Crappy day- An omen for the future?

[Thephoenixrises]

Hi all,

I'm a new nurse (been working for about 4 months) in a critical care area. I was hired because my grades were good and i showed promise. Now i'm wondering whether they made a mistake in doing such. Yesterday I had the crappiest day of my life. Everything i seemed to do was going wrong. Even when I did something right it still managed to go wrong. On top of it all, I was so embarassed and mortified when i had to report off to the next shift because of all that had happened during the day. The charge nurse told me that what had happened was not my fault but i still felt like things were my fault. (I'm being elusive because i want to maintain confidentiality). Ultimately, I know the error wasnt huge in the grand scheme of things but it just makes me feel bad. To make it worse, one of the tenured nurses (20 plus years) made the insult of the day worse by "quizzing" me during shift report. I've always thought this particular nurse was a jerk but it just made me feel worse when everyone started laughing when i answered his question wrong.

I dont know... I just feel so let down. To make things even worse, the charge nurse stated how good of a nurse i was (this was prior to all the crappy stuff) and now i just wonder whether she still thinks the same or if she (and the others) think im a big imbecile.

Any advice? Also, any advice on how to deal with the tenured RN? I will be working with him on that shift and I'm just sorta intimidated because he is so rude/inconsiderate and I veer on the nice side.

[ukstudent]

Don't worry. Everyone has really bad days, even those nurses with 20 plus years. Some of the best learning is done on days that everything goes wrong.

The charge nurse told you it was not your fault, believe him/her.

Your co-workers know that you are a new nurse and really don't expect you to know everything. To let in in on something, they don't know everything either, including the nurse with 20 plus years.

As for how to deal with the tenured nurse when working with him. Be professional, keep your head up and when you have questions, ask him. He has a lot of experience that can be passed onto you. Sometimes "pop quizzes" are used to bully a person, but often it is just a teaching style that might or might not work with the recipient of the teaching.

[Thephoenixrises]

Thanks Ukstudent. I will definitely keep my head up and continue trying for the best =)

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I agree with the PP. We all have very bad days & very good days... but most of the time, we're somewhere in between. It all balances out. With more experience, you will naturally develop a better sense of perspective that will help you bounce back more easily from those bad days.

As for 'the inquisitor'.... make sure he knows how uncomfortable it makes you when he adopts a professor attitude. Since it is a "he", you will need to be very specific and direct because he will not pick up on subtle nuances - it's a DNA thing. If he continues to do it after you have told him how it makes you feel then you can be pretty sure that he is bullying/harrassing you -- and you need to take appropriate action with your supervisor. To paraphrase Eleanor Roosevelt .. you can't be a victim without your permission.

[ProfessionalRN]

Everyone encounters less than stellar days whether you're a graduate nurse or a nurse executive. As for the error and your emotions toward it show that you have compassion and take the error seriously. We have all had moments like these and I guarantee you will not let that error ever happen again.