Need Help Asap

Nurses New Nurse

Published

hi

im a new grad nurse im currently working at pcu. i decided to get a strong base in nursing before reaching icu, but after experiencing 6 weeks by myself working with pt ratio of 8-1. im going crazy! i asked everytime i need help, but the rest of staff is busy too. i just feel in bad shapei knew the beggining was going to be intense but this is ridiculus. i have compared my type of job and the max ratio is 6-1. i feel unsafe everytime i get to work. i love nursing but this experience is questioning my carrer goals and inspiration.

i got trick into signing a contract with this hospital that suppost to have a "great education program" :angryfireanyways ! the new grad program was one week and then 6 weeks of preceptorship. right now i just want to run away and try something else l/d or or in a different hospital setting, but they dont take new grads. i dont know what to do, but i need to make a healthy change asap. any suggestions ?:uhoh3:

Wow! I'm a new grad too and have only been on my own for 3 weeks now. I am an oncology nurse. The 8:1 ratio seems insane, especially for the PCU. The ratio on my floor is 6:1 on easier days it may be 5:1 and our patients have a high level of acuity; alot are post-op. I have a hard time getting everything done for my 6 sometimes. I feel as though I have little to no support. My resource nurse is rotten and very condescending. I posted earlier......I also accepted a sign-on bonus. It was $4000 and I have to work for the same network for 2 years. If I leave sooner, then I pay back the $4000 plus $250. I am supposed to stay on my Unit for 6 months and then I can transfer anywhere within the network and not lose benefits or seniority, etc. That part is nice........BUT I am so stressed! I have bad days when this resource nurse or as we call them PCCs or something is there......I make mistakes (nothing major) because she rides me all day long and flusters me becoz I'm intimidated by her. I have spoken to my director and she tells me i'm too sensitive and we all make mistakes, just learn from them. I am also thinking of leaving my Unit.....I worry about what my director will say....will she give a good report to anyone I interview with or will she only relay mistakes I have made and say I am difficult to work with? Honestly, I am very laid back. I do not yell or even stand up for myself which may be part of my problem......I'm told I'm too nice! So...what do we do? Can you keep your sign on and transfer to another floor? I'm thinking about going in to work tomorrow and talking to the nurse recruiter or the nurse from the mentor program and see what they say. Good luck to you!!!!!!!!!! and me!!!!!!!!!

Specializes in Transplant, homecare, hospice.
Wow! I'm a new grad too and have only been on my own for 3 weeks now. I am an oncology nurse. The 8:1 ratio seems insane, especially for the PCU. The ratio on my floor is 6:1 on easier days it may be 5:1 and our patients have a high level of acuity; alot are post-op. I have a hard time getting everything done for my 6 sometimes. I feel as though I have little to no support. My resource nurse is rotten and very condescending. I posted earlier......I also accepted a sign-on bonus. It was $4000 and I have to work for the same network for 2 years. If I leave sooner, then I pay back the $4000 plus $250. I am supposed to stay on my Unit for 6 months and then I can transfer anywhere within the network and not lose benefits or seniority, etc. That part is nice........BUT I am so stressed! I have bad days when this resource nurse or as we call them PCCs or something is there......I make mistakes (nothing major) because she rides me all day long and flusters me becoz I'm intimidated by her. I have spoken to my director and she tells me i'm too sensitive and we all make mistakes, just learn from them. I am also thinking of leaving my Unit.....I worry about what my director will say....will she give a good report to anyone I interview with or will she only relay mistakes I have made and say I am difficult to work with? Honestly, I am very laid back. I do not yell or even stand up for myself which may be part of my problem......I'm told I'm too nice! So...what do we do? Can you keep your sign on and transfer to another floor? I'm thinking about going in to work tomorrow and talking to the nurse recruiter or the nurse from the mentor program and see what they say. Good luck to you!!!!!!!!!! and me!!!!!!!!!

Talking to your nurse recruiter is the best thing to do here.

Best wishes and I hope it gets better! Hold your head high! The 1st year of nursing is HARD! You can do it!

:wink2:

I'm afraid to do anything.....the nurse that intimidates me has been an RN for 25+ years and i'm sure is respected. she's a good nurse...I've seen her with her patients...she's just a jekyl and hyde......She pulled me into the med room and made me "strip down" a pump because she told me it was unacceptable to do what I did.....went into pts room and found she pulled her IV almost out during the night. so, I stopped the fluids and didn't have an alligator clip in my pocket so I cleaned a port on the same line and plugged in there...to keep it clean! otherwise we would have had to get all new tubing and it was just hung the night before. I wouldn't make a habit of doing that, but I was told in school you could do that......So, I threw the bag of fluids out and pulled the tubing from the Baxter and threw it in the garbage. A little tubing was hanging over the edge of the basket. I was nervous because she had me all to herself.......I had been on my own only for 5 days at that point. she said oh no, you're not going to have housekeeping clean up your mess!!!!! Shes wicked! I'm afraid to say anything to anyone becoz they will believe her over me! I guess I'm feeling intimidated and unsure of whats expected of me. I asked my director a while ago and she said to be a safe nurse and learn and get my job doen and most importantly to ask questions if i'm not sure. I TRY to do that but this nurse gets so irritated and put out when I do ask. I cant learn in a hostile environment. I can accept constructive criticism if it's in a nice way..........I can learn like that. One encounter with that nurse and it blows my whole day! I'm afraid to talk to the recruiter because what if they think I dont have what it takes to be a good nurse based on what the wicked nurse says? Its so unfair! i'm really doubting my abilities and have lost my confidence. I know in my heart this is what i'm meant to do..........

