[zahryia]

Originally Posted by adema12

I was not big on med/surg even in school during clinicals... i lean more towards womens health so i thought it was perfect when i found a hospital that has a residency program for L&D. Anyone heard of the Versant RN residency program? Supposed to be real good.

I googled it and it looks great. Personally, if one is going to do a residency (I'm in one now), I think they should take advantage and do it in a speciality.

Why waste this opportunity on an area you don't even care for? If it was just a regular ole hospital with standard orientations, then I would probably advise you to do med-surg first, but if Versant provide all the resources they claim they provide on the website, just go for it and do L&D.

[beachbum3]

I'm a May grad too, and work on a tele unit, and love it. So far things are great... I started on the floor the first week of August, and have a great preceptor. I was hired for nights, so tomorrow is my first night shift. I'm still on orientation, and my preceptor has said that she thinks I'll definitley be ready to go when we start the next schedule- after 8 weeks- the average is 10, so I'm feeling encouraged and fairly confident. Everyone from the day team leaders and other day staff have all been asking me to stay on days and telling me how they really want me to stay which also makes me feel great and that I must be doing something right!

After a month on I'm getting a better sense of where my strong and weak points are and set goals for myself each shift as to what I want to focus on improving that day- mostly time management and organizational issues. My preceptor thinks I'm too hard on myself, and I know I'm impatient- I want to have it all down pat like yesterday, and many of these things only come in time. I still find I feel as though I turn into a bumbling idiot when dealing with drs, as I'm most intimidated by that aspect of it.

Overall I'm really happy and love my job. I'm nervous about going to nights because I've gotten along so well with everyone and just fit right in on days, and don't really know the folks on nights. I'm hoping it all goes as well as its gone so far.

[NewRN2008]

I grad 5/15; passed boards 8/1. long gap in between, i really didnt want to take it right away, but when i did go to schedule my boards, i couldnt get in until august! that was terrible! my boss was actually mad that i didnt get in earlier, cuz she wanted me off orientation way before i really thought i would be ready. i started my job 5/29- hospital orient for 2 crappy weeks, then i started on my floor orient, i was only on for 3 weeks when she asked me when i was taking boards cuz she wanted me off orient. that was pretty cool, but at the same time, i was a little thrown off, usually orient is 8 weeks or more. i had been on that floor before for an entire semester and my precept, so maybe she took that into account.

its SOOO much easier than being with someone!! wow.. lovin' it... (not mcdonalds!! lol)

-H- (PROUD) RN

[sprklplntyRN]

Just passed NCLEX this past Wed!!!! So relieved and happy.

[glamgalRN]

Wow! I'm soo happy that everyone loves their units so far. I wish I had the same positive experience as you all!!
I started off in the ICU and realized the first day on the floor that it wasn't for me. And it makes me angry because when I tell some of the RNs that I know I no longer work in the ICU they say "I could never have handled the ICU right after graduation either." So basically I feel like a failure. And the thing is it's not that I couldn't handle it, I just didn't want it enough. Without a doubt I know I would be doing great if I gave it 100%, but my heart just wasn't in it.
I'm currently interviewing on other units at my hospital and keeping my fingers crossed.

[glamgalRN]

Originally Posted by sprklplntyRN

Just passed NCLEX this past Wed!!!! So relieved and happy.

CONGRATS!

[Sterren]

I also graduated in may, passed the nclex, and have been working in an ICU. I like some things, dislike some things, and generally feel undecided at the moment.

glamgalRN, we are in the same boat. I hired straight into the ICU and am not sure it was the right decision. I've gone on one job interview but haven't been truly searching for a different job (yet), I'm trying to decide whether to give the ICU a year or whether to start over somewhere else right away.

[pitbullkcm]

Hey guys! It's great to hear that everyone's doing well...despite all of those horror stories of nurses eating their young. I graduated May 16th and passed my boards on July 21st with 75 questions (still can't believe it!). I started just a week later on July 28th on a Pediatric Hematology/Oncology unit, and I absolutely love it. Sometimes I feel akward because I thought I would never work with the Pediatric population...I don't have kids...so I don't really know how to communicate effectively with kids. I'm working nights, and I love it because it doesn't really feel like a "job," and I still get to spend time with my fiancee because he's a night owl like me (he's a 9-5er but he stays up LATE). Well...I'm starting to rant a little bit, but I hope you all continue to have great experiences!

Kim

[jsu102]

I started working in the ED in August and although I love being a nurse, my whole experience has been tainted by my preceptor. He's just awful. He's so jaded, thinks the worst of everyone ("that pt must be a drug seeker" is his phrase of choice), takes every short cut in the book, is sarcastic, and isn't even a good teacher. I've gone home in tears half my days there. One day when we had a man die in a code, the daughter came in completely distraught and I hugged her and sat down a few minutes to explain to her what was going on and just held her hand. My preceptor yelled at me afterwards for wasting time and said I had no business to get emotionally involved with patients or their families. He said I had a job to do and I better be thinking about that instead. Ugh, he's just NOT the nurse I want to be. Ever.

I spoke with the manager who is assigning me to someone else for half the time starting in October, but I'll still be with this jerk half the time too.

So I'm just going to try to make the best of it and learn as much as I can from the other person and ignore this guy when I'm with him.

[mcknis]

JSU:

I am so sorry that your precpetor has to be such a butt! You did the right thing by being there with the family during this time of struggle. I would talk with some other staff members there and even your NM to see how they suggest handling this situation.