new nurse on orientation,questions?

Nurses General Nursing

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trendz80

71 Posts

Specializes in Home Health, Foster Care.

Hi,

I am feeling the say way as you are. I have been at a hospital for about 9 days. My orientation is for five weeks. I have 10 days left since I am doing 12 hr shifts now. I am not comfortable in this place at all. When I first got there I went around with my preceptor and that was cool. But the second day, they just threw me to the lions!!! I had 7 patients. I think this is ridiculous. I have no idea what I am doing. Don't get me wrong, my preceptor is really nice and is trying to do her best, but the NM is making her charge nurse all the time, giving her patients to deal with and she has me too. I don't think it is fair to me or her. She can't devote time for me to teach me what she really wants to. We were talking about this last night. She said how can she devote time to me and the other orientee if they keep giving her assignments? I don't feel comfortable and if that don't beat all, the NM told me that I was starting on nights and I know there is not alot of support at night. I don't feel comfortable and I am not putting my license on the line for no one. I did not pay all this money and go through my program to get screwed up on orientation. I am leaving. I already made up my mind. This is a really busy med surg floor where people are coding all the time. If I wanted to work in the ER, I would have applied for the ER. This is not a good match for me. So if you don't feel comfortable, I would leave. That's just my opinion. My gut is telling me not to stay, so I am not.

Thanks for letting me vent!

Lashawn

BeHappy!

22 Posts

I wouldn't worry about finding another job. Most nurses have been through this and know it's about finding the right fit for you. Look into other avenues of nursing and make sure in your next interview not to tell them you don't like a fast paced environment. Anything new is going to be challenging so don't be too hard on yourself. :nurse:

Specializes in Infection Preventionist/ Occ Health.

I know what you mean about the pace being so fast. I have an especially difficult time in the mornings with 0800 assessents, morning med passes, new orders coming in all the time and patients/parents waking up to ask for things. I just try to keep remembering what one of my coworkers told me- remember that it will all get done.

Sometimes I feel that my preceptor is expecting me to work faster, but what she really wants me to do is prioritize. If someone asks for a new pillowcase in the middle of my morning rounds, I should ask them to wait a bit instead of running to get it right away. Vitals and meds are much more important.

I have to consciously slow myself down some days because I find myself looking at the clock and rushing. I almost missed a mistake on one of my MARs the other day because I was trying to go too fast. I keep in mind that making a mistake is worse than running behind schedule.

Sometimes we make a detour finding our ideal job or career. I am very glad that I switched from working in the lab to nursing, even though there were aspects of my previous career that I enjoyed. Good luck finding your niche.

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