so my year is almost up, who is gonna stay in the hospital, think I will PRN

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Specializes in Med/Tele.

Hi everyone! I'm Lorelai, I have been a nurse for almost 9 months now. I work on a medsurg/tele unit. My one year mark will be in early June and I am really excited about it. Although I find that I am growing more comfortable and confident in my role as a nurse, I still am unsure if I want to continue to do hospital nursing....being a nurse is stressful on so many levels. It is very draining and hard on my mind, body and spirit. I do not like my current job....I do like helping people but if only being a nurse was as simple as that! I have learned so much but this job is so stressful and demanding, I have put on at least 15 pounds since I started working last June, I went through a period of moodiness-grouchy, depressed, edgy, miserable, anxious, I still feel depressed and miserable because I dont like my job - the politics, short staffed, lack of supplies, no respect, long hours, rude catty coworkers etc, if you are a nurse you know what I mean....I am sticking this out for a year so I can have some good solid medsurg experience, but I am unsure what I want to do next.......I wanted to be an NP when I was in nursing school but now that I have seen the reality I want to get another year in a different nursing area, maybe not in the hospital first. I am not sure I want to be an NP anymore to be honest.......I do know I will stay PRN to keep up my skills and to suport me financially.......I plan on getting a smaller apartment in June because my roommate is moving and I can get something cheaper thats still nice and I am gonna get a less expensive car. I would rather work less and have my sanity........I only know that I will work PRN to pay my bills......I would like to find another job that is less stressful and more enjoyable. The thought of going to work makes me feel sick.....thats sad. I am trying to be positive and find something positive in this career.....I am glad that I am able to take care of myself financially and that I have options in terms of jobs....even though bedside nursing isnt my thing, there are some positives to being a nurse. I am so excited that my first year is almost up though........I dont have children or a hubby so I will be ok taking a lower paying job but I will stay PRN to keep my skills up and for extra money.

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I am also approaching my year mark in June. I started in ICU and I have to say, it has been insane. To say that I have had a very difficult year would be a HUGE understatement. This has been the most overwhelming, challenging thing I have ever done. There have been days (actually nights) that made me want to walk out of that place and never return. But, there have been times where I actually like it and feel like I am going to make it. Who knows what I am going to do. My goal had been to make it to 6 months, then I decided to wait until a year to decide if I want change. Part of me wants to leave and part of me doesn't. I sometimes feel like I would be leaving because I feel too overwhelmed. I guess one of the main factors that will help me decide is if a day position (on another unit...I would not want to work days in my ICU) becomes available in the coming months. I am so ready to be off nights and I think my family would like that too. But, we shall see. So...I guess my answer is: I have no clue what I am going to do, but will probably stay in the hospital setting for now.

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Specializes in acute care.

how about during home health as a visiting nursing?...I live in NY and I work for a subsidiary (sp) of a visiting nurse service called visiting nurse service of new york http://www.vnsny.org/ ....since you are visiting patients at home, you won't be in a hospital setting.

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I totally understand what you all are saying. I have been a nurse for 25 yrs (mostly in the ER) and I have just had to quit because its just insane working in the ER these days. So much has changed and the pace is crazy. A few weeks ago I went home for the first time in my career feeling that I had given poor nursing care. Plus I have made more medication errors in the past year working in this ER than I did in the prior 24 yrs of nursing. And I know its just as bad in other areas of the hospital. I was thinking about trying newborn nursery but not sure if they would want to train an "oldie" like me. The only job I have had recently that has been less stressful was the 6 yrs I worked in telephone triage. That was really an easy job but frustrating on a different level. But at least I wasn't on my feet for 12 hrs running all over the place-but I got bored and left since the ER has always been my first love. But I now realize that it was the ER of the 1980's and 90's but not the ER of today. Its just so sad to hear new nurses feeling so burned out already. You are our replacements and its scary that you are already discouraged. Wish I could say that it will get better but I know thats not true. Hope someone in our state and national capitals sees whats happening and does something about it. California nurses got great nurse patient ratios and I sure wish Texas could do that too but we don't have unions here. Time will tell.

