I'm a newly licensed nurse, 20 years old, and started working as a volunteer Nurse in a tertiary hospital, along with 11 new volunteers. I'm going on for my 2nd month now and I feel that I can't really attend to my duties as a staff nurse and can't be left alone by my senior. I had no issues before about my skills and competencies but I guess pressure gets the best of me. There are times when I feel that no one really in the team trusts me, and it seems that they really like putting me down. The cold treatment I've been getting has made me feel so low and stupid. I just feel that my environment has not been very helpful for my training because it affects me personally and professionally. People talk harshly or sometimes they wont talk to me at all. I always try to be nice and obedient, and try to give my best in doing my work in any way possible but it's hard to really get it done perfectly when they always look for mistakes. And I feel insecure about a certain volunteer because he has been much favored by everyone, and he's not getting what I'm experiencing. I'm just wondering, for some new nurses, have you ever felt the same way that you want to quit your job?
Dang
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December 9th, 2008 at 5:28 am
I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN AND FEEL. STOP SECOND GUESSING YOURSELF YOU ARE COMPETENT AND THESE PEOPLE ARE INSENSITIVE BOOBS THEY ALL STARTED EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE AND NEED TO BE REMINED HOW HARD IT WAS TO BE SURROUNDED BY THE SAME TYPE PEOPLE THEY ARE ACTING LIKE. THIS BEHAVIOR IS CHILDISH AND SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED BY YOUR MANAGEMENT. HANG IN THERE, GO BACK TO YOUR CLINICALS REMEMBER HOW THING WERE TAUGHT. ANY DIFFERENCE IS ONLY LEARND DIFFERENCES EXPERIENCE CHANGES US ALL. SURELY SOMEONE HAS A KIND HEART USUALLY AN OLDER NURSE
December 10th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
take heart, we have all been there, as u get more experience u will gain more confidence, give yourself at least a year, you are a young person too, so dont be so hard on yourself….
December 10th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Dixie,
Insecurity is not the monopoly of new nurses. We all have been there,
December 10th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
I agree we have all been there. I am still “wet behind the ears” having just graduated in May. I have posted her a while ago about my struggles as a new nurse. You can read that if you care to. But more to the point- my first job didn’t end very well- and I am upset with myself for not following my instincts. I struggled with my new job and forgot rudimentary clinical skills like hanging IV’s. I went through 5 preceptors and was seldom told I did a good job. I felt like I didn’t have anyone in my corner and didn’t take the initiative to form any alliances. Needless to say my job ended last week because it was “a bad fit.”
I think you need to follow your instincts and if it doesn’t feel right there – get out. First year nurses don’t need anyone beating up on them – they do enough of that themselves. Try to get into a place where you will get good training to provide safe- efficient patient care in a supportive environment. There are places that pay new grads while they train them too!
Good Luck to you. I am picking myself up and trying again. Somewhere out there is the right place for me- a new- 53 year old graduate RN .
Michelle
December 10th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
I’m so very sorry that you are going through this. If you can “tough it out” for a bit longer, learn a bit and leave on good terms, that would be a great thing. You’ve already learned one very valuable thing, what type of nurse NOT to be 🙂 Until then, chin up, don’t be TOO easy and eager with these “boobs” and maybe they’ll miss YOU !!
Deb
December 10th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
I am only speaking about what my professors have related to us each and every semester in nursing school. NURSES EAT THEIR YOUNG!!!! We don’t know why they do, but they do. My theory is that some nurses who participate in evil or unwanted actions are trying to prove that they are better then the new people and that the new people should just sit back and take orders, say yes ma’am and wipe *ss. It sucks but it’s true. Just keep in mind that you are there for the patients. You are there to care for patients not care for the other employees. Good Luck with the job and sometimes it’s not a bad thing to toss in the towel.
