Advice For The New Nurse Entering Med-Surg

Specialties Med-Surg

Published

Here is your chance to give some advice and counsel to new RN's and LPN's entering their first clinical job as a nurse. What advice would you give them?

I am going to make this a sticky so that it is always available on the top of the forum for our newer nurses to see right from the start. Looking forward to seeing some of the great advice that our experienced nurses can lend to the newer nurses ..... :balloons:

Specializes in CNA/PRE-LPN.

THIS IS DEFINATELY FOR THE ARMY MOM...WHICH I AM ALSO....2 SONS 21 AND 20 AT FT GORDON,GA:saint:

I AM ENTERING MY 1'ST SEMESTER IN THIS COURSE AND IM A TAD BIT NERVOUS...I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A....A/B STUDENT AND I GUESS FROM THE HORROR STORIES...IT'S SCARING ME :bluecry1:. I'M ALWAYS CONFIDENT AND ASSURE OF MY NOTES AND TAKING NOTES WHETHER ASKED TO OR NOT,AND KNOWING WHAT I KNOW, W/O ANY PROBLEMS....YET....AFTER ALL THE NEGATIVITY....IT'S GETTING TO ME ....WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE TO ME...BESIDES FOR ME TO STOP LETTING OTHER PEOPLE'S LET DOWN'S SCARE ME...SIGNED......K:eek:

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Kristie: Be confident - be yourself and don't listen to when the "others" are down! Know yourself and who you are and you'll do just fine!

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Hey guys! I'm also a brand new nurse on the med surg unit & i'm already feeling overwhelmed! In nursing school we never did much w/ the Md orders and test results, etc. so I feel way out of it. i just hope it gets easier. This is only my first week but i feel like I should know it now, I don't want to wait to aquire all the time management skills I need. :banghead:

I feel like maybe this is just too much to handle, but then again I keep telling myself if everyone else did it, then i can too i guess?

Any advice?

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Here is my advice (for whatever its worth :) )

2. Prioritization and Organization are NECESSITIES.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

thanks to everyone for all the great advice. I am a new grad in my first job (with 4 orientation shifts to go). I know that organization and prioritizing is so vital to all nurses - especially new nurses learning new skills (cause school lacked so much) but does anyone have any SPECIFIC advice on exactly how to organize care ...

... such as hints on how to prioritize?

... or how to save time?

I feel so thankful to have found this site today, cause honestly I am scared, and all I really want out of life right now is to learn this job well.

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Specializes in M/S, ER, Geriatrics, Admit & Rec.

Any quick advice on a VAC pump...never used one before & I'm a little scared!! Just started on a new med-surg floor myself. Thanks anyone!!!

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thanks a lot you great people, for all the advice here..I actually feel better now. I am actually on my 4th week of orientation at Med-Surg as a new graduate nurse, and I have a very nice seasoned male preceptor, who is actually the GO-TO person of almost the entire staff. To him, nothing is a dumb question, so I have no qualms in asking. My problem actually is the workload, like I am too overwhelmed by so much to do in so little time...but when I take a look at the other RNs who have been in the unit for a long time, they seem to be just COOL. So I figured, i will learn the routine, too, in God's time.

Nothing beats an optimistic RN, although to be honest, I dread the day when I will be on my own. This forum though, keeps my hopes alive! Thanks a lot to the seasoned RNs here, and may God bless you!

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Hello to all new RNs and seasoned & experienced RNs,

I am a new RN grad and have just been offered a position at a medical telemetry (liver failure) unit. Please share with me what to expect and give me any advice, tips, techniques, or any wealth of knowledge you can share.

Thanks so much.

:nuke::):nurse::wink2:

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I graduated in December and I took my nclex last Thursday, passed, and interviewed for a job today. The called me back a few hours later and job offered me. I go in tomorrow to fill out my paperwork and stuff. Its med-surge 12 hour graves. I accepted the job, but now I have that, "OH crap, what did I get myself into" feeling. I have never worked nights, never been a nurse. On the up side, I will have a 12 week preceptorship. How are nights? I know every hospital is different, but I am just wondering what I have gotten myself into.:no: I think once I start i will calm down, but right now I am freaking just a little.:banghead:

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I start my first nursing position next month and it will be in Med-Surg. I'm very excited and nervous...and will continue reading these helpful postings..thanks for all the great info!!

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Specializes in Neurovascular/Stroke Nurse.

I have been on the floor for 5 1/2 months, including my time in orientation. For various reasons, I worked with several different nurses, besides my preceptor, during orientation and it was a great learning opportunity. One perk was I got to see how other nurses do things like organizing their day, setting daily goals, and prioritizing patient care. Another great thing was I got to know other nurses and they got to see how well I was grasping what I learned so far and could fill in any gaps if necessary. That was a tremendous boost to my confidence!

Of course, I have my days and feel as though my job only consists of passing meds or that I'm not being challenged, but overall I have valued my experience thus far in med/surg.

One bit of advice I'd give all new nurses is to make sure you have a day, at least, to shadow the Medical Unit Secretary!! That was one aspect of my unit I was not fortunate in learning about specifically and I have had to play "catch-up" to find out what to do. Although, I feel more comfortable now, I still joke with our MUS whenever I have a question by saying, "This is why I needed my day with you!"

By the way, I work on a Neurovascular/Stroke Unit.

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Specializes in med-surg, OR.

Hi I've been nursing for about a year, so I recently felt the same way. It will be fine! Med-surg is a great place to get your basics, and time organization skills down. For being the new nurse, I suggest you stay very open minded to learning, by attend any inservices or workshops that you can. There are alot of nurses out there you will work with who like to teach. So let them teach you, you may learn something new, and it will help you build better coworker relationships on the floor. You will learn alot working. I suggest trying to sleep before night shift, it might be hard, but it will help. Some people just do nights better then others. I drink coffee or hot chocolate, and bring snacks to eat to help me stay awake.:) One simple thing I learned as a new grad working on a busy floor: is to bring along my stethoscope with my vitals machince, and do my assessments at the same time as my first set of vitals. It saves time so your not back tracking, later. Also, Always be at least 15mins early for your shifts, to look at your charts and prepare for your assignment. You will do fine, it just takes a while to get used to working in a new place, and in a new role. After 3 months of be a new grad you'll be alot more confident.

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Thanks ruralgirl 08! :redpinkhe

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