Whats RAH like to work at?

Fiona59 · Jun 2, 2014

Nah, we chew you up and spit you out. lol.

We are a far friendlier bunch than the UAH staff.

Happiness? Working for AHS? Seriously? It all depends on the unit and how you get on with your coworkers.

M3BWN · Jun 3, 2014

Hahahahaha!!!

Kikilaroo · Jun 24, 2014

I can't PM yet, but I'll be as candid as I can.

It really depends on the unit to be completely honest. I just started a position there knowing that I will be leaving in September for another position I was offered. I have shared this information with the staff so I don't look like a total jerk when I take off after they've spent so much time helping me learn the ropes. Following a shift last week I was told 5 times to be happy that I'm (quote) "getting the hell out of there". Many of the staff are extremely awesome, but there are issues that cannot be ignored and may get to you. In the end, it is a position, but it's also something to keep in mind. As a new grad I've had very little support and was actually scolded when I asked about training. You are expected to know your stuff from day one. BUT each unit is different, the RAH is huge, and this is just my humble experience :)

Fiona59 · Jun 24, 2014

Traditionally, at RAH you have been expected to know your stuff as a new hire. Orientation was only ever three days and two of whatever your other shift was. It was to learn the paperwork and the unit routine. If you were unsure of some of your skills, your buddy nurse was there to walk you through them and then once off orientation, you just asked a coworker to come in with you when you weren't sure about something.

To the concern of many existing staff members, new grads are to green these days. They often can't manage a full patient load and are requesting extra buddy shifts. Some for general duty units think they should be getting two or more months orientation.

The system just isn't set up to support this. When staff are needed they are needed.

I remember when I was first hired at RAH, one of my mother's friends was super impressed (she was an old RAH alumni) and told my mother she should be proud of that because they only hired the best. Today, too often many managers are hiring anyone with a pulse and a practice permit. Standards have been dropping and references aren't being checked as well as they should be.

I'm not say that either of you fit this description, it's just a fact of what we are seeing.

Kikilaroo · Jun 25, 2014

Fiona, I totally get what you're saying. In my own case, it's not necessarily about my skills or handling a full pt load - that part has been okay. The part I'm a little stressed about is that I didn't get a chance to learn the unit routines or some VERY important things to know given the department I work in just because of the way my training worked out. When I brought this up I was told the same thing you explained, only harsher (ie if you don't like it, leave). Thankfully, I am now leaving for an area more suited to my experience and skills.

I very much agree that students are "too green". The clinical I had where I SHOULD have been learning a lot of essentials ended up being more about writing a scholarly paper on a caring theory that has nothing to do with my skills or competence to take care of an acute patient. I voiced this concern and my instructor "black booked" me. My patient assignments were much too easy, and my requests for more challenging assignments were ignored and met with the excuse "I was under the impression you were doing fine" from my often absent instructor. I literally practiced zero of my acute care nursing skills in that clinical and somehow passed with an A. (HUH!?)

I am very frustrated with my nursing program because of things such as this and it's not fair to the existing staff that we are being sent out into the workforce so unprepared. My buddy nurses have been amazing, and I'm so thankful for all their help despite all of this.

From my perspective it's a scary grey area right now - lacklustre preparation from school and a workplace that doesn't care. I can research all I want, but reality is always different. In the end, it's the patients in danger which is why I've chosen to move on sooner than I had planned.

Fiona59 · Jun 25, 2014

I'm glad you understand what I said. Too many posters here think I'm harsh.

It's the system. Hospital's expect to get ready to work new grads. They still think along the lines of hospital based education. Which basically is what the colleges and universities try and tell us we are getting. "Oh, our students get their education on the floors during their clinical time"

We are slapped by the schools when we tell them their students aren't meeting standards, it's almost impossible for a preceptor to fail an under performing student.

At the risk of being boring, when I graduated from Norquest, I had to be able to handle my preceptors patient load on whichever shift I was working. Now we are getting grads who can barely handle two patients and have no initiative. We aren't there to teach a new grad their job, we expect them to come with the basics and pick up what they need to know as we go along. Staff don't minding helping new hires out BUT when some orientations are stretching past four week and they still can't or won't remember VAX codes, well Houston, we have problems.