you CANNOT eat me!

ER or not, we're always looking at the newbies. Think about it from our perspective -- we don't know you. We don't know if you're bright or stupid, if you'll step up or fold in a crisis. We're not going to assume we can depend on you, or that you know how to do anything. We don't have the luxury of guessing wrong, because it can cost a life. If you make it, you'll do the same thing. We try to give folks the benefit of the doubt; most of us are still new enough we remember being new ourselves. But if you come in (like one we've got on the floor now) thinking that you know everything, and you're going to show us how to be a nurse, you're going to have a very lonely, brief experience.

If you come in looking for a problem, you will surely find it.

Funny, I thought about this thread tonight, my first night in the ED.

It was a busy night and I felt like a complete idiot. I didn't know where anything was or what I should do. My preceptor didn't know she had a newbie to precept, and then was put on a hall to take patients because they were short an RN or two. So, I didn't get much direct teaching. I had to learn by osmosis.

Then, another nurse was badmouthing me, saying that I wasn't doing enough to help my nurse, when it was my very first night and I didn't know what I was supposed to do because my nurse was too busy to teach me.

I did what I could, took some vitals, cleaned some rooms, asked some questions, but mostly just shadowed and tried to stay out of the way.

Maybe tomorrow will be better.

I hope tomorrow is better for you, Virgo_RN ... it often seems that the ED is very much a sink-or-swim environment. But don't be afraid to jump in and help, and get your hands in there! What I found from day one of being an ED RN is that there often won't be time to ease into your new role, with lots of teaching -- it's more like being thrown right in. Good luck, and I do hope it works out for you!

Thank you. I'm sure I'll be a great addition to the department. The learning curve is steep, and it's a completely different world from the floor. But, that is what I signed up for, so you'll see no whining. Just a little amused, cause I haven't been anyone's snack for a while. ;P

I feel very lucky. I started in an ED as a new grad mid-June. I have had nothing but very positive experiences. Each experienced RN that I have interacted with were helpful and had good attitudes. I had a very strong preceptor (ED RN for about 20 years) who already spoke to our director about releasing me (I've been a firefighter/medic for about 18 years now so a lot was the same with different charting). I've had 4 shifts on my own now and feel comfortable and still have a wonderful support network of coworkers that seem to always be willing to lend a hand or advice. I think no matter what keep a positive attitude and show a willingness to learn and you will do fine.

Congratulations on your job!

The staff nurse who did most of my orientation at my first RN job had worked as an RN since before I was born. She was very gruff, but not tired, not burned out, and not out to 'eat' anyone. The new grads that hired onto my unit WERE afraid of her - needlessly. My experience with her was a huge blessing/stroke of luck/whatever you want to call it, and I knew it at the time. It seemed to me that she knew just about everything under the sun, was more efficient than I could contemplate ever being, and was down-to-earth and compassionate with the patients and always had just the right words for them. Who better to learn from! If you have an assigned mentor, you can expect that this person takes a certain amount of pride in helping a new nurse get a great start - they really don't want to work with someone for 2 or 3 months and have it turn out to be a flop any more than you do.

I understand your concerns; certainly there are nurses who can't wait to make someone else's life miserable. But these are 'haters' and they could be anywhere, not just nursing. If you discover one or two of them, steer clear. Expect that most of the others just want to see you do a great job (you'll actually make their life more difficult in the end if they don't help you learn how to be successful handling your patient load). I don't think you need a one-liner at ALL; be eager, attentive, learn from your mistakes, and in fact make it one of your top priorities to NOT get overly-concerned about who might 'eat' you. Not in a snarky way at all, but I have to say I do agree with what's already been said - if you are looking for and expecting that your new co-workers can't wait to drive you down, that's probably exactly how you will end up feeling. But you're not going to make that mistake, are you!

Good luck ~