NEW RN & Hate it already

[Cathal]

Ive read through this thread and although it originates a number of years ago, the initial post reminds me of my own experiences.
In my personal case, I did very well throughout my education programme and clinical placements as a student nurse. I enjoyed my course and thought that this was going to be the greatest thing ever.
Upon qualifying I got a job in a general surgical unit. This particular unit had hosted me on 3 previous occassions as a student and indeed had been the very place where my management assessment was carried out. I was delighted to say the least. I knew the staff, they knew me and we got on well. I knew what the work was like and felt comfortable and couldnt wait to start. It was the dream beginningto my career.... or so i thought.
What I didnt have a real good insight into, or appreciate was the day to day hospital politics and the responsibility that you have once that 'safety net' of being a student nurse is removed.
Not that i wasnt a good nurse, but with the added responsibilty and pressure I struggled, and struggled bad for quite awhile. I went home days and even told my allocaed mentor and one point I felt like going back to being an aide in the challanging behaviour unit, I was so unhappy and felt useless, incompetent and ill prepared for the job I had walked into. I was seeing that I had been shielded as a student from the pressures of managing constant admissions, outlying patients to other floors to accomodate sicker patients, the higher expectation and the silly bickering and in fighting that went on and also.
Silly harmless little mistakes I had once made that had once been delt with by pointing out where I went wrong and how to rectify it now suddenly became a crime so serious the verbal lashings destroyed what little confidence in my skills and ability I had left!
The first year was hard. Despite wanting to quit on numerous occassions I didnt. It was hard to hear about how great collegues I had trained with were being described as fantastic nurses while the only time I ever heard anything about me was when I had screwed up yet again!
But it did get better and I learned alot from my own experience and it has served me well in working with newly qualified staff and with nursing students. Ive learned not to sugar coat a problem with new staff ( particularly newly qualified ones) but the I always finish feed back with some positive for them, New nurses and studnets NEED to be told they are good at something as well as highlighting weakness constantly.
While the politicing and staffing level debate will always be an issue, you learn how to better cope and deal with these things as you gain in experience.
Now Im a senior member of staff on the same unit, Im in charge of the place on occassion and I will always retain the feelings I had in that first year, but use them for positive change.

[jchris]

Wow,I am a new nurse in the field and all these negative comments about nursing is depressing. I think its how you aproach each situaton. I already know nursing is a diificult career, sometime mandatory overtime, over worked and feel under appreciated. I am going to enter the profession with these things in mind and work as stress free as possible bacause at the end of the day its all about my sanity. If you dont plan to make a change why complain? That is how I see things. Its just the new bee 2 cents.

[cougarnurse]

Wow,I am a new nurse in the field and all these negative comments about nursing is depressing. I think its how you aproach each situaton. I already know nursing is a diificult career, sometime mandatory overtime, over worked and feel under appreciated. I am going to enter the profession with these things in mind and work as stress free as possible bacause at the end of the day its all about my sanity. If you dont plan to make a change why complain? That is how I see things. Its just the new bee 2 cents.

Jchris, thank you for your thoughts and comments! You are so right; it IS how you go about things. Perhaps the job and the person don't quite 'mesh'?

Again, thank you for your input. You 'newbies' can teach us 'old timers' a few things, I tell ya!

[Ricu]

Wow,I am a new nurse in the field and all these negative comments about nursing is depressing. I think its how you aproach each situaton. I already know nursing is a diificult career, sometime mandatory overtime, over worked and feel under appreciated. I am going to enter the profession with these things in mind and work as stress free as possible bacause at the end of the day its all about my sanity. If you dont plan to make a change why complain? That is how I see things. Its just the new bee 2 cents.

Hey again, Chris,

I agree wholeheartedly with your comments. What I like in particular is that you allude to the idea that nurses, or any healthcare provider, need to take care of number one. Stress management is key to survival. The respiratory therapist in you is talking. Take that wisdom into nursing with you.

R

[cindee18]

Very good take on that subject, I agree, I am an LPN and we all feel these things a lot. I was a Cena for 6 yrs, then went back and got my LPN. We all work very hard in this field, you have a very good mind set starting out, thanks for sharing.

[cindee18]

Just one more thought on that subject, I am for one very very thankful that I have 2 jobs with all the hours I want, at least for now. I hope it continues because it does pay the bills.....and a lot of folks are out of work right now. Makes me happy that I am a nurse.

[jchris]

Thank you everyone for your posistive responses to my comment.

[nursinghumor]

I'll never forget how disillusioned I felt during the early days after graduation. For the first 6 months I think I went home in tears almost every day. It seems our training is biased toward hospital positions but nursing encompasses so much more and there are those, like me, who do not at all enjoy hospital work.
Perhaps you could give yourself a year before making up your mind about nursing. By then you will have enough experience to be able to move around in the profession. And in the meantime, there is no shame in looking for a less intense unit while you find your balance.
Good luck to you.

I have to agree, the first year at least on the floor was super stressful and each day I questioned if I was going to last my first year.

Realize that there are nurses out there that will help, take you under their wing and want you to succeed. Feel them out on your unit and you'll find them.

More experienced nurses realize that without new nurses, there will be no one to take care of our patients (and us!). Some are more inclined to help new graduates than others.

Hang in there.

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.nursefriendly.com

[tyrus]

I'm sure some have said it already, but see if you can transfer to a new area.

I worked Med-Surg for two years and absolutely hated it. Finally got the guts to ICU and overall, I really enjoy what I do.

If you can, go to a new area to make the change. You just might not be in the area for you. Personally, I recommend ICU and ER. People always say to go floor then critical care, but if I could've done it all over again, I would've gone straight to ICU.

Anyhoo, hope that helps. Hold in there, it does get better! And dunno if anyone told you, but the first 6 months to a year just plain sucks. Once you get used to things, work out your routine, and build up some confidence and backbone, it'll get better. New nurses tend to get run over, and a lot of times, our colleagues don't lift a finger to help (people always told me nurses eat their young).

Trust me though, it gets better. You do a lot of good every day. And so long as you genuinely care and want to get better (which sounds like you do), you will be a great nurse. It's a simple as that!

[SoldierNurse]

Thank you everyone for your posistive responses to my comment.

We look fwd to more of your input.

Happy Holidays!