Adult ICU switch to Peds ER

Seasidegirl09 · Jun 23, 2019

Hey guys!

So, I’ve been a nurse for 2 years in an adult ICU...but I’ve always had a passion for working with little humans! There’s a children’s hospital not far from me, so I applied to a couple positions and ended up being accepted into their ER. Super exciting, but I’m having difficulty adjusting to their pace. I was slammed in the adult ICU I worked in but in a totally different way.

Anyways, my trouble is that I’ve been on orientation for 4weeks. I’ve had 2 preceptors due to scheduling conflicts and will continue to bounce back and forth between the two. When I last worked, the learning specialist had asked be how I was doing. I told her that I am loving working with children more than adults and that I’m learning a lot. She asked how I was doing with my other preceptor. To which I told her that I felt better with my first but nothing against my second. I told her the second preceptor seems to be much more frustrated with me. And she says “ Well, ____ may not show it but she’s frustrated too..” ouch. So I go “Oh...because of my time management? I’m working on it and I’m trying my best to be faster while also being safe.” To which the learning specialist responds with “Yeah...well you can’t manage 4 easy patients at the same time and you’re almost halfway through orientation and it’s...well it’s concerning.” I tell her that I’m sorry, I’m trying my best but I did just switch two specialities. I tell her I know that was my choice and I’m learning a lot but that takes time. She tells me “Well, you know this isn’t for everyone and that’s okay”. I tell her I want this to work and that I’m trying really hard and I ask for resources to help me be faster and she hands me a book and tells me to read the section on prioritization.

I don’t know if it’s just me feeling like I’m not getting a lot of help and that they’re being REALLY impatient with me or if I just need to suck it up. I won’t go into detail but the preceptors haven’t been exactly nice. I don’t know what to do but I almost feel like I’m being pushed out. Regardless, I’m going to give it my all and finish my orientation. I’ve wanted this since before nursing school and I’m not going to give up easily. Any thoughts/comments/suggestions?