Am I where I should be???

[nursecompassion]

Hey Everyone,

It's good to come here and view the other posts by fellow new grads. I graduated in June, accepted a position on a med/surg & isolation floor which also has dialysis on the unit. I passed my board the first time in August and started on the floor a couple weeks later. Right now I'm finishing up my fifth week of orientation and am taking on 5 patients usually 2 of which are isolation. The first few days of the five patient load was extremely hectic and I felt so unorganized! However, yesterday was a good day, but then of course I remembered something I forgot as I was driving home. I'm just wondering if I am where I should be 5 weeks into orientation on my unit??? The nurses on my floor say we should be a stepdown unit, due to the acuity of our patients. Actually one of my patients yesterday was a transfer from CCU. I'm trying to stay positive, but I feel I should be doing more by now.

jules

[leslie :-D]

hmmmm...

you sound confident.

and you sound encouraged.

i'd say you are beyond where you should be.

even at 5 months post-grad, most don't sound as 'together' as you do.

i think you are doing AWESOME!!!

keep it going.

it's your time to shine. :balloons:

leslie

[snowfreeze, BSN, RN]

Sounds like you are a bit above where most would be. New nurse on 5th week of orientation on 3rd day with a 5 patient load and felt comfortable not overwhelmed. 3rd day with the same patients probably helps that but this also shows that you can organize your time in a different manner on a day to day basis. Critical thinking skills are developing and you are becoming comfortable with the routine of this unit.

[Nursebarebari]

It is too early to judge yourself at this point. Five weeks on orientation with five patients is awesome. Relax and don't be harsh on yourself, you will be just fine.

Good luck

[bigsyis]

You sound pretty capable to me. If it was something important that you forgot and remembered on the way home, I hope that you called the nurse that you gave report to and got her to fix it for you. Constant evaluation of the effectiveness and appropriateness (is that a word?) of our interventions is part of the Nursing Process. Mulling things over on the drive home is like doing your own Quality Control-you are evaluating your day and your actions to see where things could have been done better by you or anyone else. This is one of the best learning tools that you will have, as a Nurse. Self-evaluation of your own practice will show you what you can be confident of, because you know you did it right, and areas that need improvement or education about. Congratulations on joining our profession!

[deeDawntee, RN]

I agree with leslie.

You are doing great. And don't worry, there are still times when on my way home, I will call the nurse I just left report with and call her with something I forgot. People do it all the time. Not a disgrace, just shows you care.

Sometimes we all feel disorganized because things happen that disrupt our well-thought-out plan. Then you are playing catch-up sometimes for the rest of the shift...you learn to deal with it better and not let it stress you out so much, but believe me we ALL have those shifts.

Great job and keep on keeping on!!

[steelcityrn, RN]

I agree, your doing well. You even remembered something you forgot before you got home! All it takes is a phone call, it happens.

[EmmaG, RN]

All it takes is a phone call, it happens.

So true.

I will come wide awake in the middle of the day remembering something I forgot to do or tell in report... I call in, but by then they've usually figured it out. :monkeydance: