Being Rushed through Orientation!!!!

Dolce, RN · Jul 22, 2008

I'm sorry you are so miserable right now. :icon_hug: Your story is the story of countless new grads who feel rushed and hurried and scared. I, too, came home crying during my first year as a nurse. I also tried to pressure my manager for more orientation time. I never really got the time that I wanted and felt I needed. I suggest that you begin to closely examine your coworkers for mentors. As a new grad off of orientation you will still have many questions and will need help. Try to develop a good working relationship with experienced nurses who can mentor you.

Keep your chin up. I know it is hard now but what you are experiencing is common to new grads everywhere. You can be a great nurse--follow the leadership and guidance of your experienced coworkers.

BradleyRN · Jul 22, 2008

You have the right to request a few more weeks of orientation. Of course they are looking at their bottom line so they will be in a hurry to get you on your own. Simply tell them you are not comfortable yet. Im sure they have heard it a million times. You will still not "feel" ready even with the extra time, but at least you will not be rushed or bullied into things. Now is the time to show your strength at standing up for yourself, your license, and most of all, your patients! It is all in your hands, so stand firm! :up:

Vito Andolini · Jul 22, 2008

Try this:

1. analyze why you do not yet feel good about taking 6 patients. What is it that will make you feel competent? What do you still need from orientation?

2. Get it in your head right now that your boss does NOT have your best interest in mind. She is, indeed, ready to fire you at the drop of a hat if she thinks you are not going to work out or that you might be an upstart (troublemaker) or can't pull your load.

3. Know and accept that you must advocate for yourself. Don't expect your boss to do it for you, don't look to your coworkers or the doctors or anyone else to do it for you. YOU must look out for YOU. This is not comfortable for most people.

4. Make the needs identified in #1 clear to your boss. Write them down, keep a copy. Make sure you let the boss know you need such and such experiences to feel stronger and more prepared. Communicate clearly. Where is your preceptor? Do you have need of a different one? Tell the boss you'd like to spend 3 shifts with Nurse Whoever if that is what you think will help.

5. Refuse to move on until you have had the above referenced experiences or training. Be prepared to be fired if you take such a stand.

6. Understand that no orientation can cover everything. Accept that, at some point, you have to just jump in.

7. Do definitely get the help you need from the Charge Nurse, other staff nurses, aides, whoever. Don't let them be rude or unhelpful to you. Just be nice about requesting help, don't be demanding. Some people are sharks and are goaded to meanness and cruelty by the smell of blood. Your blood. Most are pretty decent. Work with it.

8. Nursing is a brutal line of work any more. Get strong mentally. Study on your off hours, read everything you can. Never quit learning. Accept the brutal contradictions I'm relating to you here. STand up for yourself but be prepared to be fired if you do. Demand nicely what you need but jump in without it if you must and if you really want this job. I know, I know. Believe me, we all know.

9. I think every new nurse has felt the same as you and we all have survived.

10. Establish right from the start that you will not take more patients than you can safely manage and that, furthermore, you are going to take your uninterrupted 1/2 hour meal break (unless it's a true, true, life or death emergency dictating that you not) every single day and that you will need to use a toilet a time or 2 during your shift. Also, do not let anyone bully you into excessive OT or working off the clock. You want to be paid for the time you work and it is the law that you be paid. Get familiar with the DOL in your state and the Federal one.

11. Do not let families or doctors or anyone else intimidate you. Be courteous and kind to all but don't let them run you.

That's a tall order but, if you do it, you will be well on your way to making it from novice to expert. Please keep us updated.

nurseshepherd · Jul 22, 2008

You have the right to request a few more weeks of orientation. Of course they are looking at their bottom line so they will be in a hurry to get you on your own. Simply tell them you are not comfortable yet. Im sure they have heard it a million times. You will still not "feel" ready even with the extra time, but at least you will not be rushed or bullied into things. Now is the time to show your strength at standing up for yourself, your license, and most of all, your patients! It is all in your hands, so stand firm!

