Would you quit this job? Wondering why I became a nurse in the first place.

Nurses New Nurse

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Hey all.

A little background about me.

I am a new RN with my BSN.

I was fortunate enough to land a position as a new grad in an academic medical center. I am on a surgical floor. I received a place in a new nurse residency program an 6 weeks of orientation. Everything seemed great.

Then I got on my own. I have been out of orientation for about 3 weeks now. I passed my boards 3 months ago. On a typical day, I have 5 patients. These patients have PCA pumps, Epidurals, Trachs, foleys, peg tubes, JP drains, NGs, NJs, strict I&Os, severe pain needs, some of them are incontinent. Most are falls risks. Most have an entitled attitude. I am working day shift as a new RN (Not my choice). I feel myself drowning on every shift, terrified of making a mistake or a medication and hurting myself or a patient. Every time I give medications to a patient (IV meds, changing out pcas, epidural bags, crushing meds down tubes, which is all very time consuming) i have 2 or 3 other patients calling out to me for something. I feel like i'm being pulled in a million different directions. I have labs to get, patients going down to surgery,a med pass to keep up with, new orders, patient's calling out for prn pain meds that they don't have ordered, and me trying to keep my sanity.No matter how organized i feel some days, it seems like crap hits the fan at some point and everything is crazy.

I am being paid 40k a year BEFORE taxes. With a bit of overtime i could have made my net salary with my PCA job. I can't help but feel like i've received the short end of the stick and nursing is not what i thought it would be. I always feel stressed, overwhelmed, and scared. My patients are so complicated. I don't make as much as i thought i would. My job is a thousand times more stressful. Experienced nurses find themselves in tears with the load I'm given as a new grad. I have already started looking at grad school because i know i definitely can't do this for the rest of my life. I KNOW I'm a new grad and i shouldn't expect much. I know this is the bottom. Please please don't call me entitled. I'm THANKFUL for my job... i'm just...disappointed...

Let me just say that I am so ridiculously thankful for the opportunity to work there. It is a great experience for me and my nursing career, However, that doesn't negate how I feel.

Maybe I didn't get an accurate picture of nursing in school. Everyone says stick it out for a year and I plan to, but in the back of my mind, there's so much disappointment and dissatisfaction in my heart.

What do you think of my situation? is it normal? should i stick it out? I work in Central Ohio, dayton area.

Thanks in advance for your replies. :(

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

40k before taxes? Where is this? That is ridiculous.

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Yeah, That's exactly why I'm so disappointed. :/ I don't want to sound entitled, but I can't help but feel like I'm being jipped. It's ohio. I was under the impression that it's the going rate for a new RN but I feel so poor for the work that I do!

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

That is ridiculously low pay for how difficult and stressful the job is.

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Specializes in public health, women's health, reproductive health.

I feel like you do in so many ways. You are not alone. I'm six months in. I went to night shift and it got a bit better, but the job is still very stressful. Two things stand out about your post. You only got 6 weeks of orientation in a new grad residency program and you have a very low rate of pay. I understand your disappointment. I, too, feel disappointment and my circumstances, as far as pay and orientation go, are more palatable. The first year is rough and probably will be no matter where you go, but do you have other possibilities for work that would offer better pay? It's hard once you start a job because you don't want to be seen as a job hopper and you don't want to waste the energy you have put into the job so far. The longer you stay there, the more that will be a factor. It's also hard this early on to know if it's just the nature of bedside nursing that is bringing you down or if it's the difficulties of being a new nurse, which will decrease with time. I'm sorry I have no good advice, but I do want you to know that what you are experiencing is not uncommon. At any rate, try to be gentle with yourself and make a list of pros and cons about leaving the job or staying. There is no harm in looking around at your options, either. Keep your eyes open and stay strong. Best wishes!

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Specializes in Hematology/Oncology.

pay should be relative to cost of living. just because someone makes 80k one place doesnt mean you should make the same where it is cheap as hell.

