Lacking confidence, should I stay or should I go??

Re: Lacking confidence, should I stay or should I go??

Helen Brewster — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:16:59 GMT

I know just how you feel - my first practice was shocking! Boss was an awful - constantly demeaning you over little stuff, very bad people skills and he was my assessor!! I handed my final case logs into him and in took him nearly 6 weeks to even get around to looking at them - despite a deadline, he just didn't care about it. Most other nurses left after only a couple of months!

But I was determined to stick it out (for 2.5 years) - no other places in my area and I also wanted to prove a point, that I could pass it all even with him.... and I did - first time!!!

I then promptly handed my notice in - went travelling and then got an excellent job at a lovely local practice and have been there since! So who is the winner here?!

Stick it out honey - it is absolutley worth it!!

Re: Lacking confidence, should I stay or should I go??

Snowb — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:44:51 GMT

Don’t worry about moaning, it’s good to get it of your chest.

All I can say is that the majority of us have been in the same situation at one point in our careers, generally when we were training! Its amazing how attitudes change as soon as you get that bottle green uniform and out of that stripy one!

And most importantly confidence comes with time, you are a good nurse otherwise you would not be qualifying in a few months, it’s just a pity that there is no one at your practice to tell you this, however it does sound like your assessor is supportive.

I remember not being very confident at all when training, thinking everyone was so much better than me. But having your qualification builds self-belief, so much so that I got another degree in something else and am now considering lecturing! Of course I still get my self-doubting moments like everyone else (especially going for interviews!) but as long as you are a good nurse and believe it, you can get any job you are after.

Well done for sticking it out until the end

Re: Lacking confidence, should I stay or should I go??

Sammyannieantha — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 00:14:47 GMT

Hey thankyou all for ur advice, im so low sometimes i cant even sleep (like now)and im always ill probably due to stress. Iv had a few days off to recover from a chest infection and what a break its been. There are 2 1st yrs at my practice to and they want to leave and they r such hard workers. We do a great job and we always do our best and what do we get, more work and no thanks whatsoever. We cant even talk to the head nurse about it to resolve it as she can be so unapproachable and is the main problem. I know it will never change too.I was so ill the other day and one of the nurses (who is not the head nurse by the way althought may be trying to be)tried to have a go over washing!washing!!I was ready to snap and had to bite my tongue.It really wasnt an issue in my eyes and there were more important things to do like assisting the VN! They think we do no work!Sorry bet ur all sick of me moaning, it just helps me to get it off my chest and hopefully encorage me to keep at this profession and my partner cant realy relate...All your advice helps alot :)

Re: Lacking confidence, should I stay or should I go??

daisy — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 20:51:54 GMT

hi sam

my advice would be stay put but keep sending your cv out to other TP's in the area in the meantime.

i was in the same postion as you, my first training practice was terrible, i was just a slave, but i kept posting out my cv every few months and i was luckly enough to be taken on by a practice who needed a more experienced trainee and i never looked back!

Keep your chin up hun, there are better places out there and you will find yours soon.

Good luck

Jue

Re: Lacking confidence, should I stay or should I go??

Sammyannieantha — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 11:14:11 GMT

Thanks for the pep talk guys :). Im in the nottinghamshire area so if you hear anything within the next couple of months.Also do i wait until i have conformation (ie certificates)i have acheived my qualification before applying for jobs just incase i dont pass??I really hope il gain more confidence and get through this....

Re: Lacking confidence, should I stay or should I go??

doreen — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:28:40 GMT

hi where abouts are you living? may know of somewhere looking for a degree student , - but i def think you should finish your degree whatever u do, there are so many jobs for vns x

Re: Lacking confidence, should I stay or should I go??

Carol Cottrell — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:35:38 GMT

Howdy Samz! Stick it out! In the grand scheme of things you haven't got far to go. You appear to have a lot of common sense, your confidence will blossom when you are in an environment where you are happy I'm sure of it! Keep your head down & learn as much as you possibly can from your new assessor so you can get through your exams & portfolio. I think if I was in the same position as you, I'd be out of there as soon as I'd finished my p'f/exams although........sometimes things can change once you are qualified, people can start to treat you with a bit more respect. Depends on the people I guess. Don't give up! You can do it!

Carol x

Re: Lacking confidence, should I stay or should I go??

Noodle — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:27:32 GMT

I really feel for you! It's so hard to be in a practice where you're not appreciated, but if I was you, I would stick it out until you're qualified. SVN positions are sooo hard to come by, and yet there always seems to be demand for QVN's.

I say get qualified, and then look to move to a better practice - there are some great ones out there who really appreciate their nurses.

Good luck and keep us informed