Im a new Grad on orientation, please help me

[Anne36, LPN]

Hi, I am a brand new Grad, I got my license in July and have just gotten my first job. I am day 5 of orienting. I wouldnt mind some feedback on my situation. I have been put with 3 different Nurses to orient. The first 2 everything went fine, I helped with med pass and they watched my back to make sure I was doing everything correctly. The last 2 days have been awful. Im in between wondering if I should quit or if I will get a call that I am fired or worse. The nurse I worked with tonight did not tell me she wanted me to do med pass alone. It was several hours before I realized she wasnt helping me. I did not finish all my med pass by the time my shift was over at 11. She told me to go home and that it was too late to finish. She was also staying on as the midnight nurse for several hours. I dont understand how this works. She is my preceptor but now there are a whole bunch of meds that were not passed on our shift. She was there the whole time and could have jumped in to rescue me at any time but did not. There is so much more to this story, the night before I got real nervous working with her because of her unorthodox way of charting and passing meds. I was nervous when I went in there tonight. What do you think I should or should not have done?

[artsmom, BSN, LPN]

You should have asked her to help you when the time was getting late and you still had a ways to go. Seems to me she was taking advantage of someone to do her meds and giving her a break. Why are they making you work with all different nurses? You should ask admin if you can get on a schedule with one nurse, just work her days, and work with her only for the duration of your orientation. I don't know what you mean by "unorthodox ways of documenting and passing meds", but new grads should never be taught short cuts. When new grads ask how I get through all my tasks in a shift- all they hear is not to waste time.

[Anne36, LPN]

Thank you. I am only scheduled for a few more days and am sure Im orienting with somene else new to me tommorow night.

[Anne36, LPN]

Can anyone think of a tactful way to ask for a schedule change so that I can precept with another Nurse? I know of 2 that I worked with already that I feel comfortable with. I dont want it to look like I am avoiding the Nurse I was with the last 2 nights.

[ktwlpn, LPN]

You need to go to your staff development or staff education department and discuss this with them.Orientation for a brand new nurse needs to be progressive and flexible. You need to start slow and have measurable goals. That said,I would expect you to be able to complete a med pass in a timely fashion by your 5th shift especially if that is all you are responsible for. By your 2nd or 3rd shift depending upon your performance I would have had you assessing everyone of your residents who were on report and documenting on them and gradually picking up other duties until you were ready to take the desk. When a new orientee hits the floor where I work they have been passed on med admin by staff dev.(which means they passed meds to a handful of residents with %100 accuracy) After that they have to get a routine going and get comfortable with the med carts and the real world med pass (averages 22 where I work) and the time that each nurse requires varies. It's up to youto go to someone and explain to them that you need more time,it's up to them to give it to you.

[Anne36, LPN]

The last 3 days were 100% better. I did do the med pass in plenty of time on about 22 residents. I also did treatments and had a few learning experiences with a different Nurse. I did ask to be put with another preceptor that was more willing to orient a new Nurse and it has been a great week for me.