December 10th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Dang,
If you truly want to be a nurse, pour yourself into taking care of your patients. When someone finds a mistake, ask them to help you do it the correct way. My guess is you are excellent at patient care and make the others ‘nervous’ because they aren’t able to measure up to your standard of nursing. Fear drives many nurses into that old saying, “Nurses eat their young.” Keep your wits, and your heart about you, and one day you will be able to train up a young nurse like yourself in a warm, caring, and effective manner.
Cindy
December 11th, 2008 at 12:10 am
I have been there. You work in a dysfunctional environment. It is not you. Get out as soon as you can. Don’t forget the common sense you had about life before everything became about nursing.
Why stay at a place that you are miserable in? The management should be taking care of this but in units like the one you are in the dysfunction comes from the top and trickles down. Likewise, when you do find an environment that you can really learn and grow-up in, you will also find secure, well-rounded “grown-ups” running it. Look for a job at a university hospital where they want to educate you and are used to allowing for a learning curve. Unfortunately, the harder you try to please these haters the more they will delight in making it impossible to do so. Again, it is not you. You have just been picked to be “it” and it will break your spirit if you stay. As a new nurse who obviously cares, you don’t need all of this anxiety on top of trying to learn your skills. Good luck!
December 11th, 2008 at 1:26 am
I never could understand that whole thing about “nurses eat their young.” I have to think the one’s who do that are perhaps insecure themselves! I have to admit, not everyone is a good teacher or mentor. It’s great if you have a choice of where to work and you can check into what kind of mentoring program the employer has. Irregardless, there is normally at least one person on staff who can relate to what you’re feeling and who actually enjoys taking you under their wing. Also, young one-we all felt like you at the beginning. What you learn in school provides a good foundation but the real learning comes on the job from your patients,their families and yes, from your co-workers. Don’t give up this great gift you have to care for others.
December 15th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Dang,
I have been there and I know exactly what you are going through. Be encouraged. If I could survive my days of inexperience with a serious language barrier and cultural conflict, any one could. My advice is that you focus on being the best you can be. Ignore back biting and below the belt punches. That is the nature of the beast. Remember your best effort is all you owe to your patent and to your conscience/God who is watching. Once you please those two, you are in good place. As far as being a new nurse is concerned, do not worry about that. Every journey starts with the very first step. I assure you, very soon you will be running. Every thing will certainly fall into place. Have faith in yourself and every other per will do the same.
December 18th, 2008 at 6:22 am
Thank you all for responding. I’ll keep all your encouragements with me. It’s inspiring to hear that most of you had been there and made it. I’m not losing hope and I’m keeping the faith. May God bless you all.
December 19th, 2008 at 6:22 am
Dear Dang,
I find it difficult to respond as I don’t really understand what you mean in the quote below.
I’m a newly licensed nurse, 20 years old, and started working as a volunteer Nurse in a tertiary hospital, along with 11 new volunteers. I’m going on for my 2nd month now and I feel that I can’t really attend to my duties as a staff nurse and can’t be left alone by my senior.
What is the responsibility/accountability of a volunteer nurse position? Is this something like a postgrad internship? What level of competency is expected of you in this position?
Perhaps a position in a healthcare facility that provides a more traditional mentorship. Even when we hire a new grad into our ICU, ER Triage, OB, or one of the other acute care units, the new grad is provided with a full 6 month progressive mentorship/orientation program.
The retention of our nurses is paramount to us and we go the “full nine yards” to prevent the feelings you express. Is there a professor from your nursing program, who knows your current program, that would be available to help you work through some of these issues.
I think we all probably felt pretty secure in our knowledge and skills when we graduated and passed our RN License exams. Over the next few years, you will be often find yourself attempting to balance the Learned Ideal with the Real Experience. It is in discovering our balance between these two realities that we discover our selves and our practice.
