[michou]

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Hello. I am newly qualified working in an acute renal unit. The unit is brilliant and the staff is helpfull, but I find it so hard.... How long does it take to relax!!

[patticake_s]

Hi Michou - I started a new Registered Nurse position today also on the Spinal Cord Unit. I felt like I was ignored most of the day. I was given a Policy & Procedure book and left at a table to read it and answer the post quizzes at the end of each chapter. I met some staff coming in to eat their lunch but I was not taken around and introduced to anyone nor shown around the new unit. Hope things go better tomorrow. Hope you're feeling more at ease now on the renal unit.

[Tweety]

Hi! It takes probably up to a year to feel comfortable, but you not ever be able to relax.

[Thunderwolf]

Welcome to allnurses!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Marie_LPN]

Welcome to All Nurses

[michou]

Hi, thank for replying to my message. SOrry I did not get in touch with you sooner.... I feel a bit better 5 months on. LIke I said the staff is superb but it is an acute ward and I did not feel well prepared after leaving Uni. I mean I am very good at writting essays yet I am struggling to prime a IV line properly. I did my training in a teaching hospital in London and during most ward placements spent more time washing and fetching the commode for patients (and doing blood pressures ) than be taught skills such as injection, medication etc.... Most students of my cohort agree with me that although patient's personal care is very important, we as student should have been looked after and taught better during placement. But again I understand better the pressure nurses are under and that it is hard to find the time to teach students. In any case I would never have believed the STRESS newly qualified are under. Hope you are feeling better yourself on your Unit.

[madwife2002]

Things will settled down, dont have too high expectations of your self at this stage, you are there to learn because, did you not know you only learn how to nurse after you qualify. I presume as you are in the UK that you will have a preceptor and that you will be under that person for 6 months. I too worked in Acute renal after I had qualified many moons ago but not that much has changed, it can frighten you because the patients can be really poorly but remember they are not your ultimate responsibility as a D grade you will always have a senior more experienced nurse above you. Ask questions all the time, dont undertake to do anything you are unsure of ask for help. Dialysis looks very technical but again you will learn quickly how to do it, you dont need to be qualified to set up a haemo machine or do CAPD you just need to be trained. You will learn in time how to needle fistula's how to look after tenchoff's. Just learn now how to nurse, time manage and familiarise yourself with equipment, term's and phrases, settle into your role you will get there.
As for not being prepared properly to be a qualified nurse by the RN's, if you trained for 10 years you would never be prepared. You will never see everything nor do everything in your life, i am working with a nurse qualified for 32yrs and has never ever seen an arrest!
I ma sure things will work out well for you enjoy this time of being supernumery-because soon you will wish you were again lol

[michou]

Thank you for all your tips. The good things about this unit though is that the nurses are all very encouraging and very helpful. I had to smile about what you said about the cardiac arrest bit though. You know on my second day we had a cardiac arrest, I mean they never expected me to do anything and thank god for that because I was petrified! I know I will laugh about all this in the futur meanwhile perhaps you could share your renal nursing knowledge with me!

[webblarsk]

Hello and Welcome!

[madwife2002]

Originally Posted by michou

Thank you for all your tips. The good things about this unit though is that the nurses are all very encouraging and very helpful. I had to smile about what you said about the cardiac arrest bit though. You know on my second day we had a cardiac arrest, I mean they never expected me to do anything and thank god for that because I was petrified! I know I will laugh about all this in the futur meanwhile perhaps you could share your renal nursing knowledge with me!

With pleasure have 7 yrs all round renal experience, loved every min of it but am in a different specialist ward now.

I was going to add in the earlier post that you wont have a problem not seeing cardiac arrests on a renal ward, but didnt want to frighten you lol