Specializes in Transplant, homecare, hospice.

Lorabel- I really think you're in an abusive situation. Just because someone has been a nurse for 25 years, doesn't make them a "good" nurse and or a "good" role model. I know it's hard because you are so new and feel as if you have no one to go to, but you really do.

As for the tubing, she did have a point, but she didn't have to treat you like a 4th grader. She has no tact when it comes to correcting you.

When you're new, you feel intimidated and incompentent all the time. You don't need someone hanging over your shoulder making you feel even worse than you already do.

When you do something wrong, and you will....we all do, seasoned nurses or not....it's not the end of the world and you shouldn't be made to feel that it is.

Possibly your not compatible with this preceptor. See if you can change to a new preceptor. It happens all the time. Or can you transfer? Your recruiter and nurse manager expect difficulties for the new nurses and most of the time will take the time to counsel you through a difficult situation.

On the other hand, if you want to stay where you are at then you will need to cope with what is going on. Possibly adapt to doing things her way. Can you talk to her? Can you tell her what you're feeling? Maybe tell her that you feel intimidated....not by her but by the job and you need some reinforcement that you are doing a good job. Even tho the prob might be from her....that way, she is more aware that you are struggling with this.

Is there anyone else on your floor that you can talk to?

It's hard in the beginning. You're not the 1st person to have a personality conflict with their preceptors. I know several people that had to have several different preceptors for various reasons.

When I was a new nurse, I got lucky and got a laid back male nurse. We clicked and he was helpful. I got on his nerves only a handful of times....but he was very approachable and I communicated with him all the time. I didn't like everything he did, but I got through it. He never talked down to me.

My 2nd preceptor when I transferred to another floor was pretty good. But there were times I had to tell her to give me some space. She didn't like it, but I was about to burst. I had been a nurse for 2 years at that point and wanted me to do things her way. I did. And she was cool with most everything I was doing. But one day she was pushing me to hurry through something and I told her I needed to reorganize....she told me "no keep going, what's the problem?" She was way more organized than me and I was trying to get things organized in my head making sure I didn't miss anything....She was patient...and a good teacher. She NEVER made me feel stupid. NO ONE should make you feel stupid.

I hope you find a solution that works for you.

;)

Thank you. It makes me feel a little better to know that its normal to feel incomeptent and intimidated. I tried once to approach this nurse and tell her I was overwhelmed and said I was trying to pull everything together and I get frustrated because i want to do everything right and I hate making mistakes. I was crying at this point because she had been on me all day. she tried to be a little nicer. Thats when she said part of the problem was my program and part of it was I was unorganized. She went on to tell me that you can't be unorganized and be a nurse. which made me feel even worse.......I'm very sensitive and it made me feel like she was telling me I wouldn't make it as a nurse. She was going to "find" time to go over a kardex with me and show me her way of gathering info........I asked once days later if we could find the time. I was curtly told she didnt have time for that today, she had her own work to do. so where is my support? My director told me I'm not really on my own....I have all the other nurses and I should use my resources!!!!!!! I might talk to the recruiter...I love my job and i love nursing.........I'm just off to a really rocky start......I'm told they expect us to make mistakes...everyone makes them...but theyre not very nice when you make one!!!!!!!!! you have been very kind and helpful. thankyou!

Specializes in Transplant, homecare, hospice.

You're very welcome. Yes, ask everyone around you. I used to worry about asking other nurses questions because I already felt stupid...and I felt like I "should" know this answer, but I was overwhelmed and was getting confused. I would put myself in that position a lot because I didn't want to make a mistake, but after awhile, I realized that none of my questions meant that I was stupid....in fact, smart, because others that didn't ask were making mistakes and putting the patient in harm. Like it's always said, "no question is a stupid question."

I'm sensitive too, so I know where you're coming from there.

In the beginning, after being precepted and I was out on my own, I went to a team leader and asked a question. I was flustered and couldn't think of the right answer. I think I was over rationalizing. She didn't like answering my question but did and then added a remark, "didn't you learn that in nursing school?" I went back to her and told her that when someone new is learning all the new information, it's overwhelming, but thank you for the answer. She just shook her head and said, "well." And that's all she said. :lol2:

Just remember, as nurses, we're anal and critical because we have to be. We unfortunately don't turn that off when it comes to our co workers. A lot of nurses, not all, eat their young. It makes me wonder if they forgot what it's like to be new.

It DOES get better. Life will hand you this problem until you learn how to deal with it, because when you're out on your own, you're gonna want to be able to tackle these problems head on. I have a feeling you will. You're on a roll now. At least you recognize it needs to be addressed. Some people don't address this and get into problems when they are out on their own.

Keep communicating. Don't be afraid. Talk to people you can trust and don't feel stupid. The stupid ones are the nurses who don't ask a question and make a mistake because of it....

Post here too....because the more you talk about it and the more support you get, the better you will feel.;)

You sound like an awesome person and I think you will make a great nurse. Take a deep breath, relax....get some good rest. And then go get em girl!

L 007. At pt.-nurse ratio of 8:1 on a PCU unit is not only insane but it is also unsafe.

I would not be surprised if it was even against your facility's policy. You need to go to your unit manager. If he/she can not help you, then go to administration.....if still no results.....get the heck out of there.

Im sure the VA State Board of Nursing would not support that ratio....and it's your license!

+ Add a Comment