I posted several weeks ago. I am a new LNA and managed to get a job on a critical care floor working nights. I was called, interviewed and hired despite having no experience. When I went in to start work my Nurse Educator expected that I would be available days to orientate; I was not and had made HR aware of this. Apparently, the message never got through. So I orientated 3rd shift-my normal shift.
Well the floor has been very quiet and the Nurse Educator is concerned that I will not be able to cope when it gets super busy. I caved and agreed to orientate some days this week so that (in her words) I could do things like a "bed bath". I am kind of surprised as I do not expect to be doing too many bed baths between 11pm and 7am, but I digress.
At first the complaint was that I did vitals too slowly. I managed to speed those up.Then I was speaking in too soft a voice for the patients (Sorry but I do not believe in yelling unless someone is hard of hearing) I have done everything asked of me with a smile on my face but I have to admit that I am getting irritated. Either these folks want me or they don't want me. I want to be a nurse and am now feeling like a loser....I mean, if I can't cut it as an LNA then can I make it as a nurse?
klone, i don't want this to be a thread of seasoned rns vs. newbies but to answer your question: haven't you heard of some management folks letting go of some seasoned nurses that are highly paid? they hire newbies and have them trained by seasoned rns and then they let go of seasoned rns because a newbie can do the same thing for maybe half the salary.....maybe they don't have the same years in experience.....but they can do the job too.....so yes, it happens.....it is reality.....sadly.
on the other hand, blackheartednurse, i do not believe that someone will be let go just because she is attractive. the preceptor may be unkind and unwelcoming but what's important is to learn from the experience, do not do the same errors again, and on your part, reflect on your short-comings, take responsibility for your actions, and stop blaming others for all the not-so-good things that happened.
i dont recall telling anybody that she held a grunge against me just because of my looks,i just stated that it was a combination of factors and i fully understand that i made mistakes but none was a really serious one...of course she should have expect tons of questions,silly mistakes,trouble with prioritizing (and i'm not talking about abc of course i know how to prioritize those but rather those pt who were less acute,going for tests!) she really discouraged me from asking questions and that is a shame at least in my opinion.
I never heard the phrase "nurses eat their young" until I started to read things about it on this site in 2004. I hate it with a passion, but that's probably because I don't care much for cannibals and black widow spiders.
I hope I don't bore everyone to death by saying this, but I have definately seen a huge shift in the way new grads now view their first job experience compared to the olden days. It never occurred to me that my success or failure as a new nurse was up to anyone other than me. I do understand technology and patient acuity may be so radically different from what you would see 20 or more years ago, but it's as much an attitude thing as anything else. LVNs and RNs went through the same orientation then, also.
And we had to walk to the hospital in a roaring blizzard. Uphill. Both ways (credit to Bill Cosby on that one)
Blackheartednurse- I read your entire 6 page I got fired thread in which you responded to almost everybody, never mentioning the issue of your attractiveness, so I think people are being too hard on you about that, because it's not a balanced view of your feelings. You moved 300 mi. for that job. I'm sorry things didn't work out.
Yes I never mentioned that true,I mean I didnt enclosed all the details,I'm just mentioning this right now...Sometimes it takes a while to do a retrospect of what has happend.
As a regular preceptor I'm sorry to hear that you feel that you were treated that way. I know part of my role is to try to get my preceptee (whether be a new grad or transfer) integrated into the floor community. That being said I have to ask if you voiced your concerns and feelings directly to your preceptor. If I ever was orienting someone and they were uncomfortable or felt I was being condescending, I'd hope they'd have the intellect to follow the chain of command which means talking to me first. It may have just been a misunderstanding, or a clash of personalities, if she was truly malicious I'd hope they would not let her orient people. I truly feel that preceptoring is an honor and should be treated as such by all parties involved.
To the OP imo, they are trying to get you adjusted to the floor. It is not uncommon for everyone at our hospital to orient on both days and nights to try to eliminate some of the biases that inevitably occur. I work nights, although we don't have aids as its all primary care, you'd be astounded by the number of bed baths you give, unfortunately patients make a mess day or nights and sometimes a quick wash just won't cut it. Also a lot of patients like to be washed prior to undergoing procedures and that usually falls onto nightshifts responsibilities. Good luck and try to keep your head up! :)
You sound like a nice preceptor..to answer your question no I never told my preceptor how I really felt,you know I was a new unexperienced grad on this floor,she was this experienced,respected intelligent nurse on the floor--I was so intimated by her and her attitude..we never discussed our patients,she never enouraged me to ask questions nor did she make any attempts to make me feel welcomed. She also never used to tell me what my mistakes were..she just went ahead like a rat (sorry for this comparission) to my manager...she beat me to it,but what did I know...I was scared little new grad,I didnt dare to run to my manager and talk about my preceptor (I mean she was the one who could have easily get me fired!!) Well that was my mistake...I should have gone the first time I started to notice things that made me realize that she is not the best preceptor there was,but hey lesson learned..I did though called my manager yesterday and let her know my concerns toward this particular preceptor--I mean better late than never...the manager even said to send a card of how I was doing and maybe one day I can come back (well I doubt that but life is unpredictible) More importantly I learned great lessons;first I learned a tons,gained more confidence,learned to speak up for myself,and realize that things happen for a reason.
