I've been a nurse for two years, mostly in an IMCU but in the past 4 months I have been on a peds unit that also gets ante/post-partum, gyno surgeries, and NICU stepdown.
I've always been passionate about women's and children's, and I thought this unit would be perfect for me. But
I'm not adjusting well. Both myself and my manager are worried. I feel like a new grad all over again in many ways, and somehow I have lost my "nurse sense.” The worst example is when I let a kid's IV infiltrate pretty badly. The kid ended up OK and was discharged the same day but I got in trouble.
My manager told me that in general, I am not where I should be with things. It sounded less like hard skills and more like "nurse sense" that I seem to be lacking. We discussed ways for me to improve and I gave it my best effort.
Soon I was put on a 30 day probation because I was "doing better but not better enough.” I'm almost at the end of that period and feeling so scared.
essentially, my nursing judgment, prioritization, critical thinking, etc are just not there. This wasn't a problem in my first job and I was often praised for being a "great nurse.” And now it's just gone and I don't know what to do. Has anyone else backslid before?
I always try to center myself, write things down, ask for help, etc but I still end up doing things like prioritizing charting over physical tasks, or not helping others enough, or forgetting any of the many policies I'm still learning.
I can always see how my actions are wrong in retrospect, but in the moment, I don't even realize what I'm doing. Like I'm in a trance or something, which is new and terrifying. Therapist thinks I am "dissociating as a stress response.” Thoughts? Sorry for the long rant.
Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.
So they were "overstaffed". There is no such thing as overstaffed. They were money grubbing. Someone probably got a bonus for cutting your position. That is the reason they fired you. Good riddance to them.
Wuzzie said it well. Don't let this break your confidence.
Specializes in Community and Public Health, Addictions Nursing.
Oh wow. Agree with the others that this wasn't your fault. Peds isn't tiny adults, it's a whole different specialty and you weren't given enough shifts or time to learn. I hope your therapist is able to support you through this and help you find a better job that will be more supportive.
If you were a great nurse, and worked with confidence before, I am not convinced that you've actually backslid, especially since the complaints are "critical thinking" "judgment" and "you're not where you should be". These smack of an unsupportive supervisor. How do I know?
Because they are vague, possibly even meaningless. True feedback gives you something to work with.
This, times a million. If you probe for these kinds of concrete examples and solutions and they shoot back with something like "you should already know by now," that's also very typical, and means there's a probably a problem with the culture of the unit that you're not going to overcome. Just something to consider.
FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN
2,336 Posts
So they were "overstaffed". There is no such thing as overstaffed. They were money grubbing. Someone probably got a bonus for cutting your position. That is the reason they fired you. Good riddance to them.
Wuzzie said it well. Don't let this break your confidence.