Hi, I am a newly grad nurse and have been working in Adult Intensive Care for 7 months. Since speaking to an extremely negative nurse 4 weeks ago - I still feel like I am going nowhere in this unit. I am told that I must attend study days in my own time and with my own money. I receive no support from mentors - as we are rarely scheduled to work together. I feel that the nurse in charge is very authoritarian and likes to put you down. When I ask other nurses questions - they either won't tell you or don't care and are very harsh.
Alot of people are leaving. I confided in a senior nurse who said she was also bullied and was reduced to tears. My morale has sunk rock bottom and am wonder ing what to do. Should I stay or should I go? None of the managers are approachable and have very little time to spare. When I first started I remembered how horrible some of the staff were, they leave me alone now - but I still feel depressed. Thanks for listening.
Kate
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May 30th, 2008 at 7:27 am
Your situation reminds me of a letter that was read at a manager’s meeting by the VP of Nursing at our hospital. It was from a new grad who had left the hospital after just under a year. She wrote about feeling unsupported, ignored, and at times even regretting that she had chosen nursing as a profession. I know that a lot of managers were moved by that letter.
I would stick it out for at least the year – it would look better on your resume. Or, does the hospital have a policy regarding length of time required before putting in a request for an in-house transfer? Find out how long you must work on the unit you were hired for before putting in such a request, but make sure you inform your manager before you do so.
If your manager is unapproachable in person, it might be good to schedule a meeting in advance, informing her that the purpose of the meeting is to discuss your adjustment to the unit as a new grad. Or, if a meeting isn’t an option, write a letter stating how you are feeling and give it to your manager in person. Hope this helps, and good luck.
June 9th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
I agree with the above – try to stick it out, but if it begins to affect your ability to function or tears you down personally, I would look for an in-house change. It sounds like there are many unhappy people there if so many are leaving, and one positive note might be that as those unhappy people are replaced, you could find yourself with a happier group of people to work alongside.
Only you know your own limits, don’t stay to the point of your own destruction. Seek out activities outside of work that you enjoy and focus on those for now to relieve the stress of work! You could even sign up for a fun art class or team sport at a local college just to have something else to focus on for enjoyment until things get better at work:)
June 29th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Hi Kate. I am a new nurse (I will have worked 8 months by the time my last day comes) and I am leaving too, for many of the same reasons, and also b/c I simply CANNOT get out on time and give quality care to our very complex patients because we are chronically understaffed. I was speaking confidentially to a patient—another nurse who has been at a diffrent hospital for 36 years—and her advice was clear: there are many avenues, and you need to get out before you’re soured on nursing altogether. One of our own nurses also applauded my decision saying, “If it’s going to keep you in nursing, Janet, then I am all for it.” I refuse to leave nursing, but I also refuse to do hospital nursing under what I consider to be deplorable conditions. Even our most senior nurses are having melt-downs; the place is impossible. But I cannot also risk going to another hospital situation since there is no way to really know what staffing ratios, etc., will be. My place sounded wonderful on paper, but it’s a hell hole. I love our patients and am proud to have given them excellent care for my level of experience; I take that with me—and the support that a few of the other nurses have given me—as the best part of my time in hospital nursing. Maybe I will do something per diem again one day, but now I want out altogether and am going into an area of home care that has always interested me. So follow your gut and see what can work for you—the in-house transfer might work, if you want to stay at the bedside. If you don’t, then start looking asap for another way to practice nursing that will enliven you and remind you why you became a nurse in the first place. Some places require a year of experience, but not all (I got my new job with less). If you can’t find anything right away, hang in there and remind yourself that nursing is worthwhile and YOU are worthwhile. You have a lot to give and you are NOT alone. Hope this helps! I will be thinking of you…