“I knew something wasn’t right when I wasn’t enjoying it.”

So says oncology nurse Melissa Granger of her first position working nights on a general medical floor. A self-proclaimed optimist who dreamed of being a nurse since the age of five, Melissa never expected to dread going to work.

Melissa now knows she should not have waited to pursue the job that fit her personality.

“I always wanted to work with cancer patients,” says Melissa, “but I thought the oncology floor might be too much right away.” And since she knew it’s hard for new nurses to pick up a day position, she snagged the first offer wagged her way.

She slogged her way through the first eight months.  She was depressed and felt exhausted all the time, her young marriage was anything but blissful. She seldom interacted with her patients. “My patients rarely needed me. I’d pop in at the beginning of my shift, and then most nights my patients didn’t want to see me. They’d sleep. I really wanted to feel like I was helping my patients get better. In this job I wasn’t. I couldn’t handle it anymore.”

This led Melissa to actively pursue another position.

She was a bit more savvy this time. To help her stay focused, she envisioned what her dream job would look like: a short commute, a day shift on an oncology floor, and a thorough orientation to her new position. Within a month, her blue-sky dreaming became a reality.

While the activity level on the oncology floor is often frenetic and she has to deal with death more regularly, Melissa now doesn’t leave work crushed. In fact, she feels passionate about what she does and continues to learn more because she wants to provide the best care for her patients.

Her best advice for new nurses who are languishing in their current position is to trust your instincts:

“Often within the first six months—and sometimes even during orientation—nurses know if the job isn’t right for them,” says Melissa. “Nurses shouldn’t just complain and stay unhappy. They need to realize that there are tons of areas to go into—they can find a good fit. It’s a matter of patience and persistence and knowing what makes you happy.”

Related: Career, Job Search, New Grad, New Nurse, Quitting, Success