A feeling of impending doom

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Disaster is on the horizon. We have new grads orienting, once they finish their orientation they are being given an orientee to train. They took away preceptor pay and with our floor being so short staffed, there simply is not anyone willing to train anyone. I love new grads. I love them, they are positive and full of hope and knowledge. But they don't know what they don't know and should be learning not teaching. And our manager chooses the cocky ones to be the preceptors. So there are a few "know it all" newbies leading the troops. There are people who have never put in a foley teaching new people how to put in a foley. Its a mess. I think the time has come to move on.

Please discuss. Anyone ever seen anything like this? Its scary.

The bottom line is that the new grads have the BSN, who cares if they have clinical experience. Magnet status, various rumored "mandates" say that all incoming nurses need to be BSN's it doesn't say they need to be good nurses. Or experienced. They can hire 2-3 new grads on what a seasoned nurse makes in wages.

They learn to communicate with scripts and key words and phrases. The seasoned nurses are used to teach what they can in clinical skills, (or they can learn it on You Tube) then replaced with older new grads to teach the new new grads....until it is a utopia of 100% BSN's with a collective 1 year of experience but they are finely tuned on how to get those survey numbers up.

And who cares about loyalty--your managers don't. They will and do show you the door quicker than you could have ever imagined. Bottom line--they could care less how good of a nurse you have been for them all these years or how much patient's appreciate your skill. They are psyched they can create a work force in their own image that will not question practice. As they are taught to practice in the way that benefits the bottom line.

Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
Sounds like a mess. I think the ideal preceptor is a competent nurse that is 'new enough' to remember what it feels like to be new but experienced enough that others come to them with questions naturally.

​So, a nurse with, say, 20 years of experience isn't good enough to be a preceptor because s/he is too old? Really? Seriously?

The bottom line is that the new grads have the BSN, who cares if they have clinical experience. Magnet status, various rumored "mandates" say that all incoming nurses need to be BSN's it doesn't say they need to be good nurses. Or experienced. They can hire 2-3 new grads on what a seasoned nurse makes in wages.

They learn to communicate with scripts and key words and phrases. The seasoned nurses are used to teach what they can in clinical skills, (or they can learn it on You Tube) then replaced with older new grads to teach the new new grads....until it is a utopia of 100% BSN's with a collective 1 year of experience but they are finely tuned on how to get those survey numbers up.

And who cares about loyalty--your managers don't. They will and do show you the door quicker than you could have ever imagined. Bottom line--they could care less how good of a nurse you have been for them all these years or how much patient's appreciate your skill. They are psyched they can create a work force in their own image that will not question practice. As they are taught to practice in the way that benefits the bottom line.

This is sadly true. And the people who are really losing out are the patients, who are deprived of the experience and skill of experienced nurses. I have read several posts recently that I find very alarming - new nurses/inexperienced nurses not realizing the limitations of their inexperience and believing they are competent to practice in high risk clinical situations where even nurses with many years acute care/specialty experience are cautious about practicing. When some of these inexperienced/newer nurses have asked for advice, and more experienced nurses have warned them that their inexperience presents dangers for their patients, counseling them against practicing in certain clinical situations and/or with certain patient populations, the inexperienced nurses' response is often not to thank the more experienced nurses for alerting them to the potential grave consequences for the patient, but to complain that they need to take whatever job they can or that they have always wanted to practice in that particular setting and are grateful for the opportunity etc. (their own wishes/needs come before the safe care of the patient). I see some very immature and self-centered people, and I see disasters looming for patients.

I've been on my unit for four months...if they gave me someone new to train I'd be having to ask the experienced nurses so many questions my orientee would be confused about who the actual preceptor was. They'll end up coming to you for so much advice anyway...maybe they'll end up getting adequate training, but then you'll get to avoid doing all the extra paperwork and such.

Not that I think that's what'll actually end up happening, I think it's a terrible idea...just trying to think of a way it could end up not being a disaster.

Also, as a new grad, if I got hired and then found out after HR orientation that the person training me was also a new grad I would be angry, and feel very mislead. If that's going to be the new way they are doing things, they should disclose that during interviews. I would DEFINITELY not want a cocky new grad training me, that's a perfect recipe for learning how to do things the wrong way.

