Being Too Slow

hppygr8ful said:

When I first started I felt much the same way. Now with 20 years and some clarity under my belt I can say it gets better and you will get faster. Not all specialties are this fast paced or difficult. I now work in psych and we don't have medically fragile patients or drips. Each nurse has their own codes. The work isn't easy and you have to be able the think like a chess player but I love it and I make over 100K a year with an ADN.

It does bear stating that doctors don't usually  work for Hospitals. The mostly bill insurance companies, medicare or medicaid. They do make good money but since most graduate with a quarter of a million dollars in student debt, it's all relative.

Weater you are fast or slow time management is the key. You need to prioritze your tasks so they get done in a timely manner. Don't worry about not making small talk. Some of the best nurses I have worked with were on the quiet side. 

Hppy 

Thank you for the response. I think the unit you work on makes a difference. I don't particularly like the unit I am on, but I am doing it for experience. I have the experience that if you bombard or overwork the nurse, people are not in a good mood and makes the shift miserable. 

I know it wasn't exactly the point, but you do know you're lowballing the doctors' salaries, right? 

Different personalities excel in different specialties. A type A nurse who loves a fast pace will do well in ER but hate a slow clinic.  A nurse with a more laid back personality will be the opposite.  That's to say nothing of interests (peds, elderly, cardiac, GI, etc).  
 

It sounds like inpatient nursing is not the best fit for you.  If you've been there less than a year, I'd give it time since you'll likely get faster and may enjoy it more when you do.  If you've been there a couple years or more, then I doubt you'll get much faster or learn to love it more at this point.  If your goal was simply to get inpatient experience, once that goal has been met, I'd consider other options.  You'd probably enjoy outpatient settings more.  Look at clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, or even school nurse jobs if you like kids.  I'd avoid nursing homes since they are often sorely understaffed like inpatient. Think back to nursing school clinicals, especially those outside the hospital, and try to remember which you enjoyed.   Good luck and keep us posted!  

I agree that you will get faster, give yourself time. Will you enjoy your current work setting more though? Perhaps not. Have you considered home care? Very few coworkers to speak with and many patients to talk with. Less likely to have IV pumps to contend with although I understand the paperwork/charting can still be significant. There's a spot for everyone in nursing, hope you find the fit for you. 

Many years ago, my practical nursing instructor required a pocket notebook as part of the nursing uniform. Back in those days, we had to 'jot down' every little thing, but particularly the notes for the patient chart. As times changed and technology progressed, that little note pad has evolved into a fully-grown composition book that I kept inside a clipboard case.

My take on things is this: why try to remember things because others appear to do so? Just write it down, keep it with you, and problem solved. If you ask, I guarantee that those 'faster' coworkers won't be able to tell you just how many times they've punched in incorrect door or computer codes when rushed or distracted. Of course, everybody knows that one nurse who NEVER makes a mistake in his or her version of the truth. 

When I would make my initial rounds, as a way of breaking the ice with my patients, I'd say to them, "if you see me without my clipboard, ask all the questions you want but don't expect any answers until I go get it". 

My advice to the OP is to forget about what others are doing (or appear to be doing). You do what YOU need to do to deliver safe patient care. My clipboard took the guesswork out of my shift. The things that managed to stick, did. The stuff that didn't, stayed with me in my notes. I just recently transferred within my organization, and guess what, old habits die hard. 'Good' old habits live on.?

One last thing, coworkers who are interested in your success on the team will give trade secrets, which may or may not include suggesting you look above a coded door to the upper right corner to see if someone MISTAKENLY wrote the code to said door up there. It happens....I'm just sayin'.?