December 19th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
I know exactly how you feel. I am a new nurse too. I just found out I passed my boards yesterday. I have a problem second guessing myself all the time. But I know with experience comes confidence. I am having the same problem with an LPN I work with. She loves to gossip like I have never seen. And she’s a grandmother! She acts like she is 15. Just remember, you did not become a nurse to gossip and talk about people. If they don’t like you and you have been nothing but nice, than that’s on them. Don’t get caught up in their misery. This is something I saw that helps me when I think about it:
“Should you find yourself the victim of other people’s bitterness, ignorance, smallness, or insecurities, Remeber this, things could be much worse. You could be one of them!”
So don’t quit a good job because some ignorany nurses think they’re God and they forget where they come from. You’ll get there, and remember what it feels like so you will never be one of them. Good luck!
December 21st, 2008 at 4:12 am
GOOD GRIEF, CHARLIE BROWN!!!! I COULD HARDLY BELIEVE HOW MANY, WOULD THROW IN THE TOWEL, AND MOVE ON SO QUICK. GET UP ON YOUR HAUNCHES AND FIGHT BACK. DON’T TAKE THIS LYING DOWN. I HAVE FOUND MANY, MANY BULLIES (YES BULLIES THAT IS WHAT THEY ARE DOING) NEEDED TO SIMPLY TO BE STOOD UP TO. IF THEY FIND YOU BITE BACK THEY WILL BACK OFF. THEY ARE CHECKING/TESTING YOUR BOUNDRIES, HELP THEM BY DRAWING THE LINE IN THE SAND FOR THEM. KICK *SS AND TAKE NAMES LATER. HARD TO MAKE YOURSELF DO, BUT WORTHY IT. AFTER YOU SHOW THEM YOUR BOUNDARIES, YOU CAN BUILD FRIENDSHIPS LATER, THEY WILL ACTUALLY BE MORE RESPECTFUL TO YOU AS A PERSON, THEN THEY CAN SEE YOU AS A GREAT NURSE AS YOU DEVELOP YOUR SKILL BASE.KEEP GOIN’
January 6th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
I think every nurse starting out feels this way, but ut makes it sooooo hard when your co-workers nit-pick everything you do. It can get you so flustered you forget stuff you really do know!!
This may sound silly but it works for me…. At night before you go to bed, and in the morning before you get out of your car to go in to work take a few minutes and….. Picture yourself at work, feeling confident, self assured, and competent. Let yourself actually FEEL it, like it is actually happening, actually picture it….. walking in there with your head held high, with confidence, picture knowing how to and calmly dealing with issues as they come your way throughout the day, and showing them you know your stuff!
And when you DO feel yourself getting flustered, take a few seconds and take a deep breath. When we are nervous and get flustered it is easy to get “mind block” especially when someone is watching. Remember even your precepter, and other co-workers were all new at one point also…… and I guarantee they did NOT do everything perfect when they first started out!
The more confidence you have in yourself, the more they will respect you. You made it through Nursing School, you have the knowledge, you have the heart….. now you just have to find your POWER! Good luck 🙂
January 7th, 2009 at 11:16 am
I TOO AM A NEW GRAD I ALREADY QUIT A “TOXIC FACILITY” I WORKED 15 DAYS, PART TIME NO BENIFITS, THEY REMINDED ME OF A PILE OF SERPENTS. AND I’TS TRUE STICK TO YOUR NURSING SKILLS, NO SHORTCUTS, APATHY. I’M ON MY SECOND JOB . I WAS HIRED 2 DAYS AFTER THE FIRST. THE SAME CRAZYNESS STARTED TO HAPPEN, BUT MY ATTITUDE WAS DIFFERENT AND TODAY I HAD A GOOD NURSING DAY. WITH ALL THE MADDNESS I WAS ABLE TO CARRY MY LOAD THIRD DAY ALONE. ROCK ON HEALERS, WE CAN CHANGE ALL THIS NEGATIVITY
December 5th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
The heart of science, medical science and nursing, is logic and reasoning (the exact term for the same is medical reasoning). If you haven’t already done the same, I suggest that you read a book or two on logic, reasoning, and argumentation. The same will assist you immensely as a nurse and bolster your self confidence also.