Med Surg Tech Orientation from Hell!!

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I just finished my 1st semester of an adn program. I decided to try for a job at the local hospital as a Med Surg Tech :D(which = cna = pt care tech). My first day as a tech on a med surg floor was from 7am - 7pm...In my 11 years of working office jobs, on an assembly line, and a few other gigs..this was my worst day ever...How do the expect people to do the majority of the work and get the least amount of pay! Only 1 tech for 16 pts! This made me not even want to be a nurse:cry:! In the whole 12 hours I sat down for 30 minutes for lunch (and I had to request that:angryfire). Thank god it is prn...hopefully I can go as least as possible. My trainer had no sort of organization to the day..she ran around like a chicken with her head cut off all day:bugeyes:! My question is how realistic is it to compare my experince as a tech to a rn? Tech's don't get enough respect! They should be treated like gold! :bowingpur

Only a couple days out of the week sounds manageable, but doesn't the experience help when you apply as a RN? That was the only reason I was thinking about applying, since it seems many employers want experience and aren't particularly fond of hiring new grads.

I went to lunch with the director of the floor a few days before orientation started and he informed me that they only hired 2 new grads this past year and both of them were techs on the floor. He stated that basically as long as you finished school and passed the nclex you have a job. He said he even held the positions open for 2 months so that he could hire them. According to him 70 nursing students graduated from nursing programs in our area...the hospital only hired 2!!! If this is any indication of the hiring trend all of us students need to get some tech experience...with the way things are now no tech experience might = no job after graduation...just make sure to go prn...so if it is the job from hell like mines..at least you only have to go 2 days a month!

think i am going to try nights..that way i can by pass meal times and "visting time"...so I do not have to explain that we are required to check VS every 4 hours even if grandma is in the "middle of her nap"..(to make sure she is napping after her 2 hour hip replacement and not dead!)

P.s. the hospital pays for up to $8,000 of your your tution after 6 months! after you finish school you have to work for them for 6 months for every semester they pay for school...

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I'm sorry you had such a horrible first day!

I have been a tech for 2 years and I will finish my ADN in May. I remember my first 2 weeks as a tech, I went home and cried each day. I hated it. I wanted to quit, and would cry on my way to work.

The only thing I can say is that it gets better. Once you get comfortable, get into a general routine, and get to know the flow of the floor, it does get better. At least it did for me, I love my job and love going to work.

16 patients to 1 tech is insane though. That is WAY too high of a ratio. We range from 6-9 on average per tech. I hope if you have 16 patients half of them are steady on their feet and mainly self care, or the ones who need more assistance are going to fall. Is that the normal ratio?

Kelly

it is basically total care...mostly hip and knee replacements and back surgerys...i didnt ask if it was the norm...i guess we will see when i go back next week..on night shift of course!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Nothing (yet).

I feel your pain. I had an almost non-existant Med Surg orientation as an aide. I used to be a project manager until I got laid off and decided to go to nursing school. So, with no healthcare background I thought I would get a decent orientation. For example, I couldn't even get someone to teach me how to take manual blood pressures...even though it is a requirement for my job. I took the job for clinical experience for nursing school but it almost made me scared to become a nurse. I've been working Med Surg for three months and it is getting alittle better. The patient ratios can be bad, the nurses are too busy to help with anything, and running around for the entire shift won't change. What will change will be your ability to do the job and, if your like me, you might start to see what you do does actually make a difference and somehow that becomes enough to make it worthwhile.

I guess my advice is to hang in there and realized what difference you are making for the patients. After all, that is why we are all there.

Good Luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I totally agree with what smartmorgan said. I have been working in an e.r as a tech prn for 3 months. I hate asking patient care questions to nurses, I feel like they think I should already know that. I had no prior patient care experience or schooling. I hope to get accepted to nursing school this fall. I do have to say that the more I work, the more I learn, and the more I can better help the patients. I actually love the e.r, everyday I feel like I learn 20 new things! I think being a tech teaches you tons of patience, somedays you simply can not please everybody, but you try to do the best you can.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Oncology, Emergency Department.

Dont tech in the Ed I work in...There is 1 tech per team. Each team has 12 bays and 9 hallway slots...I feel very bad for out techs and do try to help them out as much as possible, but the nurse patient ratio is not great either. It is not unheard of for a nurse to have a 9:1 ratio

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med-Surg.

I agree... I worked as a nursing assistant too. The thing is, the assistants can do the basic care only, but nurses can do both nursing and the basic care. there are much more responsibilities and work load for nurses than the assistants.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

just remember what you said when you become an rn. treat your techs and cna's as if they are gold.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment