Re: Rough start to nursing...Please help
I hate to tell you this but I think you are a little idealistic about nursing today.
You say that you want a job that will allow you to build relationships with pts. Then you say that the manager and educator told you that you had time management issues. Not knowing the whole story, I would say that you are wanting that nice, caring relationship with pts, time to hold their hands, talk with them, spend a good deal of time with them. This is unrealistic in today's healthcare environment.
I applaud you for wanting to be that great nurse that wants to make a difference, however healthcare is all about money today and time is money. It sounds as if you are spending too much time with the patients trying to be that good nurse that your instructors told you that you should be. In reality, you must assess everyone to make sure they are alive and then plan the day accordingly. Unfortunately, many times the hand holding and emotional support must be put on hold or made very brief in order to get done all those things that nurses must do every shift. This is even more difficult for a new grad who often does not know which things must be abbreviated time-wise and what can be put off or ignored altogether. The pts don't help because they are scared, lonely, bored and they can pick out the person that doesn't know how to cut off the conversation so that they can get work done. Thus you get stuck in a room forever.
Also sounds like you are a victim of a problem environment - obvious by the fact that there is poor communication between you and your superiors with little warning of a termination meeting, as well as the fact that you have an interim manager.
Unfortunately, this is the way of healthcare today. All you can do is pick yourself up and get back out there if you want to continue in nursing. This time around, you should definitely be asking better questions about the state of staffing/politics in the hospital as well as the adequacy of orientation,remediation, and support for staff. Sorry you had to learn the hard way about how things work these days.
Nursing News