One week to train to Med/surg????

[sweetcheekers]

I am a new graduate RN with 4 months experience in our local hospital's OB department. I only obtained my RN license at the end of October. I work as a postpartum nurse for mom/babe. It has gone well despite a crash course in OB nursing that lasted 4 weeks. I don't know if you can really call it an orientation, due to the fact that I had no preceptor and simply followed various nurses around for a few days then was on my own but free to ask for help for the remaining 3 weeks. My first shift off orientation I had a baby on oxygen which I had never been oriented to. Anyway, when I was hired I agreed that I would be cross trained to med-surg. I was told that I would get a four week orientation to that department, as well. In December I was sent to med-surg to "orient" on three different occasions due to low census in our OB department. I followed three different people and expressed my concern that intermittent orientation was not going to be sufficient to make me a safe and effective staff member. I was told there would be a couple of weeks cleared in the future so I could have a better opportunity to catch on. So, I had my evaluation the other day which was good. My supervisor says that she agrees it probably would be better to give me some consistent exposure to med-surg. So she's thinking I will work dayshift for a week on med surg. Then, on the days where I have evening shifts in OB I can go over there after my orientation shift on med surg. I have three problems with this. Number one: if I am only getting one week to get all this why are you orienting me to a shift that I won't be working (I am usually nights, with some evenings, no days.) Number two: Why should I have to arrange my orientation so that I can still work most of my OB shifts afterwards? Number three: one week is not even close to adequate orientation to be considered capable of delivering IV medications into another human beings veins, being responsible for post op patients, and becoming proficient at performing q 4 hour assessments on 5-6 patients, charting them, and administering medications and treatments for a brand new nurse. Am I nuts or is this not even close to reasonable? Being a mom/babe nurse is very different from being a med-surg nurse. There is a high degree of predictability and routine in the job I do right now. The diversity I will be expected to manage in my med/surg patients is going to require a lot more than a week's exposure. My initial orientation time was suppose to be 4 weeks, then it went to two, and now one! WTF!

[bellcollector]

This is obviously not safe and it is your responsibility to guard your own license. There are plenty of places to work as an RN. If this place will not give you what you need to be a safe and effective nurse while protecting your license then go somewhere that will. Good Luck

[grinnurse, RN]

Run as fast as you can!! Your license is far too important to loose it!! Hospitals like that make me sick!!! These two depts are like apples and oranges and if someone told me I would have a week to orient to one or the other I would have to laught and give them my two week notice!!

What is to say that the week won't end up being a day and days on Med/Surge are totally different than days!! Didn't say easier-just different!!

[GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN]

I think they are taking advantage of a new nurse. They know new nurses don't like to rock the boat so they wont complain much. It doesn't sound safe. You need atleast 2 weeks orientation to the shift you will be working IMHO.