[BGmedsestra]

Its 0100 and I cant cleep and I am restlessI am so worried that I made the wrong choice for my nursing career by starting in MICU without any nursing skills.
The nurses there are so like mean and dont really want to be teaching me the basics. I need more time...for the basics and the critical care thinking..all of it...it has been 8 wks now and I am not feeling good about taking care of patients by myself. I feel like I did not get enough time for training. I dont know what to do.
Last week, my nurse preceptor told me that she had concerns about how fast i was learning and how fast I was developing critical thinking skills. Many times I felt abandoned, like she was not ready available when I had questions. I had to ask another RN for help with my patient. My patients were both crashing and I was overwhelmed and did not really know what to do. In the end, after all the runing I did I was criticized of my performance nurse preceptor who instead of being there for me was talking personal matters with another RN on the other end of the unit
I am so sad and frustrated that things are going this way. I am trying really hard to learn and giving my best, but they dont see that.
Please give me an advice. I want to be nice to everyone but its turning against me and I feel like they are seting me up for failure

[ukstudent]

I looked at some of your past threads before responding. It looks like you only passed boards in September, went into the OR for a few months, a difficult place to start out and now in an ICU, another very difficult unit.

Maybe you should try med-surg. It will get your organization skill down. You can learn to prioritize and see multiple patient problems. Without prior experience you have to be a very fast learner in order to thrive in the ICU.

As for your co-workers, they probably do see that you are trying your best. But you said yourself that you need more time to learn the basics. An ICU is not a great place to learn the basics, it's a great place to learn advanced monitoring, hemodynamics, vent settings, etc.

Good luck in finding the right fit for you.

[Michigan RN]

I agree. If not med/surg, maybe a stepdown. I was on stepdown before I went to SICU.

[mrsportsmedicine]

I would agree with the previous posts... but I also would add that not all ICU environments are like the one you are in.

Best of luck.

[ghillbert]

My advice would be to ask yourself - are you a fast learner? Are you not getting enough support, or is it you? You need to be very honest about your own ability and skill as a BEGINNING nurse in order to work out where to go.

Every new nurse feels overwhelmed in ICU to begin with. However, it's bearable and improves with adequate orientation and support. Does your unit have a structured orientation program? Can you ask your nurse manager about one?

If not, I'd try either another ICU with better support (check before you go!) or step down to a less fast-paced unit until you're solid on the basics.

[RNFELICITY]

Originally Posted by ghillbert

My advice would be to ask yourself - are you a fast learner? Are you not getting enough support, or is it you? You need to be very honest about your own ability and skill as a BEGINNING nurse in order to work out where to go.

Every new nurse feels overwhelmed in ICU to begin with. However, it's bearable and improves with adequate orientation and support. Does your unit have a structured orientation program? Can you ask your nurse manager about one?

If not, I'd try either another ICU with better support (check before you go!) or step down to a less fast-paced unit until you're solid on the basics.

What a great post. I agree whole heartedly. You have to do an honest critique of yourself and what is going on.

Of course, it never helps to have a preceptor who isn't really being a preceptor. Can you ask for a different one?

If you feel you still need to learn basics, try transferring to a different unit and get some experience under your belt...it never hurts.

Do your self critique and answer all questions honestly and base your decision on that.

Good luck!

[pebbles]

If you are going to work in an environment that requires extra training beyond basic nursing school, make sure you apply for a job on a unit that provides that training.

In my ICU, we are not set up to do new-grad teaching. Some places are. It can be very different, depending on where you go. As someone said in another thread, orientation and post-grad mentoring should not be the same as teaching the basics. Those nurses are not nursing-school teachers, they are not trained in how to do that and they probably don't have the time. And maybe you need to also talk to the manager about getting another preceptor who will be there for you in an appropriate way.

But I do agree that if you are struggling with the critical thinking skills, maybe med-surg or step-down would be a better place to start.