights so that my husband can be home with the baby while I work. Daycare is not an option for us right now. I'm not sure what to do. I have been losing a ton of weight, I don't have much of an appetite, and I keep getting sick. I just don't know how to keep up. I am stretched so thin.
I am considering quitting my job, or maybe trying to stick it out until my 6 month mark if I can and then quitting. I'm worried though because I know this could burn bridges and destroy my career. I worked so hard to get my nursing degree but this is nothing like i thought it would be. And I think it may be best for me and my family right now. If I quit, how hard would it be for me to find a nursing job later? Any advice? I'm starting to think I am just not cut out for this.
Getting back to work after medical leave has been a vivid reminder of my first year, with the substantial difference of knowing I've done this before. First year is a roller coaster ride, bearing in mind that roller coaster rides are mostly downhill. Still, things are probably not as bleak as they seem. I don't mean to minimize your problems--it sounds like you do have a lot on your plate. But you are holding one ace--you have an RN license. When I graduated, in 2005, you could find a job somewhere if you could spell RN. Things tightened up as the economy tanked and a lot of stay-at-home moms reactivated their licenses or increased their hours. Now we're seeing more and more places offering sign on bonuses and other perks. It will vary by region, but nationwide, you have a LOT of bargaining power. If you decide to step away from nursing, you will not destroy your career. (It will be a setback, though. Making it through this year would be a huge step toward making it, and not making it is going to "feel" like a failure, even if it is the right choice.)
Then, too, it's very likely you are doing a better job than you think. If you weren't a capable nurse, you would not be a nurse. You have a lot of room for improvement, of course. After 12 years as a nurse, so do I. So do the nurses who trained me. A nurse who never doubts herself is probably dangerous. Successful nurses "second guess" themselves all the time, but more in the sense of "how can I get stronger?" and as little as possible "why am I so stupid?" Again, you're a nurse. They first day you hit the floor, you had more knowledge and ability than all but about 2 million people in the US.
Good luck. Others has posted some good suggestions, and you'll find others, I'm sure. That's the thing about swimming--when you first start, it does look and feel quite a bit like drowning. But I'd bet my next pay it was much the same for Michael Phelps.
BTW: Newbie nurses dream of marrying a doctor. Experienced nurses dream of marrying an aide. Really experienced nurses can trick doctors into acting as aides, once in awhile.
nursemike, ASN, RN
1 Article; 2,362 Posts
Getting back to work after medical leave has been a vivid reminder of my first year, with the substantial difference of knowing I've done this before. First year is a roller coaster ride, bearing in mind that roller coaster rides are mostly downhill. Still, things are probably not as bleak as they seem. I don't mean to minimize your problems--it sounds like you do have a lot on your plate. But you are holding one ace--you have an RN license. When I graduated, in 2005, you could find a job somewhere if you could spell RN. Things tightened up as the economy tanked and a lot of stay-at-home moms reactivated their licenses or increased their hours. Now we're seeing more and more places offering sign on bonuses and other perks. It will vary by region, but nationwide, you have a LOT of bargaining power. If you decide to step away from nursing, you will not destroy your career. (It will be a setback, though. Making it through this year would be a huge step toward making it, and not making it is going to "feel" like a failure, even if it is the right choice.)
Then, too, it's very likely you are doing a better job than you think. If you weren't a capable nurse, you would not be a nurse. You have a lot of room for improvement, of course. After 12 years as a nurse, so do I. So do the nurses who trained me. A nurse who never doubts herself is probably dangerous. Successful nurses "second guess" themselves all the time, but more in the sense of "how can I get stronger?" and as little as possible "why am I so stupid?" Again, you're a nurse. They first day you hit the floor, you had more knowledge and ability than all but about 2 million people in the US.
Good luck. Others has posted some good suggestions, and you'll find others, I'm sure. That's the thing about swimming--when you first start, it does look and feel quite a bit like drowning. But I'd bet my next pay it was much the same for Michael Phelps.