50YO new nurse dreads work

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Hi fellow nurses! I hope all you seasoned nurses can offer some advice.

All my life I've wanted to be a nurse, so when the "empty nest" arrived, I went back to school and got my RN at age 50

I've been working at a highly acclaimed hospital on a med/surg floor for 3 months now, and I'm so disenchanted, disappointed, and disheartened. I dread going to work! I thought I would love nursing but I don't. I'm shocked and overwhelmed with the amount of charting, the stress level, and the little amount of time I have to feel like I'm connecting with my patients. I feel like school barely prepared me for nursing, and most of the shift I feel like I'm behind. Sometimes I have to stay 1-2 hours overtime to finish charting. I work nights (which is wreaking havoc with my body & mind) because day shift is intolerable (the insane pace and stress). All the nurses who've been there over a year say it was the same exact way for them. Oh great.

I didn't want to work in med/surg but all my teachers and almost every nurse I talked to said to get one year there first. Everyone says the first year as a new nurse is extremely hard and stressful. I just don't know if I can handle 9 more months of feeling like a zombie, dreading going to work, and generally being so sad that I'm not enjoying my

job. :o I'm a hard worker, very self-motivated, and wanting to pour myself into nursing.

I do not enjoy the type of nursing I'm doing, but I do like getting to know my patients and I love doing procedures, like starting IV's, stuff like that. I think I want to try NICU, but how will I know if I will like it? I'm certain that I haven't found my "niche", but I'm not sure how to find it!

Is this how all nursing is? Did I go into this with the wrong expectations? Should I not have gotten a job in med/surg? For those nurses out there who LOVE their jobs, how did you find the type of nursing that you love? Are all day shifts insane? Should I try to find something else now, or put in my one year of med/surg? Please help!

Thank you!

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maybe try rehab

or meet with someone to shadow for a few days in your expressed area of interest (NICU)

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Specializes in Operating Room.

The first year is tough but most people get past it...I would do the bare minimum in med surg(only because 3 months isn't very long) maybe 6 months and then look into another area. Just because you don't like med-surg doesn't mean you are a bad nurse..You also don't need that year of med-surg IMO, but that's another thread.. Serve your time, learn what you want to learn, and find something more to your liking. Good luck!!

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I would say that you have not found your niche. Have you considered LTC or rehab? There you really get to know your patients. I have worked at my facility for five years. This has been my only job. The first year is really hard. It takes a while to get your groove/routine going. Good luck and hang in there!!

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i can't promise you that you will eventually like med-surg, but i can promise you it will eventually get easier.

feeling overwhelmed and disappointed are perfectly normal.

days are always faster-paced but remain a desired shift.

some never adjust to nocs, where others wouldn't have it any other way.

i agree about shadowing someone in the nicu.

just keep in mind that no matter where you go, you're likely to feel stressed as you learn the specialty of your choice.

i've known many nurses who cried their first yr in nsg., then everything fell into place once they reached their comfort zone.

be patient with yourself.

you will get there.

best of everything to you.

leslie

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Hi there and welcome. The first year is the hardest by far! It does sound like med-surg might not be your cup of tea. NICU is extremely specialized with many many procedures and "stuff" but I second shadowing (even if it has to be done on your own time). THe reason is that you don't want to jump out of the frying pan into the fire - lol.

Try to hang out in this unit for six full months so that you can say you gave it the best try. Another option might be ICU. It is more mentally challenging but your nurse/pt ratio is much less too.

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I would say that you have not found your niche. Have you considered LTC or rehab? There you really get to know your patients. I have worked at my facility for five years. This has been my only job. The first year is really hard. It takes a while to get your groove/routine going. Good luck and hang in there!!

I agree LTC might be more your style. I was 42 when I started as a nurse (LPN) and started in LTC. I think you "connect" with your residents since they are there for years. Some people find it boring, but I enjoy it.

