trouble with NICU orientation :/

Specialties NICU

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I'm about halfway through my NICU orientation and I'm not having a great time with it. It took a lot to get this position (long story) and I don't want to lose it by my management thinking it's "not a good fit".

I've never worked NICU or any icu before and I'm having trouble catching on to everything and sometimes I feel like my preceptor thinks "why isn't this girl getting this by now?" I've had a few bad days and looked miserable and she told my charge nurse she thinks I don't want to be there. (great.)

I pulled my manager into the office to talk to her about it, I DO want to be there, I'm just frustrated that I'm forgetting things and I feel like my preceptor is bothered by me and I can't always ask her questions, or i ask the same questions too much. I don't want them thinking I don't want to be there because I do, it's just a hard transition and the last thing I want to hear is that I'm not a good fit for their unit and they are going to have to let me go...

my director told me they have 6 weeks invested and not to worry because I'm not going anywhere, and my charge nurse told me not to worry about my position, but I can't help but worry. I hope I did enough damage control to convince them I truly want this.

I've thought about changing preceptors but I'm not sure if switching that up in the middle would be a bad thing or would be helpful or not. Any advice on that frontier?

My charge nurse said I'm not being proactive enough in my downtime and that looks like I don't want to be there. I'm really just inside my head trying not to forget anything and trying not to make my preceptor mad. I guess i have to run around the unit constantly to look like I'm being proactive and want to be there?

So I'm looking for any and all advice on how to get through this orientation and to make them see that I DO want to be there, it's been my dream since starting nursing school and I still can't believe that I have the chance to do it...I just feel like I could lose it at any minute now. How to I show that I'm proactive and retaining what they are teaching and how do I be super bubbly and excited on the outside when I'm kind of overwhelmed and nervous and freaking out on the inside? Because showing how I'm feeling hasn't done anything good for me...

And is there any literature or any books I could get to read about at home? I know I have to study again even though I'm out of school because I know nothing about NICU and I don't want to lose this.

Hi everyone.

First of all im not based in America but the UK so the wording i may use may be different to what you use in America but the experiences will be the same

In the UK we have what is called occupational health. It supports the health & wellbeing of nhs workers.

Have you considered something along these lines? Do you feel under pressure to perform and not mess up in front of your preceptor.

I personally find some people more approachable than others. Care assistants seem more approachable but i find it harder to approach the more experienced staff nurses. I could ask a question and they give me a weird look as if to say "well..what do you think?" Or they run back to my preceptor saying "your preceptee asked me a question. Doesnt she know?"

I know how you feel. I am newly qualified and its been a battle and ive had to learn fast and at time i have screwed up too but im trying to hold on to this and not sink.

The brain sheet idea looks good too.

Im on a neonatal ward and it can be challenging at times but i have learnt a lot. So much more to learn though.

But when i have messed up in front of my preceptor I know it immediately and then it plays on your mind so you can loose your focus quite quickly. It doesnt help if you mentally start to beat yourself up over mistakes.

Im having to improve my skills too such as thinking through things, and thinking critically, and understanding about surgical conditions a bit more.

Thanks for letting me know about the messaging.

and tinker bell, thanks for the advice! I've had nurses look at me like in crazy and why don't you know this? And that's frustrating bc I'm trying to learn as fast as I can and remember every little thing they tell me, and I'm very hard on myself, I've been told I'm too hard on myself, but the other nurses always tell me I can't make mistakes bc it will kill the kids. So that's on top of trying to learn and be able to do more on my own, it's a lot. I'm switching to a new preceptor so I'm hoping it will help

Specializes in CDI Supervisor; Formerly NICU.
but the other nurses always tell me I can't make mistakes bc it will kill the kids.
That's an ignorant statement for them to make, because it's an unattainable goal. I guarantee you will make mistakes, just as they have. Some of the mistakes that are made do indeed lead to bad outcomes, but to throw that out there like that (likely to try to intimidate you) is pure ignorance.

We dont deliberately make mistakes. A mistake may be made due to not being organised, rushing, etc. To make a statement like that will only add to the pressure of not making any more mistakes.

Have you made any mistakes so far and what were they?

More than one nurse has told me I can't make mistakes, so if they were trying to scare me it worked, I check things so many times they get annoyed by it, but I want to be sure

They warn me about everything tink, from charting to IVs to how to position the babies. I've just been asking before I do things to make sure I'm right before I go ahead and do it, especially with meds, triple check those all the time. My preceptor doesn't let me do much before she checks to make sure it's right before I do. She looks over everything, including all the charting I do before I sign off on it. I know I'm going to make mistakes, I just feel like I can't, bc of what they said so I feel more pressure to remember every little thing

While I am not assigned on a NICU, I can relate to that anxious feeling you have with your preceptor. I was halfway through my orientation when I realized it wasn't me but my preceptor. I don't think she's a bad person but she would be best suited to teaching an experienced nurse as opposed to a new grad. She would rush me thorough everything this not allowing me to think for myself and I felt and acted very insecure under her leadership. Thankfully I work with a supportive group and when my request to switch preceptors was granted I felt as if I had grown wings and I soared through the remaining half of orientation. One thing to note is that orientation is like being in nursing school all over again. Use your textbooks as your guide. And as mentioned above a good brain sheet will greatly benefit you. Going in to work 30 mins early also helped me so that I could look up my assignment, pt orders, and get myself organized.

While I am not assigned on a NICU, I can relate to that anxious feeling you have with your preceptor. I was halfway through my orientation when I realized it wasn't me but my preceptor. I don't think she's a bad person but she would be best suited to teaching an experienced nurse as opposed to a new grad. She would rush me thorough everything this not allowing me to think for myself and I felt and acted very insecure under her leadership. Thankfully I work with a supportive group and when my request to switch preceptors was granted I felt as if I had grown wings and I soared through the remaining half of orientation. One thing to note is that orientation is like being in nursing school all over again. Use your textbooks as your guide. And as mentioned above a good brain sheet will greatly benefit you. Going in to work 30 mins early also helped me so that I could look up my assignment, pt orders, and get myself organized.

That's how i'm feeling with this preceptor, she does things for me while explaining them but I don't really get the chance to do it myself, and I know I have to be able to do things on my own. I've asked her, but she just says she'll explain it later for me (and then it never gets explained to me). I don't think she's a bad person, she knows what she's doing, and it's nothing personal towards her, I just followed a different nurse for just one day and the difference of my days was night and day, even other people in my life noticed a change and asked me what it was that I did that day because I seemed a lot better. I know that insecure feeling, I've worked in a different place and I didn't go into work feeling like I couldn't handle things, and I kind of feel that way now.

I have asked to switch preceptors and it has been approved for the nurse that I had the positive experience with so I feel better about that already.I was thinking before that it was me all along and I was wondering what was going on with me, but I had that one day with the other nurse and it was a different experience all together. I've got my brain sheet and it keeps me straight! It really helps with all the times I have to do things so I know I'm on track.

Good luck, I think you will really do well. Just some professional advice, I wouldn't discuss the reason for the switch I. Preceptors with anyone eels beside management. You don't want to burn a bridge with a coworker.

Thank you for the advice and encouragement, and I won't be talking about it, I need to be able to work with them without it being weird

Try to help out with admissions during your down time especially the ICU admissions or during codes. It helps you practice. Even if it just writing down the events

Specializes in ER, Forensic Nurse, SANE.

Its mind set! Ask yourself.... Are you excited to go to work? and Do you LOVE being there? I know you said the NICU is your dream job. But why?

just food for thought. I was in a similar situation and had to ask myself the same thing. Now I'm doing what I love with less pay. But I'm happy.

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