Does anyone feel as frustrated as me?

Nurses New Nurse

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OK I just finished my third week of orientation and I feel sooooo stupid! Just when I think I'm doing well.... whack..... I just get slammed! I am working in 1200del/year L&D and I love my preceptor.... she's just not a teacher. At this point I'm doing pretty much everything. I've still got to learn how to circulate a c-section and scrub a c-section. I assisted a c-section the other day and had ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE what I was doing!!!!! I am afraid this will be my last week on orientation because the shift I work will be short staffed. The doc's so far are being really great to me but I think I am buried under the learning curve! I think I am getting the hang of assessing dilatation (when I can feel the cervix) but station and effacement are beyond me!!

Anyway.... I am rambling and venting.... anyone out there in the same boat?

Please, please, please don't let them kick you off orientation no matter how short staffed they are....its not fair to you or your patients....4 wks isn't enough for a new grad in any area, mcuh less a speciality area such as OB where everything is foreign....its evident from your post that you aren't ready in any way to be off orientation! go to your supervisor and up the line if they try to b/c it will not be to anyone's advantage to do that! i do know how you feel....it can be overwhelming at times when you don't know what you are doing and you just feel like you are going through the motions...i have just completed 6 wks in the NICU and have at least another 6....my problm is sometimes i just feel that we've focused too much on the nursing practice and not the theory and why of it...which you will need to make wise decisions on your own when you are off orientation and in your practice...I know we can make it....just remember to keep fighting for yourself! you deserve it after all the time and dedication you have put towards your orientation! Good luck!

Specializes in MS Home Health.

ASk for more orientation.

renerian

Frustrated???? Only everyday! Unfortunately, I find that the old saying about "nurses eating their young" may just be true in some instances. While I do not work in a traditional medical hospital, even nurses in a psychiatric setting can be insensitive and backstabbing. I was surprised!!!! Honestly, thinking that the folks that take care of the mentally ill should be mentally healthy may not be a good assumption on my part. As with any new nurse or even a nursing student...we tend to throw ourselves into our tasks, eager to learn, absorb, and do every aspect of our jobs. Unfortunately, those "older", more experienced nurses may have forgotten this. In an effort to be productive and to be responsible for my share of the workload, I was told today that I was seen as having "controlling behavior" and that I did too much. The people around me thought I came across as "too confident". Not sure how that happens. So, I am at my wits end. Not sure if this is the right fit for me, into this "team". Yup, frustrated sounds about right to me!!!

One final parting word, however.....You are a licensed professional now. You must do everything you can to protect your license and your livelihood, and your patients. Speak up about your need for further orientation and mentoring. You live by the nurse practice act now!

Good Luck for the future, and hang in there! Cathy

I am working as a nurse resident in psych and do not feel very supported. Confused, is more like it. I am starting to get the feeling that a synonym for "therapeutic" is "not very nice" and that the nurses I work with are very therapeutic....:rolleyes: So I guess that since I've heard the pt's say that I'm "the only nice nurse on the unit" then I guess I must be the least therapeutic. I think that just because I take time to listen to a pt.'s viewpoint, or let them vent a little *before* I set my limits, It's not a terrible thing. It doesn't mean that *don't* set limits. I feel like it's a good idea to establish a friendly rapport with the patient as a foundation to work from when giving "therapeutic" feedback on behaviors and their effect on others and consequences that result

Perhaps we should switch places......I'm being told I'm not "assertive" enough. Of course my preceptor is about the ultimate in assertiveness. She is a really good nurse, but her leadership style is more autocratic and mine is more democratic and I think she views this as a weakness. I respect the non-professional staff and think that it's important that they know that I value their opinions. It doesn't mean that I'm going to always agree with them or that I won't hold my ground when I feel I'm right. I think that a person should adopt the style that is most natural for them and it's the result that counts, not the way you get there.

Maybe I'm wrong and I'm totally not cut out for this. Maybe it's just the very hectic admission unit that I work in. The other psych intern (who was also a classmate in school) is having a much more enjoyable residency on another admission unit and says that the nurses on her unit are much more supportive and not as "therapeutic" with the pt's as the nurses on my unit. My unit, btw, is considered the "most strict" in the hospital and has the highest number of PSE's (requiring seclusion or restraint) in the hospital also.

My preceptor is a very good nurse, but one would think that psych nurses would be a little more welcoming and supportive considering that only about 2% of grads enter the psych field.

Yes, this is frustrating and when I just think I have a handle on stuff, I get a few new things thrown my way. *Someday* we'll get there and we'll be the "older" nurses and hopefully we'll be a little more 'warm and fuzzy' to the new nurses that we precept.

