need perspective, warning... long

[cherilee]

Hi everyone

Im a med surg nurse , just hitting the one yr mark. I feel like I understand how things work in the hospital, how the team works with pts, etc. , .

Alot of times I like the pace, because Im never bored. Im also trying different things to gain some kind of structure to the day. I work per diem now, as I was unfortunately had a bad experience with my last job with having anxiety and as a result, making too many mistakes.

Now, in my current job, I can juggle things ok, can stay calm MOST of the time. However, THere are just so many balls in the air all the time, I still can miss things. Most times I catch them, but I catch them late. This gives me the most insecure feeling, like no matter how hard I try , sometimes things get missed. Constantly? no. but enough to make me think, how can I avoid this?? Almost always at the end of a shift, tons of orders are written, a pt has a problem,pharmacy calls with an issue, etc, etc. I feel like in order to take care of everything, I would have to do a double. lol. Tell me, honestly, do you become more meticulous? does your memory get better? how do med surg nurses go on and thrive in this?

Or, if you are not extremely perfect lol should you run??

IM looking into hh, psych, I m still not clear on whats going to be my niche.

In the past, I havent stuck with anything really long enough to get "pro" at it. This time, I have way too much at stake to leave this profession:(loans, child,etc}. Thanks for reading.

[nightmare, RN]

First off.....nobodys perfect! I wish we were!You get more organised with experience but there is only so much info you can take in at a time.Write stuff down,if its possible to pass it on to the next shift then pass it.After all nursing is 24/7 and we all get things passed to us from the previous shift because of time constraints.

The question to ask is,'are you enjoying this' same people thrive on working against the clock and doing the best they can,getting a buzz from knowing they've done their best.

[barefootlady, ADN, RN]

As a nurse gains experience they usually do become more organized and meticulous in the working role. No nurse is perfect and gets it all done all of the time. The need to evaluate ourselves and our work environment hits about the end of our first real year as a nurse. Then again at different times. I understand what you are asking and saying, I just have no real concrete answer for you. I think I would give med/surge another 6 months while exploring other options at your facility. Good luck and keep us posted on what you decide.

[cherilee]

thank you for the responses

[AngelsRN]

I agree to give it more time . . .sometimes you just need time and to have patience with yourself and give yourself the time to learn. There are so many factors going on with alot of input. We have worklists that we use . . .I use a blank piece of paper on top and put room numbers on it . . .this becomes a running tally list of things I have to do for the patient ie. called the dr on this, change a dressing, waiting for a med from the pharmacy etc. That helps me to keep what I need to do in focus. When I was new, I wrote everything down that people told me . . .you just cant remember everything when there is that much.

Hope that helps!

[JulieRN07]

I totally understand where you are coming from. I spent 3 years as an LPN in med/surg. I really do think that what you described is a typical day on any med/surg floor. As you experiance more, and unfortunately through mistakes you make, you do learn and you do get better! I am a firm believer that you can never get to the point where you think you have it all down, and there isnt much you don't know- Nursing changes constantly! There are always new disease processes and treatments that you may have never heard of before that come through the door.

My best advice is to ALWAYS ask questions if you are not sure. And if you don't feel that you can ask and trust the people you work with, then I would go somewhere else. Being able to rely on the more experianced nurses for help and advice is HUGE!

I wish you all the luck in the world, it sounds like you are a great nurse with a cool head on shoulders! Don't give up!!

Julie