I Took a Nursing Job for the Schedule and Quit During Orientation. (Here's What I Learned About What Actually Matters).

So when the OR posted a position with Monday through Friday, no weekends, no holidays, I put in an application just about as fast as I could.

I went as-needed (PRN) in the ER, took the OR job, and walked into my first day thinking I'd just made the smartest move of my whole nursing career.

But I hated it almost immediately.

The orientation was long. I had weeks of cross-training in multiple surgical specialties as both a circulator and scrub nurse. Standing in a room watching surgeries I had zero interest in, learning hundreds of different surgical instruments and which surgeon liked which ones the best, all the while trying to find some enthusiasm for work that felt like someone else's calling.

Oh, and feeling cold all. the. time.

I kept telling myself that I would grow to like it (or at least tolerate it). That the schedule was worth it. That I just needed more time.

And then one day, I had it. A surgeon got upset with me during a case and I realized I didn’t actually want to be here. Definitely not on a bad day like that, but not even on a good day.

I didn't want to spend my time at a job I didn't actually enjoy.

So I quit during orientation.

That story doesn't end with regret. But I'll come back to that. Because if you're reading this, you might be in the middle of your own version right now. You took a new nursing job, started orientation, and something feels off, maybe even wrong.

And you're going back and forth between “do I push through?” or “do I get out,” and you can't tell which is the right call.

Here's the thing: Struggling in a new job doesn't automatically mean you should quit. But it doesn't automatically mean you should push through it, either. The challenge is figuring out what's actually wrong, what could change, and whether the job is a good fit once you account for those things that could change.

So let's work through it.

That Awful Feeling You Have Might Be Normal.

I know that sounds dismissive. It's not. Stay with me.

There's a researcher named Marlene Kramer who studied what happens when new graduates move from nursing school into practice. Her work on reality shock describes four phases: honeymoon, shock, recovery, and resolution.

At first, everything may feel exciting. Then reality sets in, the work gets harder than expected, and the gap between what you expected and what you're experiencing can leave you questioning whether you can actually do it (and like it). Over time, you may start to adjust and feel more settled, although resolution doesn't always mean staying in the role.

Some of what feels like “I don’t like this job” may be adjustment stress that improves with experience and support. But that framework doesn't tell you whether this particular job will become a good fit.

The NCSBN has studied this transition, too. In its research on newly graduated nurses, the NCSBN found that job satisfaction decreased around six months into practice, with the first six to nine months identified as the most vulnerable period. By 12 months, job satisfaction had improved.

But there's a catch.

That research focused on new graduates entering professional practice. It doesn't establish a timeline for an experienced nurse changing specialties. And struggling for several months doesn't necessarily mean you're experiencing normal transition shock.

Sometimes the work gets easier as you learn. Sometimes the environment is genuinely unhealthy. And sometimes, like me, you just don't enjoy the work of that particular specialty, and no amount of adjusting is going to change that.

The hard part is figuring out which one you're dealing with.

One Question That Can Help You Sort It Out

I wish someone had asked me this early in my OR orientation, because I think it would've saved me weeks of going back and forth.

If I had a respectful team, good training, and enough confidence to do the job well, would I enjoy this work?

If the answer is yes, you might be dealing with problems that could improve with better support, more experience, or changes to the work environment.

A difficult preceptor, inconsistent expectations, an orientation that leaves you feeling unprepared; those are real problems. But oftentimes they can be fixed or at least improved. You don't necessarily have to leave a job you want because the transition is going badly.

If the answer is no, that tells you something important too. A schedule, sign-on bonus, or convenience can’t guarantee that you'll enjoy work that you don't actually want to do.

For me, it was no. Even if I imagined a great team, a supportive preceptor, and a smoother orientation, I still didn't want to work in the OR. I missed the pace, variety, and unpredictability of emergency nursing.

That didn't mean the OR was a bad specialty. It meant it wasn't the right fit for me.

But What if Your Answer Is "I Don't Know"?

