Will quitting this job early kill my career?

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I've complained about my med surg job before - mostly, I've been trying to discern what parts of my complaints are "this is what the job entails" and "your floor is problematic." A lot of my complaints are falling into the second category - I'm reading most nurses here saying they have a patient load of 5-6 (I'm always at least 7, often 8 - mostly fresh post op or ER transfers). The last three nights I've worked I've had an RRT after the ER transferred an unstable patient on me who belonged in a higher acuity unit (no beds available there, so just dump them in med surg, what could go wrong!), which completely destroys an already busy night. The last RRT I had to deal with a completely clueless resident who made a bad call, and then I was chewed out by his attending for this resident's bad call and the attending complained to my boss even though I had done everything I could do to escalate the situation. I spent at least an hour of my shift dealing with attendings freaking out during rounds because their residents did something stupid. It eats my day, I'm always leaving late, and the day shift nurses are really awful to me for completing tasks like blood draws when the phlebotomist decides to not show up. My time management is fairly good for a new grad, but the amount of work they're asking of me just isn't possible - even the more experienced nurses are struggling.

This isn't safe and I'm over it. I'm not an adrenaline junky, and dealing with daily RRTs stresses me out. I just want to practice safely and have a little wiggle room to learn and feel supported/have resources when I have questions. This is not happening at my current job.

I'm four months in, applying elsewhere and I'm sure I'm not getting any calls because people are not impressed by a candidate leaving their first job so early. I'm considering areas I previously wouldn't have - psych, mother baby, office jobs. I'm not expecting perfection, I know I will be eaten/will face different challenges. I don't want to put myself in a position where I will never be eligible to be hired by another hospital, but I cannot deal with feeling unsafe every time I work a shift.

I've asked for a transfer (just so I can get six months to a year in) and they've agreed, pending an opening. What are some less stressful floors that are new grad friendly? Should I just take an office job and be done with this?

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Specializes in ICU.

You probably won't be able to get an office job with four months of experience, but I'd say you can probably only go up from where you are. Good luck transferring! I hope something opens for you soon.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

You're not getting call backs for interviews because most employers want candidates with at least one year experience. I've heard of a 1:7 patient ratio in Medsurg, so your ratios aren't unheard of. Remember Residents are learning too so if you think an order doesn't sound right, verify it with a charge nurse or another experience nurse before carrying out the order. Yes, MDs won't hesitate to throw you under the bus to save themselves. ER dumping patients on units without proper orders or not sending unstable patients to a higher acuity unit happens everywhere.

As a new nurse of course you would think where you work is unsafe or the workload is impossible, but remember you never dealt with that type of load as a student nurse.

Either stick it out 8 more months or patiently wait for an opening so you can transfer to a more desirable unit.

Sent via iPink's phone using allnurses

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Specializes in Rehabilitation.

I could have written your post, almost word for word! I have complained, cried, screamed, and prayed over this situation and I finally made the decision this morning to put in for a transfer. Like you, I'm not an adrenaline junkie at all. I love nursing, but it's the patient care I love. I do NOT love feeling sick to my stomach when it looks like something's going south. I do not love the dread I feel when I see my director on the floor and I just KNOW she's going to call me into the office. I definitely do not love being chewed out and talked down to like a child by that same director. I'm too old for this and I'm ready to move on. I decided on a transfer because the nurses and staff in this hospital already know me. I think I'm more likely to be able to transfer within this hospital than I am to be hired out of it until I have more experience. Plus, I want to make sure my most recent experience will give me a good recommendation! ;)

Good luck in whatever you decide to do. :)

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The right answer depends on a few things. What is your financial situation? Can you afford to quit and then wait a few months for a new job? Is this something you can tolerate until you find another job or are you so miserable that you must quit now? Can you change units? Can you take a leave of absence or a break and then return after you take some time off? Can you accept a lower paying job or a rural job if needed? Are you open to those? The answer is up to you.