Learning to stand up for yourself in nursing starts day one and you need to do it in a professional, business like manner so they listen to you instead of chalking you up as a whiner. Put your concerns in writing and follow the chain of command to address the issue without involving your coworkers in the matter. I've found it is always good to write the letter and then hold it overnight and see how it reads in the morning. Good luck.

mpccrn, BSN, RN · Jul 22, 2008

welcome to nursing! sorry, but that's life in the big city hospital. while orientation is meant to familiarize you with hospital procedures, it is not there to make you comfortable to handle every situation that may come along. how can it?? you must at some point develop enough confidence in your own abilities. you have a mouth, use it when you need help. no nurse is an island. i don't mean to sound harsh. i still remember my first day on my own. my patient put his bell on. i went in and he opened his mouth to speak when a large volume of frank blood flew out of his mouth and hit the wall. at that point there was only one thing to do......suck it up. he needed me to act and trust me, my comfort level in the situation was not even a passing thought to the poor guy. nursing school prepared you, you passed your boards. now it's time to be a nurse. making demands like Vito suggests will only alienate you with the staff and manager. better to get organized, become task oriented and take each day as it comes. there will be days you can get it all done, there will be days you can't. accept that without beating yourself up. nursing is a 24/7 job. prioritize. with each small victory, will come new confidence. trust me, this too will pass and you'll look back on it someday and smile at how naive you were.....waaaay back when.....

RedhairedNurse, BSN, RN · Jul 22, 2008

Thanks for the responses.

jezbo537 · Jul 22, 2008

I agree you do have the right to request an extension on your orientation. If you don't feel comfortable having 6 pts. don't because it could ultimately put the pts. safety at risk and that is of course part of a nurses job to keep the pts. safe. Just my thoughts.

JMA-RN2B · Jul 22, 2008

I understand completely! I took a new job as an OB Assistant in the hospital where I have my clinicals for school. I had one day of training for the floor and one day as unit secretary then I was thrown to the wolves and on my own. I am still confused about a lot of things and have trouble getting help some times. Its very frustration to have less that par confidence while trying to do patient care.

pagandeva2000, LPN · Jul 23, 2008

I had the same situation when I was a new grad in 2006. The moment I had my license in my hand, I was told that I would be assigned to the clinic I already worked in as an aide, but that all new grads had to do an orientation of 6 weeks on med-surg. I was assured that if I needed more time, I would get it..."Take all the time that you need" I was told. I then asked if I would be able to work agency to continue with my med-surg on weekends and I was told "sure".

When I got up there, I was not comfortable, because I was a mess with administering IV medications. It was a wild coincidence that there were not many patients needing them while I was there, so, I asked for an additional two weeks, and was told no. I was so disgusted that I ran away on the first thing smoking.

I decided to return to do per diem med-surg and we were allowed two days orientation and that was it. It was either sink or swim. I just focused, and have been doing it since on the weekends I am off. Now, I was fortunate enough to have some RNs so grateful for the help that they were more than happy to show me the things that I was missing. But, if it were not for them, I would not have gone.

The problem, to me, is that current new grads do not get the same clinical education that the senior nurses received, therefore, we are not prepared for the real world. It is either sink or swim, every man out for himself. But, slowly, I am getting it. You do have to advocate for yourself, because management does not have your best interests in mind.

Jules A, MSN · Jul 23, 2008

The problem, to me, is that current new grads do not get the same clinical education that the senior nurses received, therefore, we are not prepared for the real world. It is either sink or swim, every man out for himself. But, slowly, I am getting it. You do have to advocate for yourself, because management does not have your best interests in mind.

I agree and would add that as new grads we do need to get with the program and embrace the real world of nursing. My first med pass without an instructor doublechecking everything had me looking in my drug book to find every single side effect known to man...for about 5 minutes. It just isn't practical to do things the way we were taught in nursing school. Most of us have only had a few patients at a time and that is unfortunate because all the sudden we need to learn to shift gears YESTERDAY.

My orientation was 1/2 as long as "advertised" and from what I hear I was lucky to get one at all. I didn't do anything that I was concerned about without running it by an experienced nurse first and in return when I had a spare minute I was available to them for any menial task that might help them out. It isn't ideal but I love my facility/unit/coworkers and knew that if I didn't get with the program I would be the one walking because they weren't going to slow down operations for me. Good luck with whatever you decide.