I need massive help. But from who?

Nurses New Nurse

Published

I'm 99% sure I hate something. I don't know if its my job or my career choice :/ I have only been working on a med surg floor for about 3 months now....but the hospital I work at is in a tiny (GOSSIPY) town run by LVNs who suddenly feel that a 20something with two bachelor degrees is here to take over. That is not the case. These horrible women who have been at this hospital for hundreds if years are out to get me and have made it known. They write me up for any thing they can. (Leaving beds unmade at shift change, not reporting something minor at change, god forbid a dr is writing an order that pharmacy doesn't profile before we switch...they refuse to do bedside reporting so we the bulk of report in private thenmake walking rounds and ill show them anything major and get written up for "discussing a pts care in front of them") anyway I'm being pulled to other units...pedi,icu, etc and given pts and I have said out loud to 2 administrators that I am not comfortable doing that bc I don't feel prepared or knowledgable enough to handle pts with acuity like that....it's still happening! Then today I had a pt who the terrible shift before me didn't even bother to document on or inform of an order to call the dr within certain parameters (and bc of our switch to this horrific new computer system about two weeks ago its absolutely impossible to find things and were all still adjusting). So based on my own assessment I call the dr for an order and keep this withdrawal pt stable all night then I get home and have been asleep for two hours and get a screaming phone call from a dr asking why no one called her all night on that pt and I caused irreversible damage and all these other horrible accusations. I explained that I did call her and tell her the situation and she was aware....slammed the phone down in my face. I have to be back at work with this same dr in 5 hours and I'm dreading it. I'm actually dreading this whole job...or maybe career choice. I don't know. Everyone keeps telling me "it's like this everywhere you go ya know??" So would finding a new job help?

The working environment you have to deal with is terrible and I'm so sorry to hear that you're going through this especially during an already stressful transition period from student to nurse. I just finished a 10 week new grad program and have been n my own for only two weeks and all the nurses have been extremely supportive and helpful you can't control other people's behavior but you can control how you react to it. Yea easier said than done but I've learned reading through these forums have been so helpful in maintaining my sanity knowing that I am not the only one losing it.lol. I did clinicals on a heavy telemetry floor And the first thing the nurse told us was nurses eat their young and they made It known that our presence was not welcomed so we had to prove to them we could carry our own weight and knew what we were talking about which we eventually did. dont let thme break you down. use their cattiness to fuel your motivation to learn more and try harder. iIt's a competitive market and finding another job may be difficult but if the environment you're working at is that toxic you should look elsewhere but realize it may or may not be different. Good luck!

I find it very strange that a Dr. called you at home about a patient...why are they talking directly to you first and not the nurse manager? And if you charted that you called the Dr....then you really have nothing to worry about.

Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

I would get out of that place as fast as possible.

Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.

This place sounds frightening. There is no way a new grad should be being floated at all, let alone to areas outside their acuity. That is just an accident just waiting to happen.

Get out of there fast

This place sounds frightening. There is no way a new grad should be being floated at all, let alone to areas outside their acuity. That is just an accident just waiting to happen.

Get out of there fast

Where I work, new grads to get floated for at LEAST 6 months to a year. And even then we don't float to highly specialized units like ICU, CCU, OB etc.

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Just reading the OPs post makes me cringe. So many red flags.

First of all, accrediting agencies (Joint Commission, CMS, etc) REQUIRE basic competency processes - including ensuring that staff are oriented/trained & found to be competent before assigning them ANY clinical responsibilities. This means that - if you are floated to an unfamiliar unit, you should limit your patient care activities to those which you are already competent. You could do VS, ADLs, etc.. but should not perform any task that is unfamiliar. Violation of this RULE will jeopardize the hospital's accreditation.

LVNs running the place??? To me, this means that management is completely ineffective. No matter how much experience they have, LVN scope of practice requires direct supervision by an RN or physician... not vice versa.

Crazed doc - calling a nurse at her HOME???? That's reportable conduct. Both Joint Commission & CMS have very clear guidelines for dealing with disruptive physicians. These need to be enforced. If the behavior continues, it is clearly harrassment. If the organization does not take action, they are completely out of compliance & could incur legal liability.

And implementing a new EMR on top of all this chaos? OMG. Very scary.

Specializes in PACU, pre/postoperative, ortho.
Everyone keeps telling me "it's like this everywhere you go ya know??"

No, it's not. I'm still in my first nursing position, but it's nothing like this. You mentioned that these nurses have been there "hundreds" of years. The work environment was probably no better for them to start off & it's a perpetual cycle since they don't remember (or never knew) what it was like to work with a TEAM.

This sounds like my situation!

I am a new grad who started in February. Last night I was floated to a unit I've never been to and had to be charge!

I'm seriously considering quitting....

Specializes in Pain, critical care, administration, med.

What unprofessional people you work with. My suggestion is run out the door and don't look back. There are good places to work just do your homework.

I went in a few interviews just scared of the grass not being greener! Lol But everyone I've talked to agrees that most new grads are not done this way

I haven't checked this post in a few days but it is so nice to hear that I am not crazy or being a whiny brat new grad!!!! I am getting so tired of hearing "this is not textbook world....it's real world!" Since when is violating hipaa on a regular basis..not carrying out dr orders...cursing at the nurses station...charting meds that you didn't give or saying you gave then giving them to another pt "text book world" I have reported all of this stuff to my floor director..house supervisor...and even out DON. But I am literally fighting the system here,...I just feel like nothing is going to change. Jobs are very hard to come by where I live....I drive almost am hour each way to get to this job now...so I'm afraid to quit bc I'm the sole income for my household. Even with two bachelors degrees and my RN...no one really wants me bc of my lack of experience...and not to toot my own horn..but I also feel like bc I'm smart...or maybe just competent?? I swear these LVNs (no offense...it just happens that they are all lvns) are begging for a sentinel event or to get their license revoked!!! But no one has the time or energy to report them so they have just been getting away with this bad behavior for years.....terrifies me after I see what happened to a pt the other night who was on an amiodarone drip.....

+ Add a Comment