Are most new grad RN preceptors like this on the first day?

SmilingBluEyes · Oct 13, 2015

MOST preceptors are not like this. It may be, he was not given a choice to be a preceptor and harbors some resentment toward that. Or he may be a lousy teacher.

Either way, you deserve more and better. If I were you, I would give it some time, a week or two, to see if he calms down and chills out a bit. He may adjust his attitude when he sees how valuable and hard-working you are. If he does not, it may be time to talk to your manager about getting a new preceptor. Some people should not be preceptors, others are just a bad match for their preceptee.

I wish you the best; take heart. It will get better. Just don't be afraid to stand up for yourself if the need arises.

AmeliasAunt · Oct 13, 2015

First, congrats on becoming on RN and your first job!

On your first day he had you administering meds without him? This does not sound typical to me.

Give this some time. He should not be holding your hand through everything, and you should feel challenged or even overwhelmed at times, but you should also be doing so safely and be able to learn and get feedback from him.

PS- I also tell my orientees not to cry. Whether it's right or wrong, I don't know, but in my opinion there is nothing that should cause you to cry (except maybe your patient dying). There is nothing wrong with leaving the floor to catch your breath or take a few minutes to yourself, and learning to work through those high stress and overwhelming days will benefit you in the end. Good luck! :)

BonnieSc · Oct 13, 2015

No, I wouldn't even approve of that for a first day for most experienced nurses moving to a new hospital, much less a new grad. I'm not so much concerned about his manner or his timeframes (though I think that shows a lack of knowledge about preceptorship) as the lack of supervision in giving meds.

Don't put too much stock in the "mentor of the year" thing--those are often chosen because one person wrote a nice letter and the nurse manager signed off on it.

He sounds kind of lazy to me. Continue doing your best, don't rush your meds, but you can gauge your progress against his timeframes. Maybe you can head him off the next day by telling him what your goals are before he tells you what they are.

It would never occur to me to tell my orientees not to cry. I would handle that if it came up (and I felt it was unprofessional). Why set someone up to think "this is so awful it makes people cry, don't do it"? PP, why do you feel the need to say that to your orientees? Come to think of it, I had a friend on orientation in the peds ICU (an experienced nurse) who cried after a child coded, as I remember, and was told rather sharply that it was unprofessional to cry. That's really not helpful. Why not talk to the person about what's so upsetting rather than order them not to cry? If it's a recurring problem, that's something to discuss outside the moment.

AmeliasAunt · Oct 13, 2015

BonnieSc,

I stated that there are only a few things that should cause one to cry, such as losing a patient. I was speaking more about crying because of making a mistake, being yelled at by the doctor, or being busy. It is not about "setting someone up". If someone is going to cry at the drop of a hat then nursing is likely not the job for them.

And for the record, if and when I have had new grads cry or appear on the verge of crying I have been nothing but supportive.

anewsns · Oct 13, 2015

Why would you even think to tell someone not to cry? I wont get sidetracked on that but otherwise this scenario sounds dangerous. I think the better mentality would be "are our patients going to be safe with you?" It's not a contest or a game to see how fast you can go. Unless you're so slow it's actually unsafe.

funny/ sad story- one day at ltc was so bad and the new grad started crying ... I told her to take ten which I always do for crying people. Then even Though Ive only cried a couple other times between school, nursing , and being a CNA , I actually walked off the floor crying later too. It was just all kinds of wrong.

Smilie0809RN · Oct 13, 2015

Yes I believe he meant the crying would be due to him yelling at me or making a mistake, etc. And I think you may be kinda right about the lazy, bc as I was doing the charting, he would criticize how slow I was (again I'm not used to the system), and while criticizing me he was on the other computer on some website not work related. He's been a nurse for a long time and he likes to just get his stuff done and get out on time. He even said that my main goal should be to get out on time.

Which by the way we got done so early we had to wait like 15 minutes before we were allowed to punch out!

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Oct 13, 2015

Don't rush your meds. You could make a huge mistake, which would be far worse than facing your preceptor's wrath.

WKShadowNP, DNP, APRN · Oct 14, 2015

Practice this, "I will not comprise patient safety for speed."

I'm suspicious if he's testing your mettle to see if you acquiesce to his style or you develop your own...

SororAKS, ADN, RN · Oct 14, 2015

Do not allow anyone to rush you, not him, not a doctor, no one. Stand your ground and give your care at a pace where you feel comfortable, not someone else. The speed will come, the more important thing is safety. He doesn't sound like preceptor material to me, too task oriented and not paying attention to the needs of the preceptee. I thought the goal of a nurse residency program was making the transition between school and real world practice. That cannot be rushed. The equipment is new, the paperwork is new, the computer system is new, let alone the care of the patients. I think you need to tell him you feel too rushed to give the kind of care you want to give. Don't let him bully you.

SororAKS, ADN, RN · Oct 14, 2015

I had a clinical instructor in school who was hyper. One day in my last semester she was attempting to rush me. I kept the pace I was comfortable with, and told her, "I am not going to go any faster. This is the pace that allows me to give the correct medication to the correct patient in the right dose at the right time. Patient safety is more important than speed." She never bothered me again.

ambr46 · Oct 14, 2015

So I am in a new grad RN residency program at a hospital. I am trying to gather some input on whether it is common to get a preceptor like mine or not.
So yesterday was my first day and the first time that I met him and one of the first things he said to me was that if I am going to cry I shouldn't do it in front of him and I should go somewhere else and do it. Nice first impression. After getting to know him he did lighten up a bit, however I noticed he is the kind of person where if he shows you something once, he expects you to know it. Now the charting system here is very complex and the IV pumps are unlike any that I've used before so it's not exactly easy. So we did morning rounds together, then in the afternoon he sent me on my own to do afternoon meds. And he said to me that he wanted me back in 15 minutes (5 patients, 1 on isolation, all meds were IV push/fluids and injections that had to be drawn up). And actually everything that he sent me to do on my own he gave me timelines and anytime I went over he let me know! I just felt rushed and I don't like to feel rushed when giving meds (especially like heparin/insulin/mag) and especially when it's a new system/ MAR/iv pump that I have to get used to. I don't want to make any mistakes. And apparently he is supposed to be really good at mentoring because he was mentor of the year for the hospital last year so I don't know.
Are most preceptors like this on first day?

Wow, the last thing I would expect a preceptor to do is to pressure a new grad to rush on their meds...sounds like a recipe for disaster. Dude has a chip on his shoulder. Try and stay calm and do things at a careful pace until you get comftorable with what you are doing.