A Graduate Nurse throws up when the patient does.
An experienced nurse calls housekeeping when a patient throws up.
A Graduate Nurse wears so many pins on their name badge you can't read it.
An experienced nurse doesn't wear a name badge for liability reasons.
A Graduate Nurse charts too much.
An experienced nurse doesn't chart enough.
A Graduate Nurse loves to run to codes.
An experienced nurse makes graduate nurses run to codes.
A Graduate Nurse wants everyone to know they are a nurse.
An experienced nurse doesn't want anyone to know they are a nurse.
A Graduate Nurse keeps detailed notes on a pad.
An experienced nurse writes on the back of their hand, paper scraps, napkins, etc.
A Graduate Nurse will spend all day trying to reorient a patient.
An experienced nurse will chart the patient is disoriented and restrain them.
A Graduate Nurse can hear a beeping I-med at 50 yards.
An experienced nurse can't hear any alarms at any distance.
A Graduate Nurse loves to hear abnormal heart and breath sounds.
An experienced nurse doesn't want to know about them unless the patient is symptomatic.
A Graduate Nurse spends 2 hours giving a patient a bath.
An experienced nurse lets the CNA give the patient a bath.
A Graduate Nurse thinks people respect Nurses.
An experienced nurse knows everybody blames everything on the nurse.
A Graduate Nurse looks for blood on a bandage hoping they will get to change it.
An experienced nurse knows a little blood never hurt anybody.
A Graduate Nurse looks for a chance "to work with the family".
An experienced nurse avoids the family.
A Graduate Nurse expects meds and supplies to be delivered on time. An experienced nurse expects them to never be delivered at all.
A Graduate Nurse will spend days bladder training an incontinent patient.
An experienced nurse will insert a Foley catheter.
A Graduate Nurse always answers their phone.
An experienced nurse checks their caller ID before answering the phone.
A Graduate Nurse thinks psych patients are interesting.
An experienced nurse thinks psych patients are crazy.
A Graduate Nurse carries reference books in their bag.
An experienced nurse carries magazines, lunch, and some "cough syrup" in their bag.
A Graduate Nurse doesn't find this funny.
An experienced nurse does.
murphyle, BSN, RN
279 Posts
Too funny! I'd probably put myself somewhere in between Graduate and Experienced - which makes sense as I've been at it for about six months now.
Adding a few for the emergency folks:
A Graduate Nurse asks to go to resuscitations and will run to get there.
An experienced nurse will do anything in his/her power to avoid resus duty.
A Graduate Nurse will draw every blood tube in the cart and send it all to lab "just in case they order X test."
An experienced nurse knows that if a test can't be done from purple, gold or blue, you probably didn't need it.
A Graduate Nurse will calculate drip rates and fiddle with an IV set for half an hour trying to achieve a perfect drip.
An experienced nurse knows that there are only three drip rates in emergency: wide open, KVO, and pumped.