Advice to a New Grad Nurse ?

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jul 15, 2018

Hello everyone,
I wanted to get some words of advice from my fellow nurses on here, I recently got hired into a New Grad position (I am so excited and thankful) and start orientation in less than a month. I wanted to to get a head start on prepping for what I may need prior to starting the program..
Firstly, do any of you have any nurse bags (totes or backpack) that you would recommend.. I briefly looked on Amazon and saw so many with good review but, wanted to see which ones have worked for you (and ofcourse I am looking for something that can be easily wiped down after shift)
For those who started off on nights how did you transition into it, I have never worked nights before so any helpful tips would be awesome?
I will be working in the Med Surg unit and in the mean time plan to brush up on topics/meds but, do any of you have any helpful books or pocket guides that you used for your first year of nursing?
Any words of positive advice or recommendations you can give me would greatly appreciated!

Congratulations on your new job! Med/Surg is a great place to start!

I have an app called MedCalc -- I've had it since the first iPhone came out, and it was free then. There are lots of helpful formulae in the app -- BMI, body surface area, an ABG analyzer (worth it's cost, because ABGs were difficult for me to learn), a dose calculator, drip rate calculator, a sedation/agitation scale (useful in terms of a professional way to describe the patient that is batshit crazy!) conversions from cc to ounces and back, Celsius to Fahrenheit, etc. There is also so much more I couldn't even begin to list it.

As far as working nights, there are lots of threads on here. Here's one:

http://nightshift for newbies

As far as totes or backpacks -- start off with whatever you were using for school. As you use it for awhile, you'll get an idea of what you need and where your backpack or tote shines and where it falls short. You'll also see what everyone you work with is carrying. You may find that you're happy with what you have; or you may find something else that perfectly serves your needs. I wouldn't recommend going out and buying something new until you see where you'll be storing your bag at work. If your locker is tiny, you won't want a ginormous bag, and if everyone is carrying a black Jansport backpack, you might want something that stands out a little more when all of your bags are thrown on the counter in the break room.

Good luck on your new job!

AZBlueBell · Jul 16, 2018

Congrats and good luck! Here's what works for me on nightshift: stay up as late as possible the night before shift 1. Usually I make it to 2 or 3am before fading. Then go to bed and sleep as late as possible. I usually make it to 11am. Then I get up and eat breakfast/lunch, take a shower, and go back to bed for a nap from 2-4ish. This leaves me ready to stay up for my shift. After a shift I sleep right through from 9am-3:30/4pm. I schedule my nights together and try to have at least two days off between my stretches of work. Flipping back has been fairly easy, on my last night shift I come home and nap 9am-noon, then I get up and go about the day and I'm ready to sleep at night that night.

If you don't have kids, this should be easy. If you do have kids, depending on their ages, you may need someone to watch them so you can get your sleep in.

EveeRN224 · Jul 16, 2018

Hi Ruby Vee,

Thank you so much! I will definitely be trying that app out, I'm actually on the same page with you I struggled with ABGs so anything helpful for that will be great ... You brought up a great point about buying a bag that may or may not fit in a locker unfortunately, I had to retire my old nursing bag that I used for clinical/lab (it was one of those bags that the school gives you and started to fall apart) so I might just have to use an old backpack until I get situated into my job.. Thank you for the advice!

EveeRN224 · Jul 16, 2018

Hi AZBlueBell,

Thank you! I start in a few weeks so I will be trying that schedule out, one of my good friends from nursing school got a job working nights shifts at the hospital and said she recommends Melatonin to help so I plan to try that as well! I really appreciate your advice, thank you!

PhatRN · Apr 12, 2019

On 7/15/2018 at 1:35 PM, Ruby Vee said:
Congratulations on your new job! Med/Surg is a great place to start!
I have an app called MedCalc -- I've had it since the first iPhone came out, and it was free then. There are lots of helpful formulae in the app -- BMI, body surface area, an ABG analyzer (worth it's cost, because ABGs were difficult for me to learn), a dose calculator, drip rate calculator, a sedation/agitation scale (useful in terms of a professional way to describe the patient that is batshit crazy!) conversions from cc to ounces and back, Celsius to Fahrenheit, etc. There is also so much more I couldn't even begin to list it.
As far as working nights, there are lots of threads on here. Here's one:
http://nightshift for newbies
As far as totes or backpacks -- start off with whatever you were using for school. As you use it for awhile, you'll get an idea of what you need and where your backpack or tote shines and where it falls short. You'll also see what everyone you work with is carrying. You may find that you're happy with what you have; or you may find something else that perfectly serves your needs. I wouldn't recommend going out and buying something new until you see where you'll be storing your bag at work. If your locker is tiny, you won't want a ginormous bag, and if everyone is carrying a black Jansport backpack, you might want something that stands out a little more when all of your bags are thrown on the counter in the break room.
Good luck on your new job!

Hi! I would like to ask where is the best area to apply as New Nurse in US but not fresh grad.Thank you!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Apr 12, 2019

9 hours ago, PhatRN said:
Hi! I would like to ask where is the best area to apply as New Nurse in US but not fresh grad.Thank you!

Do you mean what specialty, what sort of a facility or where in the US? If you can let us know where you'll be living, we might be able to help more.

PhatRN · Apr 12, 2019

2 hours ago, Ruby Vee said:
Do you mean what specialty, what sort of a facility or where in the US? If you can let us know where you'll be living, we might be able to help more.

I was told that my experience back home is considered scant and since I graduated 10 yrs ago, it might be hard.Currently licensed in Wa but I am willing to move to be able to train in Med Surgical or any area which will open doors for me.Thank you so much for your time.I appreciate!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Apr 12, 2019

2 hours ago, PhatRN said:
I was told that my experience back home is considered scant and since I graduated 10 yrs ago, it might be hard.Currently licensed in Wa but I am willing to move to be able to train in Med Surgical or any area which will open doors for me.Thank you so much for your time.I appreciate!Was

Washington DC or Washington state? There are parts of Washington state where you might be able to get a position in LTC. Med/Surg may or may not be possible if there's a long employment gap and scant experience prior to that. Try posting in the DC or Washington state forum, and there may be someone there with local knowledge who can help you out.

PhatRN · Apr 13, 2019

Thank you very much!

Wa State.

nursestruggles, BSN, RN · Jun 18, 2019

I did night shifts for my rotations and I found it really helpful to wake up super early the day of your night shift, doing something you like during the day and try to take a little nap around noon then wake up for your night shift feeling refreshed and ready to go!