We have the same problem. The few cocky ones that are also fairly new are doing the training. They train the new nurses to pass meds & that's about it while they sit back & do nothing. Then the experienced nurses have to re-train them on treatments, charting, etc.

Can I be an old lady nurse? What are the chances of a 55 year old PRN getting work that pays? I am 53 years old. I own a commercial cleaning business with a fairly good income but I hate it, been doing it since 1981. I don't clean much anymore, and am lucky enough to take care of my crazy beautiful grandchildren 4 afternoons a week which brings me great joy, along with NO intellectual stimulation. I thought I would be a really good nurse as a career change. Hospice seems just so interesting to me. I LOVE school but is that all? Maybe I love school, but won't love nursing? I am so sick of toilets, talking about them, talking TO them (btw, never sing out loud while cleaning a toilet). I decided to change direction and get my PRN at the local community college. I have a degree in Psychology from yikes, 1984 which allowed me to skip a few classes. I finished my prerequisites and was on the wait list for 1 1/2 years. Now my name is coming up to walk in to the 2 year program (everyone else has to test in after the wait list is through because they are doing away with it, so I guess I was lucky to be one of the last to just walk in). I got a 96 on my HESI exam (just too easy a test I thought). So, I am paying cash for school. Do I spend retirement money to go to school for 2 years to NOT have a BSN, just a PRN? Would really love some input from the exceptional people who are immersed in it, cause I have heard so many different things. I live near Boulder, Co.

So, perhaps I am not just an old, crabby, malcontent for thinking the same thing? The new nurses are just thrown in with little training. The "cocky" ones with "New RNitis" are branded "promising" and are designated leaders. With less staff and more duties (we are now even "chaplains, " not to mention PCAs as well on nights and weekends) we have less time to help and/or monitor them. As a charge, I am frightened for my license! I am "precepting" a new nurse who is officially cut loose but without a clue, and with a full load of my own, as well as charging. Gotta stop, getting chest pains.

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Horrible situation. LEADERSHIP FAIL!!!

Specializes in LTC, Psych, M/S.
Can I be an old lady nurse? What are the chances of a 55 year old PRN getting work that pays? I am 53 years old. I own a commercial cleaning business with a fairly good income but I hate it been doing it since 1981. I don't clean much anymore, and am lucky enough to take care of my crazy beautiful grandchildren 4 afternoons a week which brings me great joy, along with NO intellectual stimulation. I thought I would be a really good nurse as a career change. Hospice seems just so interesting to me. I LOVE school but is that all? Maybe I love school, but won't love nursing? I am so sick of toilets, talking about them, talking TO them (btw, never sing out loud while cleaning a toilet). I decided to change direction and get my PRN at the local community college. I have a degree in Psychology from yikes, 1984 which allowed me to skip a few classes. I finished my prerequisites and was on the wait list for 1 1/2 years. Now my name is coming up to walk in to the 2 year program (everyone else has to test in after the wait list is through because they are doing away with it, so I guess I was lucky to be one of the last to just walk in). I got a 96 on my HESI exam (just too easy a test I thought). So, I am paying cash for school. Do I spend retirement money to go to school for 2 years to NOT have a BSN, just a PRN? Would really love some input from the exceptional people who are immersed in it, cause I have heard so many different things. I live near Boulder, Co.[/quote'] Not sure exactly what you mean by PRN - I think you mean ADN (associates degree in nursing). If you read posts here on all nurses you will find that some locations have more jobs than others. I do know that northern CO is a very competitive job market for nurses so you may need to relocate. You say you are burnt out but that happens in nursing as we'll.
Specializes in Med Surg, Parish Nurse, Hospice.

One of the reasons I left hospital bedside nursing. It is scary!

I was precepting three months after I finished orientation. I was not comfortable with it, and they said "oh, but they are taking all seven patients, you just have to be there if they have questions". I was not comfortable with it and I usually do not do it anymore, even though I would be a little more comfortable now that I have two years under my belt. Still, they are having people just a few months off orientation precepting-not a good idea!

Specializes in NICU.

The previous unit I worked on had such a high turnover, that new grads with 9 months experience were precepting new grads. It was scary (I was one of the preceptors). The most experienced nurse on that floor and shift now has 1 year experience.

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