change to other department or not? please give me advise!!

I just want to say that you are very wise to have reservations about this unit. But the fact that the hospital is comfortable letting a float nurse from stepdown manage a critical pt on multiple pressors that are being titrated is definitely a red flag to me... unless your preceptor has had extensive previous ICU experience. You might think about another hospital alltogether.

Hi Nursebear,
Your preceptor can make all the difference. You still have a good 4 weeks left, and if your preceptor is bringing you down it can make this difficult time even worse. I graduated 2 years ago and had a similar situation with my new grad orientation where my preceptor had unrealistic expectations of me and was negative and harsh, and I almost left the unit. I was scared to ask to work with somebody else because I did not want to make a bad impression at my first job..but I finally ended up making that request. Having a preceptor who could provide balanced constructive feedback made a world of difference and I ended up staying and doing very well. As for the time manangement...work as hard as you can on it, but don't let it get you down. With all the things going on and the interruptions and changes in the plan, admissions, discharges, etc. hospital floors are a hard place to work. After two years, I still feel like I'm pulled in too many different directions and have too much to do and too little time most days. Good luck!

I agree with Daytonite whole "heartedly" When I was a new grad nurse working on a cardiac stepdown unit, I really didn't have much orientation or precepting. I was scared to death! Fortunately for me I had very knowledgable experienced LPNs who helped me (especially on days when I wanted to totally SPAZ out) and they got me through the first year and taught me a lot. I also found a couple of ICU nurses who acted as resource persons for me. Have you asked about a different preceptor? It sounds like the one you have may not be a good fit for you. Having someone that you know you can go to and be supportive will make a big difference. As for being organized etc...I still have days where it just will not come together Just a part of life! Keep on keeping on! Good luck!

Everyone is right on this post !!! I work on a stepdown unit also and have now been there almost four months and things are making some sense. If you can get down time management and critical labs, somehow things "come together." It's so funny how an extra five minutes wasted, can throw off an entire day. I never thought that I would try "playing beat the clock" and lose. Remember those days when time just never seemed to speed up? LIke in high school, on your last day before summer vacation? Or four hour classes in nursing school? I bet we new nurses will be laughing about all our fears and anxieties, about one year from now. (I hope). Hang in there, you will learn so much from a stepdown unit

i dont agree with hopspitals floating new grads still in orienation. they like to do this alot, i think because new grads are still fearfull and will not refuse. if the icu freaks you out just refuse and tell them at this point you fell unsafe in a icu setting. plus the money used to orienate you is coming from a different source and should not be included in the staffing of other units. they are using money that should be going to orienting you in the unit it is intented, for other uses. floating is part of the normal staffing budget and should not pertain to you and your orientaion to a certain unit. the money given to the unit for operations "staffing included" is seperate from the money used for trainning. most hospitals get state and federal funding for the sole purpose of orientating and trainning. floating would not be covered under the provisions of the funding. my best friend works for the state health board as a auditor. he has told me of many times he took away the funding because of this type of abuse of state funds. not sure about the federal funding but i would think they have similar provisions relating to funding used for trainning. i think this missuse of funds results in a overall decline in care. it would much like your school getting funding for you being in class but you never went there. you were in an art class but the nursing school was taking money as if you were in the nursing class.