How to not get fired as a new grad ?

[arack05]

Im sure this question has been asked before, but its something im beginning to worry about.

Without going into too much detail (as these are public internet forums)

I was hired as a new grad BSN RN into a specialty field with a long "orientation" (12 ~ months)

I have been in my position for over 6 months but less than 12, still presumably on "orientation".

However recently I have been worrisome about my job security as there seems to be quite a bit of confusion in my department as to how to train new grads in this specialized area.

The bulk of the leadership is brand new to their positions (educator, manager, assistant

manager) and their training is extraordinarily unorganized.

I am doing the absolute best I can to take ownership and responsibility for my own learning trying to learn as much as I can in the position that I am, realizing that I cant count on anyone else to teach me everything I need to know and the way that I need to do it.

Its not just me in this position as they hired a small batch of us together, and the others have expressed that they share the same concerns as me.

Other than doing the best I can to take responsibility and learning of myself, what can I do to protect myself from being fired ?

And I know that some will say that its just new grad paranoia, culture shock, bullying, lack of confidence etc. Which certainly is possible, but for all sakes and purposes lets pretend my concern is legitimate

Ill also add that it is a non union facility, so yeah.

Thank you sooo much for listening to my concerns, I truly appreciate it !

[delphine22]

I know you can't really get into specifics, but I'm seeing two issues here: one, your lack of an organized orientation with good teaching. Two, you are worried about being fired. Are they stacking complaints against you? "Loading your file," as it were? Have you been counseled or written up for something that you feel should have been covered in your training?

If everyone's new, I'd say go to your manager's manager. Though it's much nicer to go to the manager first, or the asst mgr if they're more approachable. Not in a "you suck" manner but "I feel like I'm struggling" (ideally, "WE FEEL," and go in as a group, but not a lynching), "how can this be made more organized and systematic?"

Your unit may have its own educator but I bet there's a centralized education dept. Try them for resources too.

[arack05]

I know you can't really get into specifics, but I'm seeing two issues here: one, your lack of an organized orientation with good teaching. Two, you are worried about being fired. Are they stacking complaints against you? "Loading your file," as it were? Have you been counseled or written up for something that you feel should have been covered in your training?

If everyone's new, I'd say go to your manager's manager. Though it's much nicer to go to the manager first, or the asst mgr if they're more approachable. Not in a "you suck" manner but "I feel like I'm struggling" (ideally, "WE FEEL," and go in as a group, but not a lynching), "how can this be made more organized and systematic?"

Your unit may have its own educator but I bet there's a centralized education dept. Try them for resources too.

If theres anything in my file, I wouldn't know about it (ie they never sent me any letters, verbalized anything, or sat me down and said this is xyz problem). They did say some kind of formalized "progress report" would be in the near future. Ive never been counseled or written up for anything.

However they have never had a shortage of telling me how bad of a job im doing how they expect me to be progressing more/faster, and constantly asking me if I want to be here, if its for me, that its not for everyone etc.

The worst thing is that there is extremely little standardization in the unit, and almost everyone does things differently. And when you don't do things their way, its wrong. Plus we don't have steady preceptors, as in every single shift youre with a new person with a whole new way of doing things. Ive been taking my own actions to improve that (ie saying I was trained to do it this way) but it still makes life hard.

The Managers Manager thing is tough, simply because I feel like that's a path of no return kinda thing. Many of the nurses on the unit have worked together for 10-30 years so complaining about leadership (even in a constructive way) seems like a fast way to get everyone to hate us.

And there is a centralized education department, but I don't believe any of them have any knowledge on this specialty field. As a matter of fact one of the centralized educators came to us (the brand new grad nurses with 0 hospital experience) early in our education asking us if any of the study materials they gave us had information/education they could use for an incident on the unit

[LakeEmerald]

This may just be me, but, after 6 months on any unit, a new grad should be able to function independently (with some help). Ideally, you should be managing care on your own and asking the occasional question as needed. Find 1 or 2 people you can trust to help with answering the difficult questions, and fake it till you make it on the rest. Your employer likely expects you to be at this stage, or at least to appear to be.

Don't advertise that you are not confident. No one is at your stage, but advertising it at work tells people you don't believe you can adapt to the job. Fake confidence and quietly ask your trusted person of the day for help when you need it.

Avoid the people who are always complaining about problems and gravitate towards the ones who have solutions. Those are the ones who will avoid getting fired.

No standardization? Is there a written policy? If not, research what the best practice is, and do it that way. This will allow you to stand confidently behind your work.

I was a new grad in the ED and oriented for 4 months. I got passed around to just about every nurse in the department (even to one who I was told, "just hang with her tonight, but don't do things the way she does." - Ugh. I got a half-decent orientation at best, but at the end of 4 months I was cut loose. The great thing about where I work is that I knew if I needed to ask an important question or to get help, there would be another nurse or charge nurse there to help me and guide me. That's how the new grad orientee survives being pushed out of the nest. Find the 1 person per shift you can count on.

It's alright to be scared and feel overwhemed. Even seasoned nurses are sometimes. Nurses deal with high pressure stuff. What your employer wants to see is that you can work through problems, not get bogged down in them.

I hope this advice helps. I hope you find your trusted person(s), and I wish you the best in your career!