New RN in med/surg internship

tokmom, BSN, RN · Sep 16, 2012

Yes, it's very common. When you lose your preceptor, there will be another transistion to doing things your way.

Currently, we have two grads on our floor. The first one just celebrated a year. The second nurse has 6 months, maybe..

The first nurse had plenty of tears that first year. She never asked for help. Actually, she still doesn't until she is drowning and even then it's a tug-a-war to have her let go. Overall though, she has come a long way.

The second one, is still struggling with organization and 'getting it right'. She often asks for feedback, and reassurance on when to call the MD, etc.. Some tears from her as well, but she is also going in the right direction.

Our ratio is maximum 5 for both days/nocs

Even for the experienced nurse, you can have days that are rough. It seems everything comes undone at the same time, lol.

Cut yourself some slack. Look back in a year and you will see how far you have come.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Sep 16, 2012

I'm a new RN and started a med/surg internship 2 mos ago. So far, i like it, but sometimes i feel it's wayyy to much to handle for a new RN. Sometimes i find myself playing catch up because during the course of my day, there are all these interruptions, like pts asking for pain meds, md's calling about the patients and it just feels so overwhelming, even with the help of my preceptor.
I wanted to know if this is a typical feeling for a new med/surg RN, or am I unusually slow/dumb?
Can anyone of you (experienced med surg RNs) share some feed back? Did you also struggle a lot when you first started? How long did it take you to get the hang of it?
Any advise would be greatly appreciated, as I'm not sure if i'm going to be successful when my orientaton ends in 4 weeks.
Thank you all

If you're unusually slow or dumb, you're still doing about the same as I did! I started out with six patients on the day shift, 15 at night and it took two years before I felt confident that I could handle anything that came along. Time management was a huge issue -- and it took me getting comfortable with setting priorities before I could accomplish it. A better brain sheet would have helped -- none of the nurses I worked with used them. I still cannot figure out how they kept all that stuff in their heads. Now, of course, we have the internet and someone is always willing to share.

You're about 2/3 through your orientation -- that's far more orientation than I got, and it should be enough to get you started. Keep hanging in there. The first year of nursing sucks, and the only way to get through it is to GO through it. Good luck!

peasandonions · Sep 17, 2012

I think this is very normal! It also depends on how busy the unit is, how it is laid out, and how good your resources are. There are nights when we are all running way behind on meds and everything else, and this includes awesome nurse that have years of experience. You will find a system that works best for you, and just remember to prioritize. Sometimes you have that one patient that needs all of your attention because they are becoming critical, and you may need to rely on your other fellow nurses to help you at times. I hope that you work at a place where you all try to help each other out as needed, because it is so much better for patient care!