New Grad Stupids

hollykate · Oct 17, 2000

DragonLPN,

I had to say your story made me laugh and laugh. Gee, I went to school with Princesses identical twin... She works in the same hospital with me, and everytime I transfer a pt to her (I do ICU, she does tele/stepdown) I can hear her wrinkling up her nose as she finds out who is talking to her!!!! Thanks for the great image! HollyKate

Jay-Jay, RN · Oct 17, 2000

ROTFLOL! Dragon, I'm wiping the tears off my cheeks!

BBQChick, if you want to read one of the stupid things I did (as a student), go to the Nursing Humour site on Allnurses, and check my post under Most Embarrassing Moment as A Student.

Most of the stuff I did as a beginning nurse I've conveniently forgotten, but there's quite a few moments as a student which are forever branded in my mind, most of them moments of stark terror.

Oh, yeah, I remember one now...I was doing night shift in a nursing home for an agency, and I had two patients in the same room with the same last name. I tell you, that's a receipe for disaster at 6 in the morning, when you've been up all night. I double checked everything (or so I thought) and STILL wound up giving the wrong med to the wrong patient. It was a narcotic, too! I was sweating bricks!

The patient was okay, and the nursing home administrator was so pleased with my honesty in owing up to what I'd done, calling the MD, etc. that she asked me to come back the next night!

laurasc · Oct 17, 2000

I had been working for only a short time if I remember correctly. I gave a laxative to a suspected bowel obstruction. Thank God the patient was fine. The head nurse nearly had my head on a platter...and I nearly died. Never made THAT mistake again!

Laura

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[This message has been edited by laurasc (edited October 17, 2000).]

bluesgirl · Oct 18, 2000

Originally posted by Mijourney:
Hi bbqchick. Yes, I have experienced the trials and tribulations of a nurse from the crawling stage. I have also worked with new grads. The dumbest thing I feel is to not ask that question that may be knawing at you or ask for assistance. I don't care how well one did in nursing school, what nursing program one graduated from or how short, hot, bothered, and hurried the staff is, it's never dumb to ask a question and ask it again even if as a last resort you have to page the supervisor, the house physician, the ER physician, the on call physician, or former nursing instructors. Your license, the welfare of the patient and facility may depend on it.
I also feel that it is vitally important to keep your knowledge and skills current. Being a new graduate does not mean your education ends. Even now, I always make sure that I have access to the resources I may need to look up something or ask something that would help me better serve my clients and myself. I still look up things familiar to me to make sure that there have not been revisions and updates. The complexity of health and medical care justifies that.
Through your career, you will do things that you find afterwards you could have used another, maybe better, approach for. This is why continual learning and staying current is so important. And as JillR indicates, you will find that as you progress in your work, your experience will kick in. Best wishes.

[This message has been edited by Mijourney (edited October 14, 2000).]

bluesgirl · Oct 18, 2000

Originally posted by Mijourney:
Hi bbqchick. Yes, I have experienced the trials and tribulations of a nurse from the crawling stage. I have also worked with new grads. The dumbest thing I feel is to not ask that question that may be knawing at you or ask for assistance. I don't care how well one did in nursing school, what nursing program one graduated from or how short, hot, bothered, and hurried the staff is, it's never dumb to ask a question and ask it again even if as a last resort you have to page the supervisor, the house physician, the ER physician, the on call physician, or former nursing instructors. Your license, the welfare of the patient and facility may depend on it.
In response--mijourney,
I've read several of your post---
Your advice is always great--and very well put--understandable---concise--etc., etc.,
When are you going to or are you already a teacher----please do
Blues

bluesgirl · Oct 18, 2000

Originally posted by profjan:
This is my 16th year as a labor nurse... BUT I can still remember my funniest experience as a student nurse in labor. I was told to " go shave all the hair you can see down below" on a patient having her third baby, I wanted to be a really good nurse, so I started to shave very slowly and carefully, well....the baby started to crown and I shaved the top of the baby's head before I realized what was about to happen! Lucky for me, the mom was amused by the "reverse mohawk" haircut I gave her baby.
I have NEVER forgotten being a new nurse-hang in there-we all need all the nurses we can find!

LMAOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL best one yet---tnks

rosemarie · Oct 18, 2000

I've been nursing quite a long time. Over 20 years and I still remember what it was like to be a new grad. You are trying to fit in, not make any "mistakes". Remember two things, one is there is no such thing as a stupid question, the only thing that is stupid is a question that's not asked. Also if a mistake is made, make it a learning experience. We all make mistakes, but if we learn from them, they become learning tools, and hopefully we won't make the same mistake again.

Trina · Oct 24, 2000

Hey bbqchick, I am finishing up my RN schooling this December!! I started in the spring so I had this summer in between my third and fourth semester- with that I decided to get my LPN and get some "nursing experience" before I graduate. I had been a unit secretary for the past 5 years on a labor and delivery unit so I thought I would seek out a job in Med-surg nursing. I now work on an orthopedic medsurg unit and it has been quite an eye-opener to say the least. I think you are probably just being a bit hard on yourself, but believe me I know how it feels to work with people who avoid the opportunity to assist the "newbies" out there. I hope you remember that in a year or two when someone else is new and will need your expert advise. I know I will. I have made a lot of near misses and a few small errors, but I will tell you the one thing that has really helped me through this is my humility.... I know I don't know it all so I asked a lot of questions and I look a lot of things up. And I try to be very calm and kind to everyone I come across no matter what they express towards me. It has worked wonders. Hang in there, and keep up with this bulletin board. this was the first time I saw it and you guys are hilarious!!!

oramar · Oct 25, 2000

Originally posted by bbqchick:
Help! I am a new grad and my co-workers have forgotten what it's like. I'm not sure how this can ethically be done, but I need to hear the stupidest things you experience nurses have done, please.

I am not a new grad, I am however new to LTC and making dumb newbee mistakes. This morning I poured buttermilk on all the patients cherrios. I am still laughing.

dtweed · Nov 5, 2000

Hi, I remember being new for the second time. I had taken ten years off to do home daycare will my daughter was in school. I was missing too much and couldn't find a day postion. Two months back, on a very hectic night, the cna said so and so had a temp of 103. Thinking it was the baby, but going into the right drawer for the right patient and right drug, walked in and gave a 9month old an adult tyenol supp. came out, realized what I had done and told my supervisor who was standing there. She told me to try to retrive it, which I did in liquid form all over my shoe. I also put tube feeding in the wrong side of the bag. but before it was empty. the patient became agitated and not knocked the pole over and we had tube feeding all over. I'm sure theilr are more, but remember you are human,you are learning and that you care. We need many more like you. I always say the day I quit learning is the day I quit. Good Luck

longforseaair · Nov 6, 2000

YEEEHAAAWW!

Jenny P · Nov 7, 2000

bbqchick, don't put up with that behavior from your co-workers. Sometimes a controlled anger is necessary to deal with people who don't understand that concept of being a team. Telling the others that you need help isn't a reflection on being a newbie- make it clear to them that your assignment is impossible for you to do. Stand in the middle of the nurses' station and announce loud and clear that you can't do it and you need help. Give an ultimatum if necessary-- tell them you will quit or go to another unit, or request more orientation, or compare your assignments to theirs with the head nurse; but whatever you do threaten, be sure and carry it out if they still won't help you. It sounds like abuse when others are sitting and your assignment is overwhelming.