Also, the night shift many not be for you. I just started the night shift a month ago and love it, but it isn't for everyone. I also agree that it may take awhile to get your confidence and groove going.

There are so many opportunites for RNs, so please don't give up. I know a lot of people advise new nurses to get one year experience in med/surg, but I think that depends on what your path is going to be.

Good luck!

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All I can offer is that you're not alone in your feelings. But what to do about it...??

Is there anyway you can give yourself a break? That is, even if co-workers are saying this or that should've been done sooner or better or you see that things are left undone or worry about what you missed or whatever, that you can tell yourself that it's good enough given that you're still new and learning?

I remember hearing the words "learn to prioritize" over and over but if I did X, I'd get scolded for not having Y done and if I did Y then I'd hear how I should've done X. So what does "learn to prioritize" really mean? It means put EMERGENT, LIFE-THREATENING issues first and foremost and consider everything else secondary. It means if you keep your patients out of immediate danger, consider it a JOB WELL DONE no matter if colleagues are giving you a hard time about not getting this or that done just so or on time. It means that IN YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT - based on the basics you learned in school - you decide what needs to be taken care of first. And if those things lower on the list don't get done, oh well, you can't do more than you can do.

If it seems that several things need to be done STAT - GET HELP! And if they huff about because you were worried about something's that actually wasn't a big deal, oh well!!! Better safe than sorry. You learned and you made sure that your patients were taken care of. You will now know what to do in the future.

You will learn by making mistakes - filling out the wrong form, not having the patient prepped in time - but those mistakes won't hurt anyone - so take them for what they are, learning experiences and not "poor performance." Being meticulous with medications and alert in your assessments (to catch turns for the worse ASAP) are what you can initially focus on as your "priority" and move on from there - one baby step at a time. If you miss anything because you didn't know what to look for, the next shift should catch it... because you can be confident that you took care of the PRIORITIES (eg your patients were all breathing when you left!).

Congratulating yourself even if others roll their eyes as if it's no big deal. Be your own cheerleader if you can. And come here for moral support as well. There are some pretty good cheerleaders here if you ask for support!

NOTE: this is half to myself as I try to make sense of the all too typical trial-by-fire new nurses often go through

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I'm one of those who believes that getting a good year of med/surg under your belt is a good idea.

BUT!

If it is making you miserable and stressing you out, it's NOT worth it. Go for what you want to do. Try NICU. If you don't like that, try something else.

But try to give yourself some time to get into the flow of things before you jump ship (anywhere). There's going to be stress no matter where you work.

Most places consider someone to be on a probationary period for 90 days or so; during that time, the new nurse (or the hospital) can decide they aren't a good fit, and go their separate ways, no harm done.

Try talking to your manager and tell him or her exactly how you are feeling. If you think you'd want to stay on for a while longer as a learning experience, discuss how you could get some extra mentoring to assist you. If you really don't want to stay, let your manager know. A good manager doesn't want unhappy, stressed out staff.

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if you are miserable then STOP! the great thing about nursing is that you can work in so many different areas in various settings. If you want to do NICU you should definitely look into shadowing...but I reccomend working on a postpartum mother/baby unit first so you can get the whole picture. it's a lot easier to spot something wrong in a newborn once you know what is normal.

good luck!

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Specializes in Infection Preventionist/ Occ Health.

Being a new grad is tough. After 6 months, I finally feel like I'm becoming faster and more efficient (without sacrificing accuracy). I would hang in there for a little longer and see if it gets easier. If not, you can always find another position in a more suitable area.

Heath care in general is fast-paced. Acute care, in particular, requires a certain level of stamina. It is even difficult for those of us in our 20s and 30s. I give you a lot of credit for embarking on a new career later in life.

Good luck to you and I hope that you find your niche.

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Do you remember your first year as a parent-how much harder it was than all the books made it seem? Do you remember when just getting through the day was the goal? The first year of nursing is a lot like that; there is a big emotional transition we all have to make. Be kind to yourself, and don't give up.

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