Teanne in TX

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I 'm not even a nurse yet, I graduate in December. I have been working in the hospital on a med-surg floor since April as a NCP. I already know that I'm not staying in the hospital, no way! Sad huh?

I'm taking a job at a huge oncology practice. I MIGHT work PRN here and there just to keep all of my skills up

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Specializes in Neuro, Critical Care.

WOW. It's sad to hear all the stories of nurses who are already discouraged and want to leave the hospital. :(

It's awful to hear stories about awful working conditions, rude coworkers, no supplies. I would like to say though, i'm a new grad in a neuro ICU...out 8 months. There are days when I leave and I never want to come back..there are more days that I leave feeling great, like I really made a difference...

I love my job and I am so thankful for where I am. I have great coworkers, some of the best teamwork I have ever encounted. Supportive, extremely smart mentors, who took me under their wing. I think my pay is fair, the management is decent and for the most part lets us do our own thing. We have self scheduling and you don't have to work weekends unless you are committed to the weekend program...we just basically say here is what i want to work and 99% of the time its fine. I feel like I have quite a bit of autonomy and most of our docs and residents trust us and work with us as a team. I get the chance to see amazing things, extremely fast paced.

On the other hand, there have been days where I feel like i'm drowning. At times I have felt panicked. There are many days I feel totally stupid and stressed out. Lots of days that I think there are so many other jobs way less stressful out there..at times I think what it would be like to be an accountant, no one depends on you for their life...if you make a mistake it usually doesnt involve someone dying...you dont have to worry about diseases and needle pokes....etc...but all in all, it's worth it, I wouldn't do it differently if I could.

Not to discount anyone's feelings on hospital nursing, just wanted to show that there are great places to work out there so hang in there!

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Specializes in CCRN.

As of today, I've been a RN for one year. Boy, has it flown by! Over all I love my job in the ICU, love my coworkers, like my facility. I do plan on staying in Critical Care, it is just a great fit for me and my personality. Do I plan on staying at my current facility? For a bit. I always saw myself as a traveler in the future and hope to be on the road in a couple of years. The great thing about nursing is there are soooo many different opportunities. Follow your heart!

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Specializes in LTC.

Lorelai22RN--What did you decide to do?

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Specializes in none yet.

My year will be here nov. 12. can't wait, i am already starting to look for other jobs, but wanted to have that solid year of exp on my resume for negotiation. i also wanted to be np, but after seeing the reality of nursing, it is disheartening, a lot of stress. if only i could take care of patients without the other havic that goes on. they sure didn't teach me that in nursing school. i don't think that i will stay in the hospital setting either because of the stress. still want to be in healthcare but not in the hospital setting, moving on to bigger and hopefully better things.

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Specializes in GI and Telemetry.

I'm on a tele unit, and will have my 6 months in this week. I work 12s D/N rotation, and am already looking for something else that isn't so incredibly hard on my body and family. I love my coworkers, but I've come to the conclusion that hospital work isn't the best choice for me. Sure, the money is decent, but not when my family's best interest is taking a backseat to my job. I'd rather take a cut in pay and work less hours than miss my kid's activities and the toll this job has taken on my body.

Anyone else been through this experience, this early into their RN career?

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I am glad to know that I am not alone. I have only been working on a telemetry unit for four months and have decided to leave and take a position in outpatient surgery. I can't say that my experience was bad- I've enjoyed my co-workers and have gained some great hands-on clinical experience. But I knew from day one that I did not want to stay in telemetry. It is a progressive care unit and it never fails that I will have one or two patients a night that become unstable. This makes me a nervous wreck. I end up obsessing over things when I get home for days-in a constant state of worry that I didn't do the right thing. I think my manager is going to be shocked that I have decided to leave because at my 90 day review I received a glowing evaluation. I don't want to burn bridges because I'm taking a risk in starting over so soon but I'm on my way to burn out. Any advice on how to gracefully give my notice?

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Specializes in GI and Telemetry.

I'm sure glad to find someone else who feels the same way about telemetry that I do - the funny thing is that I met another nurse this afternoon at a yarn store that had worked tele as well, and left it for the same reason!

I have an interview tomorrow and another on Monday at different facilities, hopefully one will work out. Good luck in ambulatory, you'll do great!

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