I am a brand new nurse orienting with LTC for another two days before they cut me loose. I think I have no problem as far as following policies and what to do but the issue I have is proficiency. I am still slow comparing to other nurses. Today (third week of orientation) I decided to take charge by telling my preceptor I want to do everything so when time comes I will be ready. Well, I found myself overwhelming. I had patients right next to me on my face demanding meds, a pt's husband insisting his wife take her med now while I was taking care of another patient. I felt so overwhelmed and almost breakdown, but I managed to keep my cool and pushing through. There is another mistake made. I tossed a prefilled osteoperosis med syringe into sharp container without knowing it is reusable. How dumb right?! My preceptor had to call ADON to remove the med from sharp container. I apologized to both for not knowing it's not suppose to be disposed. Although they said, it's okay after what I had done, I just feel like I might get boot out if I keep making this kind of mistake.
Questions for all LTC nurses: How do you manage your time throughout your shift without getting behind? So far, I have seen that each nurse function differently. Is it okay to start passing out meds around 7-7:30 for 9AM oclock meds? My preceptor today did. She said as soon as she received her report/shift change she starts passing out meds. From my understanding, you have 1 hour window (I asked her this) but she said if you start out at that time you will never get it done on time.
I need some advice on what I can improve on and function more efficiently. I could barely made it out alive after passing meds then charting. I didn't get to complete treatment book, transcribing physician orders. If I factor in everything suppose to complete my me accordingly, I would need an extra 2-3 hours after my shift to get it all done
