Can You Believe This?

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Specializes in Ortho and Tele med/surg.

I've been a nurse since January of this year. I've worked on med/surg and mostly orthopedics. I've been floated to tele and surgery before. I've charged a few times when I've showed up and there was one or two LVN's and I was the only RN. By default, I was basically charge nurse. I did not complain. I took on the challenge even though the LVN's have more experience than me. One night I was responsible for 11 fresh post-ops as as I was charge and working with an LVN.

I came to work two nights ago and my manager asked me go up to the neuro unit and charge. I've been floated there twice since I stared working at this hospital. My manager told me that the nurses on the floor are new grads. The most experienced nurse on the unit has 6 months of experience. The least experienced nurse had just gotten off orientation. They also have PCU patients on the unit.

I objected by saying that I haven't really been charging. My manger said I've charged on my unit before. I responded by telling her that it was by default. I had no other choice. When I kept telling her no, she then told me ask another nurse.

My question is, are you shocked? I am beyond shocked because I don't know anything about neuro patients. How can I be responsible for new grads when I'm still fairly new? Why would someone put that on me? Also, PCU patients are still fairly sick. I don't know anything about vented and trached pt's. What if something went wrong? I would be responsible! Also, my manager was a ICU nurse for 17 years. How can this happen? Is this unsafe practice common?

Thanks.

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Specializes in ER/Ortho.

I am a new Grad Dec 09, and I am shocked. I would have said, "No" too.

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

No, I'm not shocked.

However, it's not that way everywhere. You just learned valuable information about your hospital and your current manager. Use it to the best advantage of your patients and yourself.

Good luck to you.

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Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Medsurge.

I can see this happening more frequently with the firing of well experienced nurses and the hiring of newbie nurses at a discount by budget conscious hospitals. But realistically this is a sad predicament for you and others who are new. For fear of losing your license are you considering moving on to another place of employment?

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I've been a nurse since January of this year. I've worked on med/surg and mostly orthopedics. I've been floated to tele and surgery before. I've charged a few times when I've showed up and there was one or two LVN's and I was the only RN. By default, I was basically charge nurse. I did not complain. I took on the challenge even though the LVN's have more experience than me. One night I was responsible for 11 fresh post-ops as as I was charge and working with an LVN.

I came to work two nights ago and my manager asked me go up to the neuro unit and charge. I've been floated there twice since I stared working at this hospital. My manager told me that the nurses on the floor are new grads. The most experienced nurse on the unit has 6 months of experience. The least experienced nurse had just gotten off orientation. They also have PCU patients on the unit.

I objected by saying that I haven't really been charging. My manger said I've charged on my unit before. I responded by telling her that it was by default. I had no other choice. When I kept telling her no, she then told me ask another nurse.

My question is, are you shocked? I am beyond shocked because I don't know anything about neuro patients. How can I be responsible for new grads when I'm still fairly new? Why would someone put that on me? Also, PCU patients are still fairly sick. I don't know anything about vented and trached pt's. What if something went wrong? I would be responsible! Also, my manager was a ICU nurse for 17 years. How can this happen? Is this unsafe practice common?

Thanks.

You need to protect your license, and therefore you must refuse an unsafe assignment. They are taking advantage of you and if something goes wrong, guess who they are going to blame? They will say "If she didnt feel safe she should have refused" Protect yourself, portect your license and make sure you have working at that place.

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Specializes in Ortho and Tele med/surg.
I can see this happening more frequently with the firing of well experienced nurses and the hiring of newbie nurses at a discount by budget conscious hospitals. But realistically this is a sad predicament for you and others who are new. For fear of losing your license are you considering moving on to another place of employment?

No. It's pretty much like this every where.

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This sort of thing happened often in the LTC facilities where I worked. I remember one or two brand new RNs who quit very quickly. I always wondered when or where they were ever able to start their nursing careers.

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You did the right thing. You thought about your license and patient safety first. Good job!

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The manager should have come in to work. I know managers need rest but under the circumstances they should have come to work at least to survey the situation to make sure that all the patients are being cared for safely .

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Specializes in Emergency,Tele,Peds,Home care.

@ newtexasrn..i wouldn't have been shocked people are always trying to get over on others especially in the nursing field..Often people push the other person when they themselves are lazy or not confident in what the are doing..At least you have an advantage ..you are smart and i hope that in your career you always make the same smart decisions..you became a nurse to protect your patients and you obvioulsy have the right frame of mind..best of luck to you..keep up the good work!:yeah:

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Specializes in pediatrics, public health.

Based on what others have posted on this site, I'm not shocked, but I can tell you it's not like this everywhere (though maybe it is in your area?). At the peds hospital I worked at, you had to have a minimum of 2 years of experience before they would let you charge, and then you were oriented to charge for about a week, working with an experienced charge nurse, before they let you charge on your own. And a float from another unit would never EVER be charge in the unit they floated to, even if they were allowed to charge on their home unit.

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The poster who said that they will pin it on you if something goes wrong is right.

Then, imagine yourself sitting in front of your BON. Problem with nursing is that you cannot say "your boss ordered you to do it" and have that be a valid reason for you to have done it. That Board will look at you as if you are nuts. I'd try to get out of there if you can. If you lose your license, you will not find a job as a nurse anywhere. But, maybe that is a better thing in the long run if as some of these posters say, this kind of thing is not unusual. Not that you might lose your license, but that you could get out of nursing...

If you can, try to do correspondence via email, and print a hard copy to keep. Be sure you lay out the happenings clearly so you cannot be misconstrued. When I feel that maybe I should have record of something going on and it's a conversation or two into the mess, I will begin my email tracks by saying something like, "Just to clarify, you were wanting me to do such and such... you know that I am a new grad RN... that I would be supervising new grad RNs... etc. and why you feel this is an unsafe assignment.

I might, if it seems like I'm getting nowhere, also, cc some of upper management...

At that point I wouldn't care if I lost my job for questioning my assignment. If another employer asks why you left, I'd tell them the facts. That is not slander (you have record). You feel that as a new grad RN, that you don't have the experience to govern a unit full of other new grads.

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