New Grad in LTC

itsnowornever, BSN, RN · Mar 6, 2013

Don't be afraid to ask questions!!!!!

Posting from my phone, ease forgive my fat thumbs! :)

SquishyRN, BSN, RN · Mar 6, 2013

Do not get so caught up in finishing your med pass on time. You are new, you WILL be late. I've seen so many new grads get frustrated and flustered that they're an hour behind that they start cutting corners and make errors. Focus more on giving the right med to the right patient. You'll get faster as you get accustomed to the patients, meds, paperwork and routines, but you don't want to do something that may cost you your job (or even license) in the meantime. Tip: Since you already know that as a new grad that you're going to be late, prioritize giving the alert and oriented patients their meds on time even if that means not going room by room in the most efficient fashion. It only adds to your stress level when those patients are complaining in droves why they haven't gotten their 5pm meds and it's already 7. The confused and non-alert patients won't be giving you such grief =P Also, don't expect people to baby you just because they know you're new. You're on your own, so they expect you to be able to perform your job. Assume that people assume you know what you're supposed to be doing, so it's your responsibility to ask for things to be clarified for you if you don't know how to do something. So like the above poster said, don't be afraid to ask questions.

ctbui · Mar 6, 2013

I'm new at my facility too, and my preceptor told me that I should ask if I feel like I'm not ready or need more days. It's better to be safe than sorry, especially you have that many pts comparing to my 15-20 pts. I did 3 days so far and they want to put me in 2 more weeks. Im not sure if that's a good sign or not, but I really don't mind being trained because I have no prior experiences.

Also, in my opinion, I don't think u would get fired if you ask for more days because they already spent money orienting you. Good luck to us!