That's okay, too.

Sometimes you haven't had enough exposure to the actual job to know what it looks like once you're trained. Sometimes you're so overwhelmed by the learning curve that it's hard to separate your feelings about the work from your feelings about how you're being treated or how you feel during the learning phase.

You don't have to force a yes or no. Get clearer about what you know, what you don't know yet, and what you need to help you decide.

Figure Out What "I Hate This Job" Actually Means

"I'm overwhelmed and scared I'll hurt someone." That can be part of the learning curve, but it can also signal gaps in training or support. Get specific about what you don't feel prepared to do, and raise those concerns with your preceptor or educator before doing those tasks independently. What you need is structured teaching, a preceptor who actually walks you through things, and clear expectations about where you should be in your training. You're not supposed to feel confident every day right now. The question is whether you're making progress and have the support you need to practice safely.

"I like the work, but my preceptor is making every shift miserable." I've been there. An impatient or dismissive preceptor. You dread asking questions because you never know how they'll respond. Every shift with them makes you feel worse about yourself, even when you're doing fine. That can make you think you hate the job when what you actually hate is how you're being trained. You shouldn't have to give up a specialty you want because one person doesn't know how to teach. (I have a lot to say about this. We'll get into all of it in part two.)

"The job is wrecking my life outside of work." The schedule is exhausting, the commute is draining, or you get home with nothing left for your family. That might mean you need a different schedule, a different unit, or a different employer. It doesn't mean you're in the wrong career.

"I can't handle the environment or team." This goes beyond one bad preceptor. People ridicule your questions, withhold help, humiliate you in front of patients, or retaliate when you raise concerns. Unsafe practices get dismissed and leadership won't touch it. A tough piece of feedback or a difficult interaction isn't automatically bullying, but repeated intimidation, humiliation, or retaliation isn't "how nursing works" either.

"I just plain don't enjoy the work." This was me in the OR. You chose this specialty for the schedule, the pay, or the reputation, but the actual day-to-day work isn't something you enjoy. You expected more variety, more patient interaction, a different pace. And the more you learn about the role, the more you realize that even on a good day with good people, you still wouldn't want to do this every day. I stood in operating rooms for weeks trying to talk myself into caring about surgical instruments and which surgeon preferred which retractor, and the enthusiasm never came. It's okay to just recognize that.

The tricky part is that these overlap. You can love the specialty and have a terrible preceptor. You can be going through normal adjustment stress in a workplace that also has real problems. I was unhappy in the OR for a fit reason, but I also had a preceptor who was difficult, and for a while I couldn't tell how much of my misery was about her and how much was about the work itself. Looking back, that question gets at the distinction I was trying to make: Would I want this work with good training and a respectful team?

So before you make any big decisions, try to figure out what's actually behind what you're feeling. It's probably not just one thing.

How Long Should You Give It?

Get specific about what you dread. Not "I hate this job." What exactly? Is it the patient care? The pace? The lack of support? The fear of making a mistake? Your preceptor?

I spent a lot of time in the OR just saying "I hate this" without ever sitting down and asking myself what specifically I hated. Once I did, the answer was pretty clear: Even with a better training experience, I still wouldn't have wanted the work. That clarity made the decision much easier.

Once you know what's wrong, ask yourself what could actually change. Could you get a different preceptor? More structured practice? Clearer expectations? You can't fix an entire workplace, but there's a real difference between "nothing will ever get better" and "I haven't asked for what I need yet."

Talk to your preceptor, your unit educator, your manager. Be specific about what's not working. Then pay attention to what happens. Are things improving? Or are the same problems showing up no matter what you do?

If there's no immediate safety concern, choose a date to reassess after you've asked for specific changes. Look for concrete progress in your training, support, and ability to manage the work—not just whether you've gotten used to feeling miserable.

Be honest with yourself through this. You can still feel anxious while making real progress. You can also get used to a bad environment without the environment getting any healthier.

