When will I stop dreading going to work?!

andreasmom02 · Jan 9, 2012

I hear ya... I'm a nurse. Graduated in '07, but just started working in a clinic setting recently. I've been there about 7 weeks, and am stressing already too. The place is under staffed, and I feel like I'm so overworked. My bosses expect too much of me I think. I'm new, and still kind of slow, but am learning every day. But I feel like I need to be in 5 places at once when I'm working there. I come home stressed out every day, and dread work every morning. I wish they didn't expect so much from a new nurse. I'm giving it my all, but am very stressed as well. I'm trying to hang in there for at least a few months. I need nursing experience. Maybe it will get easier for us. Good luck!

46oldnewrn · Jan 9, 2012

I am glad to hear that I am not the only one who went through that. Hang in there!! I have been a nurse for 3 1/2 years and I am still learning things every day. It does get easier, it really really does.

newgradchad · Jan 10, 2012

this is me to an absolute tee! i feel like i'm suffering with the amount of stress i endure at work and i'm still working on my organization. i feel like i've taken steps backwards. i'm ready to quit but feel so guilty because my family really needs the money that i get from this job right now and there are so many of my classmates that would do anything to get the job that i have. you're not alone i really can't wait to feel like the pressure lighten up.

Sun0408, ASN, RN · Jan 10, 2012

Yes it gets easier.. You become faster, more organized, better at making judgement calls, as well as priority. Stick with it, it happened around 6 months for me.. They say the first year is the hardest. Its a slow process. Just go with it, ask when you need help, when you are unsure or just need guidance. You will learn new things everyday and even a vet nurse asks for help, opinions etc.. Its the nature of the beast. I felt just like all of you, at about 6 months I was getting all my stuff done and out on time, I didn't feel as stressed or over whelmed. At the 1 year mark, it was even easier but still a challenge. Nursing school gave you a taste of what nursing is really all about, the rest is learned with each shift, each new pt. Hang in there :)

janice_c67, BSN, RN · Jan 21, 2012

I can't give up either! I came home from work after a rough shift last week and my niece had posted on FB how she is tired of school, bills, work etc and wanted to give up, to which I told her "don't give up, it won't always be this hard!" then I looked at what I told her and realized that I need to take my own advice and not give up, and to trust everyone that tells me that it will get better. I will just go to work every day and try to be positive and work on being more organized, and hopefully remember things without having to ask for help repeatedly on the same things I have already asked for help with :/ ugh I feel so dumb I feel like I don't retain anything because I am trying to retain so many things at once!

andreasmom02 · Jan 21, 2012

I feel the same way janice_67. I'm actually getting a little faster & learning to do a lot more on my own at my job, but still dread work. It's understaffed where I work. There is only me & one older nurse. She is retiring soon, and I will be the "charge nurse" so to speak. They also just hired a person who is training on the job to be a medical assistant, who I personally don't like. The person is smart, and a fast learner, but I really feel the office managers should've hired someone with an actually MA certificate or another nurse. I feel like I'm trying to train this person on the job as well, and I still barely know what I'm doing!! Plus, this so called MA is a smart a@#! They are constantly smarting off to me, acting like a know it all, trying to make me look stupid in front of the doctors, and I'm getting sick of it! They aren't even a licensed MA yet!! It's stuff like this that is getting to me with my job... I have only 2 months nursing experience, & I'm trying to stay there at least 5 or 6 months. I don't want to seem like a "job hopper!" I just wish I wasn't so stressed over work either...

fmxkrazyone · Jan 21, 2012

I'm also a new grad, I've been off of orientation for 2 weeks with a 10 week orientation and I still feel really anxious each time I go in. I work nights 7p-7a and every shift I get stuck with at least 1 new admission, if not 2 and I'm still learning how to do it all. When I have admissions on my shift I usually don't even get to sit down until 1 or 2am to start the actual paperwork after getting everyone ready for bed and all my meds passed and assessments done and that's on a good night!

One of the senior nurses gave me the advice that you only can do one thing at a time, so just do that and don't worry about getting the computer stuff done because you have your whole shift, just take care of the patient. I try to do that, but it's still stressful, but I find that each shift I try to organize myself a little differently and little by little I'm finding better ways to do things and am getting things done a little more efficiently.

Nursing is the first job I've ever had where I didn't pick it up right away, it's not like learning how to run a cash register or build a burger, it's going to take years to really get the hang of it and even then, there will always be new things to learn, so I'm just going to take it one shift at a time, take a deep breath and just keep going in and doing the best I can. If you do the best you can, at least you can be content knowing that you are trying and your co-workers will realize that as well.

jensmomrn11 · Jan 21, 2012

I feel your pain. I dread going to work in the mornings and sometimes feel like crying on my way home. The stress is terrible and I am losing sleep at night going over what I did during the day.

I am also a new RN grad and just started my first nursing job in a sub-acute/ltc facility. I have only been there

a month and can tell you that even the seasoned nurses complain about the amount of work that they expect from us.

We each have up to 20 patients, are expected to pass meds, do assessments, treatments, take off orders, call doctors, monitor the dining room, handle any crisis that arises, hand out pain meds every 10 minutes, handle new admissions, make sure to get the paperwork done right the first time, get all the info entered into the computer and have it all finished before change of shift because they will write you up if you get overtime. I am still learning what goes where and working on my time management. I have been getting better since I am beginning to get familiar with the patients and know who likes what and when. The nurse manager lectures us everyday about the paperwork and leaving on time. The worst part is, if they want us to do all of this work, why is it so bad if we need to stay an extra half hour to finish up our work so that the next shift does not have to play catch-up? And if you try to leave on time and have any unfinished work, the next shift gets nasty with you.

The other night, I still had one order that I did not take off yet because I thought it was more important to do an incident report on a fall since that is something that I could not pass off. When I told the on-coming nurse everything was done but that one new order, she refused to do it because it was my work. I stayed the extra time to take off the order and send it to pharmacy and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I do not get written up. How would you guys handle this situation? We were told to let the DON know if any of the nurses give us a problem about work getting carried over, but I do not want to be a rat and cause bad feelings because I am new and trying to just get along.