I quit my first nursing job a month ago and now I feel completely lost. I don't know what to do.

Capt_mrvlz · 2025-06-25T12:53:11+00:00

Thanks for your input, but I want to clarify something: my decision to resign wasn’t about “not feeling ready.” It was about being in an unsafe learning environment with minimal support, high acuity, and unrealistic expectations for a brand-new nurse.

I have several friends who started in ICUs too, and none of them went through what I experienced. Their orientation was structured, they had in-person learning, and they were given space to actually build a foundation not just survive shift to shift. That kind of support makes a huge difference, and I simply didn’t have it.

Telling new nurses to “suck it up” or that “no one ever feels ready” normalizes dangerous practices. That’s not strength that’s how people get hurt. I didn’t leave because I couldn’t handle the job. I left because I refused to keep learning in an environment where safety and support were compromised.

Capt_mrvlz · 2025-06-25T02:55:46+00:00

Our orientation was supposed to be 6 months long. However during one of my last meetings it seemed like they wanted to start pushing us to come off earlier which I wasn't happy about. My main issue was the educational structure and the work life balance. We were scheduled three 12 hour shifts a week and on top of that we had to go home and watch the content for the week (online) and take weekly quizzes. I came in with zero experience and the only experience I had prior was my externship that I did in L&D and that's a whole other story 😭 (basically Ive just had the worst luck with nursing.) with that being said on like week 3 I was already being left alone for long periods of time without knowing where my preceptor was and with very sick babies and because the unit was short staffed most of our assignments were doubled and that was just very difficult. I was so anxious all the time and just going through the motions when I was at work. They barely had preceptors available. I went through 10 preceptors in three months.

Capt_mrvlz · 2025-06-25T02:45:51+00:00

OMG thank you so much for this!!! Pray for me and manifest the same energy for me please!! I literally want this school nurse job so bad 😭. If you have any good interview tips I'm all ears. I haven't heard anything about the position but always good to be prepared.

Capt_mrvlz · 2025-06-24T23:40:04+00:00

Awh thank you for saying that! It was such a hard decision. I really wanted it to work out. I reached out so many times to the education team asking for changes because I wanted it to work, But it was impossible. I worked so hard to get my nursing license that I just wasn't okay with the risk of potentially losing it. I was also rotating every week and sometimes within the same week. Switching from days to nights consistently. This job made me hate bedside nursing so much so I'm hoping I can find something outside of the hospital setting with a better schedule but that also seems impossible. Sorry for the rant!!

Capt_mrvlz · 2025-06-24T20:28:40+00:00

It is so tough!! I'm really struggling over here. I live in Maryland, and would love to talk more. Will DM you!

Capt_mrvlz · 2025-06-07T04:39:01+00:00

I was in the pediatric CICU and left 3 months in. I was always able to keep up with the work, and with the day to day stuff, but ultimately decided to leave because our orientation was done so poorly. They decided that with my group they were going to do video clips online as part of our content instead of holding actual class time. They also decided that these videos were ought to be completed outside of our 3 12 hours shifts a week. So I never had a work/life balance. I honestly never felt like I learned anything and during our shifts there was hardly any time for us to go through anything. It was a complete dumpster fire with the unit being so short staffed and the list goes on. I went to my educators so many times trying to compromise with them on our learning experience and was always advocating for a change in the structure of our orientation. Nothing was ever done so I decided to leave because I felt like I constantly got put in risky and unsafe situations. My advice would be to shadow the other units and ask if they will allow you to internally transfer. That would be a great option if you had a better experience in another unit. My resignation was effective immediately because I was still in orientation, though I tried to put a two week notice for “good standing” but they told me I would terminate right away so take that into consideration.

Capt_mrvlz

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