I feel like I'm going to be fired.

Nurses New Nurse

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So I'm not really a new grad. Passed my boards in October. 2013. But until 3 months ago I worked at a SNF. Now I work on a med surg floor at a local hospital in my small town. Well first of all I only trained for 1 month before I was on my own. 3 wks in and my nurse manager calls and says other staff says I really struggle with my pt load but my charting is better than all the nurses. So a supervisor is going to follow me for two days n report back to her with how I'm doing. She said a lot of new nurses need more guidance..

Should I be worried? I admit I struggle at times with 4-5 pt. I get behind and I have to catch up on charting. Meds are on time if I have no admissions. I had been getting behind because I look up all the orders on all my pts before I start assessments. So I stopped doing that.. At times I can't answer call lights because I'm in another room so other nurses help me out. Sometimes I feel like I'm not smart enough to work at a hospital because maybe I don't understand why they are having a certain test done ect. I feel like a failure and I'm sure this means I'll probably be getting terminated. Sorry I just needed to vent.

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical/Float Pool/Stepdown.

I think you need more time to adjust before judging yourself and remember that you are a "new grad" to hospital nursing just like I feel I would perform like a "new grad" in a LTC setting even with experience. This may just be a heads up from your manager that your peers feel that they are carrying a bit of your "weight" right now but this really is to be expected for anyone new or jumping from one specialty to another. All that being said, it is up to you to develop better time management skills and get up to the par of your working environment so keep on honing those skills.

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It can be very intimidating just starting out. Do you get there early to look at your patient's charts so you are ready to hit the floor and do assessments when your shift starts? I would recommend doing that if you don't. Until you get your time management down you have to put in more time on your end doing those things. Good luck.

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Come early to look up your pt is a good thing. Do you have CNA working with you to help with the call lights.

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I definitely do not think you're going to get terminated. They said you need guidance, so it sounds like the charge will be there just for that. The charge is the best person for that, really. By having the charge work with you, they won't be taking a floor nurse away from their assignment, and the charge is experienced and in a good position to help you.

Don't see this as a test. See this as an opportunity to ask questions and learn. Find out how from the charge how they would prioritize in given situations, how they would manage their time with the patient load, the admission, etc. They already said that a lot of new grads struggle with what you're struggling with and it sounds like they want to help you instead of watching you continue to struggle. I wouldn't be worried.

One month training isn't enough anyway. I had 3 months and still have tons of questions. I couldn't imagine starting after one. Maybe they finally realized that they didn't give you enough training.

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Well a supervisor followed me and said I did a good job. I Didn't fall behind but I almost gave Tylenol to someone who was npo for a MRI. So i heard about that. Which I admit is my fault but my shift was almost over and ugh. She kept c/o pain even with getting dilaudid every 3 hrs. Stupid me.

And some family member complained about me because I didn't see a order for a dsg change and they claimed I never followed up on seeing if the pt could get one or not from a wk ago. Starting to think thats why someone followed me around. I'm over working at this hospital. She pretty much said she would continue watching me. I'm applying to another nursing home.

BTW I can't go in early to look at my pt load BC they don't figure it out until 10 min before my shift starts.. Or I would. I have wanted to in the past.

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Neither of those mistakes would jeopardize the safety of your patient. No one was hurt, so it's ok and you'll learn every day. Btw I worked in radiology before becoming a nurse and the Tylenol wouldn't have been a huge deal for an abdomen MRI anyway. A good chunk of our outpatients had to take po ativan and essential po meds before their study and everything was fine. Still a mistake, but your patients were safe.

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