Published
I need to vent.
I have been a nurse for 9 months on an ortho/ stroke floor. I continually get out late. I can never find time to sit down and chart as I am always doing some task or another. The charting usually does not get done until shift end.
I have been told by a nurse of 30 years that I spin my wheels and that some things can wait till later. I asked her what things could wait for later she replied, " I have seen you looking up a disease that could have waited till you got home". I was looking up pulmonary embolism. I had never had a patient with that before and I was nervous about it. I remembered from school that it could be life threatening and I wanted to look up the signs and symptoms of a PE so I would know what to look for. I told her I didn't feel like that was something that could wait till I got home. I also do not spin my wheels as I am constantly doing A, B, C, D, .... As soon as I would go to sit down a patient would need something or I would get report that Patient A's vitals were off and off I would go and then that would most like ly lead to calling the Dr., writing the order and then follow through with said orders and then follow up with patient. Oh, and I am also one of those nurse who looks up the meds I am giving if I do not know what they are for.
I don't know how any nurse can be sitting down at 1700 and charting. I am still asseing and giving any meds that are needed at that time. I wish that someone could follow me around for a shift and then they could tell me I was spinning my wheels and suggest ways I could maybe do things better. I do what needs to be done and then I move on to the next task.
I know I have a lot to learn but I am just disgusted that this nurse told me I could wait till I got home to look up the diseases that I felt I did not know enough about. I also told her I did not like to stick people with IV's because I know it hurts them. She told me that she never even thinks about that when she puts an IV in. Maybe I am too sensitive but that statement made me mad.
I feel like I am a good nurse and I feel I am a safe nurse.
mappers
437 Posts
I also had a seasoned nurse tell me when I first started "One day, in at least a year, but not before, you will get in your car and think, 'Wow, i actually halfway know what I'm doing.'" In otherwords, it will take at least a year until you feel any sort of comfort in what you are doing. I know that I felt like I was faking it my first year. Since I was 39 and not 21, a lot of people were surprised that I was (still am) such a new nurse. They said I seemed confident. Well I gotta tell you, that confidence was pure acting. I really felt like I was faking all the knowledge. After about 13 - 14 months, I had that feeling of, "Today I didn't fake it!" I still have lots of days where I fake it, but it's getting better.
BTW, when I say fake it, I don't mean I pretended I knew stuff when I didn't. I asked tons of questions and would never try to answer a question from a patient that I didn't know.