dumbest nurse in the industry.

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Nov 10, 2011

The questions thing can be hard: Most of us do want you to ask questions if you're unsure about something rather than just making a mistake. However, people can get really impatient if your questions don't show that you're reading up on your weak areas, working hard to learn and beginning to think critically.

Don't let this terrify or paralyze you, but you're probably correct to be seriously concerned after eight med errors. I'm assuming that you've had meetings with a manager or educator by now. What specific suggestions do they have? Do you have a patho textbook where you could at least begin working on your weakest areas?

Davey Do · Nov 10, 2011

You are not the "dumbest nurse in the industry", rookieLPN. Stop giving yourself bad messages. Just the fact that you have some insight to your current situation makes you a Professional who is worthy of working with.

There are some Nurses out there who operate carelessly without caring. That is a crime.

You care about your performance and want to improve on it. That is everything.

I can give you my perspective on your question of "Is it just me or does every nurse go through this?" It's not just you, but a lot of Nurses experience a similar feeling. Some are Naturals and shine from Day One. Others struggle and eventually achieve some semblance of an adequte standing. Some just give up or are ridden out of town on a rail.

When I broke into the OR, I was all thumbs and considered giving up on it. Then, all of a sudden, it all came together! That was agreat experience!

Eric gave you some good advice. Here's mine: I suggest you find a Mentor, or several mentors, and watch them, emulate them, pick their brain. Study the areas you're experiencing problems in and find the glitches. Try to develop a system and stick to the one that works. Being middle-aged, if I hadn't developed and stuck to my systems, I'd be a Bumbling Clown.

I want to reiterate one point: You care about your performance and want to improve on it, which is everything.

The best to you, rookieLPN

Dave

SweetheartRN · Nov 10, 2011

I check the charts several times a shift. Check it when you come in. After you pass morning meds, when a patient comes back from a procedure....etc. Check it as often as you can throughout the shift. Especially when you notice doctors rounding. Nursing is very integral. It takes AWHILE to put it all together. In a few more weeks you will be paying attention to more and more things.....things that you didn't even have time to think about when you first began as you master your time managemnt. This is a period where you have to be a little bit easy on yourself. But I always question before I feel I might put a patient in danger regardless of how it will make me look because I would feel much worse than that if I really did put a pt in danger.

You do need to stop making med errors. Sometimes tough love is what it takes to get you to HALT yourself and think about what you're doing. If there is not an emergency going on there is no reason to not be able to take a long moment and look at the meds. Its slightly better to be late then to administer to the wrong patient, wrong drug,dose,route,documentation. Remember you most likely have 30 min to an hour before and after the med is due. Match them against the orders. Remember your SIX RIGHTS.

At what point do you mess up? Remember your three checks of the six rights.

What helped me is that I watched the nurses on my floor do things alot. No matter how long something took they did things the RIGHT WAY. It feels like you have to rush now because there are so many things you don't know, have to ask/question/find out proper protocol/paperwork etc. because you are new and that takes alot of your extra time during the shift so you feel like you are drowning all day and that you have to hurry everything along as much as possible. Thats not good time management. That will turn out to be bad practice.

If you do things right the first time...no matter how long they take it will save you time in the long run because the patient will have good outcomes and you will not be dealing with incident reports etc...There is always enough time to do things the right way.

Ask for help when you need it. What kind of questions are you asking? Are they things you probably should have learned in nursing school and forgot? In this case, yes review them. Review lab values and common procedural guidelines.

I'm new and I ask more questions related to hospital policies and procedures, or questions that I have an answer to already just want an experienced nurses professional opinion or clarification on. If you show you've been doing your homework the nurses may be more open to answering your other questions.

I HTH you!!! Goodluck.

EDnursetobe · Nov 11, 2011

first of all, no question is a dumb one. And if the charge nurse get's annoyed by you asking, then he/she is not doing their job. Try to ask another nurse for help if you can.

Also, with medications, TAKE YOUR TIME. (I try to remind myself of this too). don't let people rush you. nothing is so urgent that it can't wait an additional minute to verify.

good luck from another "dumb" newbie!

caliotter3 · Nov 11, 2011

The eight med errors is what worries me. Surprised you have not already been fired. You made this post so you are aware. Now it is time to do some serious reflection and come up with steps to get yourself up to par. As far as the basic knowledge goes, you can assign yourself homework to do on your own. Very simple, you have had a lot of patients with CHF, study about CHF. As for the med errors, one of the best ways to deal with that is to slow down when you pass meds. Hope to see that you get a handle on this and make it through the learning period with this job. And don't feel bad about still needing to learn, it takes a good amount of time for just about everybody.

Editorial Team / Moderator · Nov 12, 2011

I feel like i'm too far into the game now to be asking questions and making errors

Do not get sucked into this way of thinking -- that you "should" know something, if you don't. I have been a nurse for a few years now and I still ask questions. That will NOT change if I don't know something or know where to find the info, or if I want to tap into a coworker's expertise.

Armygirl7 · Nov 12, 2011

Hiya rookieLPN88!

YOU are not the dumbest nurse in the industry because I AM!!!

Seriously - you sound like I did last week and one thing I realized was that my attitude and my negative self-talk was something I could change, it was something I HAD to change because the more down I got on myself and beat myself up the less I was able to be in the moment and stay alert and aware and attend to what needed attending.

I had a great basketball coach who used to say to us (when we were mad at ourselves for botching a play or turning over the ball) "Stop playing the last 5 minutes of the game - get your head in the game NOW - the next 5 minutes are still up for grabs!"

I can get so focused on the tiniest mistake and ride myself so hard that I am missing the opportunity to do a better job in the next moment!

I also started keeping a little list of stuff to look up as soon as I have a day off. I mean "Pathophysiology" is a big subject - keep track of specific illnesses you encounter and look them up on your time...in a few months you will know a lot more about Pathophysiology!

Easy does it - one step at a time! Look for at least one positive thing you've done each shift and build on that.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Nov 14, 2011

"Whether you think you can, or think you can't- you are correct" (Henry Ford)

tcvnurse, BSN, RN · Nov 17, 2011

If you dont know anything about pathophys, crack open your books. I check charts for new orders every time I open the EMR. Because what if a Doc wrote a STAT order for lasix or something? Always ask yourself: What could go wrong with this patient TODAY? And then watch out for those things.

Meds: Pull them from pyxis with MAR next to you. Double check prior to going into room. Read them off to patient at bedside going down the list. If you give a pepcid and hour late it is not earth shattering. On my unit the only meds I stress over that HAVE to be given exactly on time are for transplant patients.

Are you making the effort to find answers to your questions? "Paging Dr Google" is a big joke where I work because the surgeons are doing new procedures every day a lot of times, we look them up to find out say, what a ROSS procedure is, or the PARTNERS study for AVR valves.

You say the patients pulse was 120. OK, what was the rhythm? Big difference between how you treat Sinus Tach and AFib. Think! Have you taken a EGK interpretation class? ACLS?

Hang in there. You can do this. Showing up and caring goes a long way.

sarahg88 · Nov 22, 2011

hey davey! ive been trying to figure out how to reply to your message which you sent me personally but can't figure out how to do so!

Editorial Team / Moderator · Nov 22, 2011

hey davey! ive been trying to figure out how to reply to your message which you sent me personally but can't figure out how to do so!

You'll be able to use the private message (PM) system once you have 15 posts.