Afraid I'm going to be fired

[NaiveNewgrad]

I recently started a new grad program for a medsurg position. It was not my first choice but I thought it would be great experience. In orientation we were told that there is a no retaliation policy and that employees should feel free to their managers and express their concerns without fear of repercussions. On my first day on my unit several nurses and techs told me it was habitually overstaffed and that if I could, I should try to go somewhere else. The nurse I was paired with called out three shifts in a row and because my unit was so short staffed out of the 8 shifts I have had, for 5 I was given tech duties and no new grad RN teaching (it's a 12 week program). My unit manager asked me how things were going and I made the foolish mistake of telling her the truth. I brought up that I had heard lots of bad things from her staff about the unit. I brought up the lack of consistency and lack of training I had received so far. By week three I should have been having 3 patients by myself but only one night was even given a patient to do everything for and chart on. My manager said she thought I might not be a good fit for her unit and asked me if there were other areas I was interested in and I told her yes (I know, BIG MISTAKE). She wanted to know if I planned to stay on her unit or if I was planning to transfer and I said that unless things got better, I would most likely try to transfer when I could. My unit manager looked very annoyed and the next day she had me meet her in HR where she said we were meeting with HR to discuss my lack of commitment to my unit. The unit manager said that even though I was a new grad that I should be fine with 8 diff preceptors. She also said that having 7-8 patients was reality and I need to just deal with it. Her tone was very nasty towards me and the HR guy brought up my saying there were other areas I was interested in and gave me a hard time for taking this position. I tried to explain that medsurg is good experience for any area of nursing . She kept saying I had a lack of commitment to her unit and that she felt that meant I'd be a lousy nurse which to me made now sense especially because part of her staff are travel nurses and several are in the process of leaving and going to different units. If anything, nurses are extremely motivated to do a good job if they hope to go somewhere else because you can't transfer if you've had any write ups. I had hope that things might get better but after being sent to HR I feel my days are numbered. What would you guys do? Would you resign? Go over her head ? Keep working as if everything was normal and just hope you didn't get fired?

[caliotter3]

You always have to take what others say on the job with a grain of salt. It is terrible to find out down the road that the person whose word you took as gospel, was handing you a line of baloney all along.

[NaiveNewgrad]

Ladyfree28 thank you for those pearls :) They never sent me with a tech but rather as a tech. I had techs telling nurses to send me to do tech work too. I was with a nurse and she was letting me give all the meds and she asked a tech to assist the lady we had just given meds to the toilet and the tech looked at me and said "Why can't YOU do it???" and the nurse I was with was silent so I said "I can do that" and I did. I totally agree that a good tech can be a great learning resource and that it's important to have those skills to but the techs on that unit never wanted to help me do anything. Sadly if I needed help I knew I was better off trying to get another RN to help. On that Unit the nurses would usually be assigned the total care of several of their patients and a tech would usually refuse to help if it wasn't a room on their list unless you were their buddy. I always was as nice as possible to them even though most were not friendly. They all seemed to hate their jobs (which seems VERY understandable on that unit being so understaffed) and made no effort to hide that when they were in the halls or nurses station.

Jadelpn that was so funny :) I needed a good laugh so I thank you :)

VaNurse2010 it was very cathartic but thank goodness I read the advice to not send it :)

Caliotter3 I appreciate that advice thank you.

I really appreciate all of you replying to me. I feel so much better about this situation and I will not repeat the same mistakes again. Hopefully leaving this job will end up being a blessing :)

[Psychcns]

Do not send any letter about your "experience." They do not care. The new grad coordinator may be helpful. Even if she is not over your NM, she may have an influence. From now on, do the best you can to prepare yourself to take 7 patients in four weeks. Maybe write down your learning needs and go over with the new grad coordinator or any nurse mentors you can identify. While you are working to make this situation work, start looking around for another job. If you are assigned tech duties because of their staffing issues, use it as opportunity to learn tech skills and to "shadow" and ask questions of the RN..

All the comments above about your situation are great. Best wishes as you go forward.

[Angeljho, MSN, NP]

As a new grad, pretend you are happy with the unit. Wait until you are off orientation before making waves. Complaining any earlier will get you branded as a new nurse who is difficult to deal with.

My very first nursing job was at a SNF. My friend and I both applied. We both got the same interview date and we both passed the interview stage; we were hired. There was a specific unit where nobody wanted to work. It was a dementia/psych mix unit that was way too advanced for new grads. My friend was placed there as a regular and I was lucky to get a "stable" unit.

After a week, my friend was fired. She was too stressed out, and she was verbal about it. After she got pricked by a needle while administering insulin, they saw her as a new nurse who was too difficult to deal with. She wasn't offered a chance to work on a different unit or even given an opportunity to understand what her weaknesses were. She was simply let go because the unit was too much for a new grad and she made that known. Like any other job, egos will flourish, and "higher-up help" will come in the form of mean attitudes. But, nursing isn't the same everywhere; look elsewhere.

[NaiveNewgrad]

Update*********

I was transferred to another unit and am having a much, much better experience :) I love my new job :) Thank you all for all your support and guidance :)

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Agree with other responses. Treat this as a learning experience. During your next orientation, stay under the radar and keep quiet. Telling people what you really think while you're in a probationary period is never wise, unless you love the job. Don't feed into your co-workers negativity, either.

Next time, approach the manager with a plan regarding how you are meeting your learning needs and handling the patient load. Often, there are nurse educators who will guide your learning.

Good luck!

[sweetlilwolf]

You have to remember YOU are your advocate for a proper orientation!

Ive been a nurse for awhile i was in the ER and just moved to Oncology... huge change... I have 3 preceptors its not easy after i had been with all of them once. There was one who would not let me do basically anything... I have been an RN in the ER for years i know how to be a Nurse its the same no matter where you go... I just didnt know the Chemo drugs and protocols for hanging medications etc. This one preceptor just wanted me to read everything about each drug and what its used for and how it works. I mentioned that i prefer to learn hands on with the preceptor, she kind of just ignored that and kept having me just read things. (i was already looking up the meds on our IV Guidelines sheets to double check things before i hung it... but cant memorize everything)

Anyways I spoke with my educator and said flat out this preceptor is overwhelming and will not actually like me do anything hands on my other two preceptors let me do it just went with me and would let me do things on my own that i already knew...

If i had not spoke up and said something i dont believe my orientation would have been the best it could have been.

There are always way to advocate for yourself, next time go with a plan written out or hopefully youll have a educator to go to instead of just a manager.

Im Glad you found a better place :)