When you reach that reassessment date, look at where you are. If things are getting better and you want the job, keep going. If nothing has changed, or you still don't want the work even on a decent day, that may be a reason to consider a transfer or another job.

A Few Things That Mean You Should Act Sooner

Some concerns shouldn't wait for your reassessment date.

Patients aren't safe. You're being asked to do things you haven't been trained for without appropriate supervision, or you're seeing unsafe practices get brushed off. If a patient is at risk, seek immediate assistance and escalate through your facility's chain of command. Report concerns through the appropriate safety channels, too. Don't treat a trial period as a reason to put off addressing unsafe care.

The bullying won't stop. You've spoken up, documented what's happening, and gone through the right channels, but leadership still won't step in. At that point, leaving or transferring isn't giving up.

It's not just hard, it's breaking you down. Anxiety that interferes with your daily life, dreading every single shift, or crying in your car before you go in every single day all deserve some real attention right away. Reach out to a healthcare professional or mental health professional, or use your employee assistance program if available.

You don't have to reach a breaking point to justify making a change. And leaving isn't always your only option. You might be able to change preceptors, transfer units, move to another specialty, or find a different employer. The goal isn't to prove how much you can tolerate. It's to figure out what comes next.

What I Figured Out When I Walked Away

Here's where I come back to my story.

I didn't quit the OR because I was a failure. I quit because the experience showed me, in the clearest possible way, what I didn't want.

I didn't want to spend my days in that role. I missed the pace and variety of the ER. I missed the unpredictability, the teamwork, and the feeling of working together when everything went sideways at once.

I already knew what I enjoyed about emergency nursing, but I think I just needed the OR experience to realize how much those things mattered to me.

And that experience wasn't a waste. It taught me that although the schedule matters a lot, the actual work matters more to me. That might not be the same decision you would make, but when I got clear about what was important to me, I chose the work that I loved with the schedule that was slightly less than ideal. (P.S. I did make it to day shift within a year of transferring back to the ER!)

This is where there’s no one size fits all advice:

I don't think every nurse who hates orientation should quit. And I don't think every nurse who struggles should stay. Some nurses need more time and better support and some need a different preceptor. Others need to transfer to a healthier environment, while some (like me) discover that the specialty they chose simply isn't what they want to do.

Those are different problems, and they deserve different solutions.

So if you're sitting in orientation right now, dreading every shift and trying to convince yourself it'll get better, start by asking yourself:

Would I want to do this work if I had good training, appropriate support, and a respectful team? What would need to change for this to work? Is there a realistic chance it will?

You don't have to answer all of those questions in one sitting. Usually, one bad shift isn't enough to decide whether a job fits, although a serious safety concern needs attention right away. But you also don't have to ignore what you're learning about yourself.

If you want the job and the problems seem fixable, give yourself permission to work through them. If you don't want the work itself, it's okay to consider a different direction.

Leaving a job that doesn't fit doesn't mean you've failed as a nurse.

Coming Up in Part Two

So you've asked the question, and the answer is, "I think I could want this job if things were different."

Now what?

In the next post, we're getting into the practical stuff. What to do when your preceptor is the problem (and I can speak to that from personal experience). How to ask for a different preceptor without unnecessarily damaging the working relationship. When to escalate concerns. When to ask for an internal transfer. How to distinguish difficult feedback from a hostile learning environment.

And if you do decide to leave during orientation (or even after), how to approach that decision professionally, protect your future career, and understand any relevant employment obligations.

Because knowing something isn't working is only half the battle. The other half is knowing what you can do about it.

Sources

• Spector, N. (2015). The National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s Transition to Practice Study: Implications for Educators.
• Spector et al. (2015). Transition to Practice Study in Hospital Settings.
• AORN: Frustrated in Orientation
• American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: Bullying, Incivility, and Verbal Abuse
• Nurse.org: Nurse Bullying and Toxic Workplace
• Nurse.com: Should I Quit During Orientation?
• allnurses: How Long to Give a Job