Personally, I quit a job after 3 months and had 3 job offers within 2 months, 1 in a rural area, 1 temp job, and 1 full time position near home with low pay, none in acute care.

I took the full time position and am now selectively and slowly applying to jobs in my area of interest with better pay. I am content enough to stay put for 6-12 months if needed though. I do not regret quitting. I regret rushing through the job hunting process before graduation and taking the first job I could find.

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You're not getting call backs for interviews because most employers want candidates with at least one year experience. I've heard of a 1:7 patient ratio in Medsurg, so your ratios aren't unheard of. Remember Residents are learning too so if you think an order doesn't sound right, verify it with a charge nurse or another experience nurse before carrying out the order. Yes, MDs won't hesitate to throw you under the bus to save themselves. ER dumping patients on units without proper orders or not sending unstable patients to a higher acuity unit happens everywhere.

As a new nurse of course you would think where you work is unsafe or the workload is impossible, but remember you never dealt with that type of load as a student nurse.

Either stick it out 8 more months or patiently wait for an opening so you can transfer to a more desirable unit.

Sent via iPink's phone using allnurses

I agree with you (mostly) but she should not be having rapid responses qshift. That's not normal.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

First of all - Huge KUDOS to OP!!! Keeping our patients safe, no matter what it takes - that's the fundamental task, and it looks like you're doing it very well. So you're having to trigger RRT...but it appears that your reasoning is sound, and the call was appropriate. If the docs, and junior doclets have a problem with it, they should address the root causes by keeping a better eye on their patients rather than fault you for doing what any other reasonable and prudent nurse would do.

Have you shared your concerns with your manager? If not, please do. S/He took a chance on you and hired a new grad, so you are at least obligated to offer a chance to fix it. If that doesn't get you anywhere - go up the ladder and talk to HR. Your company has invested a lot in your on-boarding and training... they don't want to lose you. Give them a shot.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

As a new grad that is stressed we tend to exaggerate our circumstances. On my critical care floor it felt like I called RRT way too often (every shift) but in reality it wasn't.

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I'm in a med/surg job but I knew even before I graduated that dealing with sick ppl wasn't for me. I love surgery. They come, you fix them then they are gone. I'm 6 months in and got a new job lined up. Will it look bad if you quit early? Maybe. Is the next job one where you'll stay a long time? For me, it's a hell yeah.

You have to think about what you need. Nursing is hard but doing what you don't like "7-7" for 3 days is even harder

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I had a frank talk with a good friend who is an experienced nurse, and it seems like my dissatisfaction is with the culture of the floor, not so much with nursing itself. I find nursing to be challenging and expected I would need to learn a lot and that's met my expectations, and sometimes patients are VERY challenging but honestly it doesn't upset me that much. It's rough being sick, I get it. But I find myself in a lot of situations where I feel completely on my own, don't have resources (on more than one occasion the internet has been down so I couldn't access the policy manual) and I don't feel like I can rely on my colleagues for help. And that'd be fine if I was more experienced...but I'm not. I have questions! Most of them aren't even all that dumb.

The RRT...well, there's not enough beds in critical care, so they put patients where there are beds, hoping a bed will open soon. People come to me well within RRT criteria and I call it because I'm trying to do the right thing...which no one appreciates. This is, obviously, not okay. I have escalated several situations asking nursing managers to help without any assistance.

The manager has offered to transfer me (she seems to have some awareness of the situation) and verbalized not wanting me to leave, but there hasn't been any openings that are accommodating to new grads, so I'm thinking I'd be better off leaving soon rather than sticking it out and hoping I don't find myself in a truly bad situation with no help. I'm putting out resumes hoping for a response, but none so far. Worst case scenario, I am welcome back to my old place of employment (non-nursing job), but I'm trying to avoid that.

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Specializes in ICU.

I say suck it up for a year. You will be glad you did. Apply for a non med surg job ASAP. Especially as you get closer to the one year mark. The job will get easier as time goes on. As far as your co-workers go, just ignore them. If you stick it out for a year more opportunity should open up.

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