Peace,

Melissa

I feel totally stupid. I am off of orientation as of now. I sort of work in two departments. My home base is med-surg. I can do the technical stuff and time management stuff, but hospital policy and routines are what gets me. Or on night shift, when to call the doctor. I find myself asking so many questions that are common sense, but I just don't want to screw up. I am pretty nervous of working and taking a full load off of orientation. I have been picking up shifts in OB, as well off of orientation. For the most part this is ok. I think my med-surg nurse manager likes this because she has had me orient to new-borns on the med-surg unit.

Specializes in CCU/ER.

Boy, oh boy! Can I relate! I am working in the Coronary ICU, and I often feel just as lost.

But, I know that I am never alone, and I am only dangerous when I am too proud to ask for help when I don't know what the heck I am doing!

I asked for longer orientation-- even though the unit is working short. They'll be even shorter if I screw up and kill someone! My coworkers are in shock. They keep telling me NO ONE gets this long on orientation. Oh well! I put my foot down because I know what I needed..

We'll get the hang of it as long as we keep asking questions, whether they feel like dumb questions or not!

:D

I am kinda having the opposite problem, I am still on orientation, a twelve week long one I think I am week 7 now, but I am getting way to much help, infact they just coming and do things not exactly telling me how to do it but just doing it!!! I too work L/D, I did it as a tech, so I felt comfortable w/ the patients, and the basic routine. I am doing well with SVEs and stuff, for some reason that just came naturally to me, lucky I guess, but am having a hard time with timing. These nurses are fast, most have 15+ years underthem, so when they see me I tend to frustrate them I guess, and they just jump in and do it. Leaving me feel like I can't do anything on my own. I have a few weeks left and I am on my own, which I would be comforatble with in some ways, still need to learn some more of course I don't know everything, but have the basics down, just not the timing. I am good at prioritzation, always a strong point for me I just do things at a different pace and explain to the patient as I go, which I think is really important, they don't seem to think so, they just do, not all but a big chunk of them do. This is just against my philosphy!!!! I am always asking questions, double checking, If I make a mistake I own up to it, I have no problem taking responsibility for my mistakes, but I feel eaten by my elders, not too supportive, don't tell me anything positive, just point out the negative!!!

So I am with you all, Frustrated and confussed!!!!!

excuse the speeling!!!!

Specializes in ER, PACU.

I am glad to hear that I am not the only one going through this. I am also a new grad, that started in the ER. I did a 12 week internship at a level 1 trauma center and loved all of it! I couldnt take the job though because I did not know whether I was going to stay in NY or not and didnt want to burn my bridges with this place. Now fast foward to my job now at a level 2 center. I know how you guys feel with the backstabbing and criticizing..There are group of nurses that work during the day that formed a clique and they are mostly nice, but many of them have attitudes. One of them has screamed at me in front of my coworkers, patients and families over STUPID S**T, that had to do with the confusing computer system (I am not effecting patient care in any way, or putting patients in danger). Not only does she just tell me what I am doing wrong, she tells everyone including management and they dont even come to me and say do you need help with such and such, they just ask "are you doing x, y , x?". God forbid something happens with my patients (even when its on the next shift) they accuse me of stuff. I was already accused of not hanging a drip on patient because the recieving nurse upstairs says I didnt (my preceptor verified that I did, but they should have asked her instead of calling me at home. On top of that it turned out that the nurse upstairs detached the pump from the bed and hung it on a different patient, so she was blaming me to cover up her mistake!), I was also accused of not drawing blood on a patient, I walked over to the bin that is being brought to the lab and picked up one bag to reveal that it was actually there. I am getting sick of the abuse from some of these nurses, and I really want to find another job. Here is the situation we as new grads are stuck in: How do we justify our leaving to a new employer when they ask why we only stayed at a job for 4 or 5 months? If an experienced nurse left a place they hated, the employers would take thier word for it more than us as new grads. We will look like we cant handle stress! Dont get me wrong, I love nursing, but hate this place.

I can understand all of your stories, and its a shame that nurses treat each other this way. If they would try to be more understanding and supportive we wouldn't have the lack of staff we have now. Wishing you all the best, and positions that respect you.

I've finished orientation and did ask for an extra week. Now I'm working in a specialty unit and am pretty happy with the people there. Of course, there is that one person they call the gestapo, but I won't get into that.

Ask for more time, and realize that all of us new grads are going to feel like we don't have a clue until one day it'll hit us.... hey, we're doing all right!

Praying that day comes soon!

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