This was what you posted previously on this thread: I also felt she was jealous of my looks (I'm quite attractive)..
I dont recall telling anybody that she held a grunge against me just because of my looks,I just stated that it was a combination of factors and I fully understand that I made mistakes but none was a really serious one...of course she should have expect tons of questions,silly mistakes,trouble with prioritizing (and I'm not talking about ABC of course I know how to prioritize those but rather those pt who were less acute,going for tests!) She really discouraged me from asking questions and that is a shame at least in my opinion.
Hi and thanks for the feedback. First of all, it wasn't a case of me just sitting back and refusing to orient days. When I interviewed and took the job, my main contact was the HR rep who knew that I was only available 3rd shift. I do have kids hence the difficulty with 1st shift. The trouble happened when the HR rep (who, I might add, suddenly left within a week of my arrival-I am thinking that she was focused on her new job more than on my application) did not communicate this to Nursing Education and neglected to tell me that I would initially have to orient days. It was an unfortunate scenario that was neither my fault nor the floor's fault. I know now that most newbies orient on days/nights.
Another thing I want to mention is that this is a PT job; I work another job to make ends meet. It is not as if I am here 40 hours a week; I am not. At any rate, I am going to keep at it as I want to realize my dream of becoming a nurse
This was what you posted previously on this thread: I also felt she was jealous of my looks (I'm quite attractive)..
Yep but I also said that she hold a grunge against me cause I had an Associate degree,had no experience,was a new petrified nurse...if you want more details read my story at another thread "getting fired"..I understand that there are two sides to each story and that given an opportunity to do so my preceptor would probably deny most of the things I said..that was however my gut feeling backed up by so much evidence and things she said,looks she gave,actions she took against me..but I knew that she would won eventually,who would take my word instead of a word of an experienced,seasoned nurse who was also a good nurse (despite making several crucial mistakes--I guess we all do....but like I mentioned before yes I felt she was jealous of my looks but also she appeared to be just a vicious type in general...but maybe she just didnt like me and treated others better I dont know.But I never stood up to her level and despite being treated poorly I reminded a nice person. Also young seasoned nurses sometimes act worse than older nurses,I witnessed that.
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Hi and thanks for the feedback. First of all, it wasn't a case of me just sitting back and refusing to orient days. When I interviewed and took the job, my main contact was the HR rep who knew that I was only available 3rd shift. I do have kids hence the difficulty with 1st shift. The trouble happened when the HR rep (who, I might add, suddenly left within a week of my arrival-I am thinking that she was focused on her new job more than on my application) did not communicate this to Nursing Education and neglected to tell me that I would initially have to orient days. It was an unfortunate scenario that was neither my fault nor the floor's fault. I know now that most newbies orient on days/nights.
Another thing I want to mention is that this is a PT job; I work another job to make ends meet. It is not as if I am here 40 hours a week; I am not. At any rate, I am going to keep at it as I want to realize my dream of becoming a nurse
It is so hard to start a new job sandwiched in when someone is leaving or is brand new. Either way they really aren't focussed on making sure you get the attention you deserve, and in a unit that is quite specialized. Right now I'm dealing with a Case Manage situation where the person left abruptly when we were in the middle of several projects. The new person either dropped the ball or wasn't informed well. You do have a lot on your plate, my gosh! Hope it all starts to fall in place soon!
Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.
I'm going to agree with your educator and say that this is a legitimate concern.
There are no guarantees that 3rd shift will always be "quiet". As a former noc shifter, I know for a fact that people do NOT always sleep all night.
As a member of the Team, they may need you to cover a 1st or 2nd shift at some point in time, and you need to be able to cut the mustard.
I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that they are trying to get rid of you, but rather, I would presume that they are trying to provide you with opportunities to make yourself an asset to the team.
How you choose to respond to this reflects upon your work ethic.
A big resounding YES.
Guess what else? We used to give all of our baths at night. Day shift was too crazy.
(credit to Bill Cosby on that one)
Blackheartednurse
1,216 Posts
i dont recall telling anybody that she held a grunge against me just because of my looks,i just stated that it was a combination of factors and i fully understand that i made mistakes but none was a really serious one...of course she should have expect tons of questions,silly mistakes,trouble with prioritizing (and i'm not talking about abc of course i know how to prioritize those but rather those pt who were less acute,going for tests!) she really discouraged me from asking questions and that is a shame at least in my opinion.