Do new graduates RN's get ,easier patients?

StrwbryblndRN · Mar 27, 2009

When I was a new grad I wanted to more difficult pt's. I was not a young new grad and got the idea right off that if I was not given challenging pt's I would be in deep doodoo when I finished orientation.

The key to doing this is having a supportive team of coworkers. I had that. We all ask questions to each other. I would expect from a new grad no less.

Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN · Mar 27, 2009

In my first hospital position as a new grad, I had all the easiest patients when I was on orientation because my preceptor was the charge nurse. When I was on my own, however, I was given the most difficult assignments because they were "good learning experiences". Most of these were patients with high acuity and I had never had the experience of caring for this sick a patient while on my orientation. I got the heck outta dodge pretty quick.

lpnflorida, LPN · Mar 27, 2009

During orientation phase you will have whatever mix of patient's that your preceptor has been assigned to. Once off of orientation the mix is most likely based on rooms assigned to you. I fear that most places have walked away from looking at patient acuity matched to nurses skill. Once upon a time it was based that way.

Now , it is nurse = set number of patients= acuity level be darn. Hopefully I am wrong, however this does seem to be the norm.

*ac* · Mar 28, 2009

They're going to smell your fear and eat you alive.

gcupid · Mar 28, 2009

I work on a cardiac floor where we take 4-5 patients. Once our new grads are off orientation they get the same patients as everyone else, minus open heart surgery patients, until they have 6 months of experience. We certainly support and mentor them, but they only way to hone your skills is to do the work.
Plus it's not really fair to the rest of the staff to have the heavier pts while the newbie has all the walkie-talkies. We don't up staff because we have new grads.

Hold up, swole up... If we want to be fair, Why not have any pay differentials between new grads and seasoned nurses?

Well ****, give me the hardest patients so I can get a good learning experience & at the same time start me off with a seasoned nurse's Base Pay, etc...

If I knew for a fact that I wouldn't place someone's health at risk & my licensed at jeopardy, I'd welcome it...

ALL IS FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR

Bklyn_RN · Mar 28, 2009

In a perfect world they would. However in the real world they don't. The person giving out the assignments sometimes have no idea which pt are easy. Also an "easy" pt might "go bad" on you, unexpectedly. And you learn more with difficult pts, you become more competent. New grads usually get fewer pts, not easier pts.

LovingNurse, BSN, RN · Mar 28, 2009

My only newbie perk was that I didn't have to float off the unit. I really appreciated that since it was difficult enough to get my time management under control on my own unit. Otherwise, I got no consideration for my newness. Matter of fact, I kept getting the high acuity ones or the ones who went bad and my charge nurse joked that when a bad moon keeps rising on the same nurse, she becomes a good nurse - fast. I'd just as soon have a sunny day and a slower learning experience than the baptism by fire, but she is correct.... you learn a lot in very little time.

Hang in there. :nurse:

DeepFriedRN · Mar 28, 2009

They may try to give you more stable pts, but "easier" isn't going to happen. and like another poster said, some times the walkie/talkies are the most difficult and demanding pts on the floor. As a charge nurse, I try to take into consideration when someone is new, but the bottom line is that you have to be considerate of all the nurses on the floor, not just the new grad. So when I make assignments, I do my best to give a fair mix of pts to each of the nurses working, and then do my best to give that new nurse a little more of my time if possible, so that they don't feel that they are hanging in the wind, and that they have a resource. We do our best to support our new nurses, but no one gets coddled.

LilyBlue · Mar 28, 2009

Nope. In my world, they dumped the harder patients all on me because I didn't know any better. I would wonder why I was running around like a headless chicken while my coworker sat there doing crossword puzzles and occasionally smirking at me.

lovehospital · Mar 28, 2009

I work on a cardiac floor where we take 4-5 patients. Once our new grads are off orientation they get the same patients as everyone else, minus open heart surgery patients, until they have 6 months of experience. We certainly support and mentor them, but they only way to hone your skills is to do the work.
Plus it's not really fair to the rest of the staff to have the heavier pts while the newbie has all the walkie-talkies. We don't up staff because we have new grads.

Excuse me,I think someone forgot how it is like to be a newbie,haha walkie talkie,I'm a senior nursing student and run around like a chicked with a chopped of head trying to take care of my patients.I dont even imagine having some down time while working in this stresful profession.The reason I want to take easier/stable patients is because I want to be safe not lazy if that is what you are implying.I guess nurses eating their young is still a very common thing!

nrsang97, BSN, RN · Mar 28, 2009

When I was a new grad I was working on a med surg unit. I would get the same load as everyone else. I had 8 patients on the 7-11p part of my shift and then from 11p-7a I would get up to 10 patinets and throw some tele in the mix too ( no drips just stable tele). There were 2 other nurses and one aide for 32 patients.

There was no way to give me an easier load. I was in charge less than a month off orientation too.

Now I work in the ICU and we try to give the new grads all the tough patients in orientation while they have support. They need to be able to do it at one point. At first we give while in orientation one stable patient, the 2 stable patients, then one stable patient and a harder patient, one unstable patient, and 2 harder patients.

When the grad is out of orientation we try to give them some kind of assignment that matches their skills.

Your co workers shouldn't make it so you can't come to them for help. I will help a new grad as I see they need it, but I also like it when they admit that they need some assistance. I still have to ask a co worker to help me catch some nights, especially since the night is unusually busy.

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Mar 28, 2009

Excuse me,I think someone forgot how it is like to be a newbie,haha walkie talkie,I'm a senior nursing student and run around like a chicked with a chopped of head trying to take care of my patients.I dont even imagine having some down time while working in this stresful profession.The reason I want to take easier/stable patients is because I want to be safe not lazy if that is what you are implying.I guess nurses eating their young is still a very common thing!

Hmmm, I thought nurses just sat around ignoring call lights and had plenty of time to use the bathroom and take their breaks.