I make 135k a year on night shift as a nurse in the bay area. however my 2br/1ba apartment which is just OK is 2960 a month. on top of federal tax I get 9% taxed. so it will vary about what is really considered "good money"

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

I'm in an area with relatively low cost of living, and BSN grad salaries range from $26 - $26k base pay in addition to $3-$4 night diff. So I can't help but think that OP's salary is pretty low. OTOH, 5 patients on a med-surg unit is pretty good these days.

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Specializes in ICU.
pay should be relative to cost of living. just because someone makes 80k one place doesnt mean you should make the same where it is cheap as hell.

I make 135k a year on night shift as a nurse in the bay area. however my 2br/1ba apartment which is just OK is 2960 a month. on top of federal tax I get 9% taxed. so it will vary about what is really considered "good money"

That is still low for the area. I'm an hour and a half away from Dayton and starting pay here is higher than that. Cost of living is lower than CA, but most places in the country are. Except maybe Hawaii. She is making about what a LPN makes there. There's not much difference in pay between an ASN and BSN but there is a huge difference in LPN. She should be making at least in the low 50s here.

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Specializes in 15 years in ICU, 22 years in PACU.

Without knowing all the details my first guess is, it's not you, it's them. You were desperate for a job when you took this one and that employer knew it. Stick it out a year, learn all you can. When you have enough experience to leave that hell hole get out and don't look back. Treat yourself to a nice vacation between jobs and chalk it up to a war story you can tell other survivors.

It isn't so much about the money because there will always be jobs not worth any amount of money paid, so be on the lookout for a job that would challenge you without breaking you and not just one that pays more.

Hospitals have turned into corporate money machines and have little to do with healthcare anymore. Truly, nursing wasn't always this way and I feel sorry for so many new grads that are being used so harshly.

Finding the right place to work sometimes takes a few trials and error. You either latch on to the work itself or the people you work with to make it worth it.

Be clear about your goals for grad school. That is another expense of both time and money where there is no magic for success or happiness.

Good luck to you little fledgling.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

A few thoughts:

6 weeks for a new grad is ridiculous; I'm an experienced nurse and I got 8 weeks with the max of 12.

You are going to feel overwhelmed; its new and you are learning; no one is expecting you to be an expert; I am sure you will get better; accept that you are a novice and be comfortable in that; self-study and reflect on what could be improved upon when taking care of your pts and put that into practice the next time you have that type of pt again. If you need organization, look on here and search for "brain sheets" and tailor it to your needs.

I will say that residency programs are overrated; I was in a first position and it was more "soft skills" than the information that I needed to know to help gone my practice-not saying that soft skills are not important-they are-however I needed help with transitioning to practice, not soft skills. :no:

Best wishes.

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I believe there are stages a new grad goes through and one stage is definitely, "what have I gotten myself into!!" I have to say, I've been doing it for just over a year and it DOES get better. Is it stressful? Yes. You will have good days and bad days, but I find that the good days far out-weigh the bad days.

It will take time to get used to the job. I can't tell you how many times I just wanted to quit during the first 6 months. I'm glad I stuck it out though because I feel much more comfortable and confident. Do I still have questions and need to ask for help? Of course, but that's what my co-workers and managers are for. We're a team and are there for each other.

What you are experiencing is normal. Hang in there!

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Specializes in PCCN.

All the stuff you say is true, but in my honest opinion, more money wont make it more worth it. I seriously say that now- I dont care if I made 50 bucks an hour- this job is ridiculous .

Im stuck in the "is higher education worth it " rut. Is it worth me taking on more debt for a higher degree? I am 2 classes from finishing bsn. I sometimes wonder if I should have taken that tuition money and gotten another AAS in a different field.

Part of the problem is the entitled clientele we have . I was just telling my husband how nice it must have been to be a nurse in the 60's and 70's ( well at least as portayed on the shows,LOL) where the nurses could tell the patients/families anything.How bout Shhhh, this is a hospital- for example. Or that a pt might have to wait their turn. THere are NO BOUNDARIES anyymore, and we get walked all over. That's not being entitled, thats demanding some RESPECT from those we are trying to help.

I'd use my further education to go in a different field

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