Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
yeah, i believe nurses eat there young! i'm a new nurse and to me everyone is all nice to my face but then i hear things. one nurse coming on after me acts like she has to double check everything i do. if i'm not doing something correct - tell me so i can do it right, but if you don't like it because its not the way you like it then leave me alone! it was 2am i was in the breakroom on my cell phone and another nurse came in and was like who are you talking too? and who would be up at this hour talking to you on the phone? like it was really any of her business! these older nurses i worked with were so nosie! too in to my business for comfort!
sometimes the negative attitude comes across loud and clear even in words on a computer screen. from your attitude here, i have no trouble understanding why you might feel that nurses eat their young.
if we're responsible for orienting you, we have to double check everything you do -- it's our patient and our fanny if you screw up. if i don't like the way you've done something, you might want to listen to me explain why i don't like it and how you can improve. unless you think you're already more knowlegeable than me. (after 28 years, i doubt it.)
and were you on a legitimate break in the break room? was your preceptor watching your patients after you having first asked her if this was a good time for you to take a break and then filled her in on what needed to be done while you were gone? if not, i'm sorry. i have no sympathy. she's probably trying to instill a good work ethic and sense of cooperation. from the sounds of your post, you don't have that yet.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
on a side note of this discussion, i agree that it takes at least a year for a nurse to begin (notice i said begin) to feel comfortable in the icu. it makes me absolutely ill to see these people with only 2 or 3 years experience, who think they now know it all, training the new grads or taking charge. is it any wonder that many new grads do not get the training they need from their preceptors?? how can somebody with so little experience in such a demanding field be expected to adequately teach others or actually be the resource person for the entire unit?!
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hear hear! i think we're short changing everyone by having nurses with so little experience running the show. especially when some of them do think they know everything, and, because they are in charge, the newbies think so, too. i've seen a lot of dangerous practices become institutionalized because of this trend.
I can tell you that I not only feel disheartened after reading this thread but angry. In such a large profession that really doesn't get the props it deserves from the community, don't you think that not supporting each other has something to do with it? Yes I was a new grad in the ICU, I worked in a great unit and hospital that supports new grads. Everyone accepted us on the unit because we're needed. I was taught so much, and it was tough, but I was not treated like a hangnail. I worked my butt off and got praise from the staff, not resentment. Who in the heck does everyone think they are to believe it's not their responsibility to teach the new people of our profession? Just because you're in the "elite" section of the hospital. Let me tell you, just about every other unit and specialty in the hospital thinks they are "elite".
Many of us before starting as nurses worked as techs of some form and often saw the "dirty end of the foley". I actually worked in the ICU as a nurse tech and was taught to perform like a nurse. They expected me to live up to that, always under the supervision of an RN, but it helped me excel. I think that's the difference between the OP's unit and the one I worked in.
It is horrible to hear older nurses complaining about having to explain things to orientees, big deal, get over it already. I am almost finished with anesthesia school, and I can honestly say that I've never been treated so badly, and never hated my life so much. But even though I've worked with some right b#stards who raked me over the coals, it was always in an effort to make me a great anesthetist someday. At the end of the day they would tell me what I needed to work on, they gave me the support, and gave me inspiration to be a food provider. I believe this is why nurse anesthetists have such a strong profession, no matter what docs and nurses say about them, they support each other and work hard to earn their respect. If you have a new orientee or student, take it as your responsibility to teach them and make the nursing profession stronger.
To the OP, keep your head up, don't talk to your manager because everyone is always friends and loves to talk about the new people. Don't let people see that things bother you. Ask a ton of questions, even if people don't appear approachable. Act eager, excited, and willing to learn. When you have time, stroll around the unit and watch what others are doing, especially if they have an interesting patient. Ask those people questions. Be open to helping anyone out. When you finish orientation still look for support from the nurses on the unit. I am sorry that you are working with stagnant nurses, yes that's what they are. People should treat others as they expect to be treated, this whole "I've worked for 30 yrs as a nurse and have earned my right" bull only weakens us as a profession.
I can tell you that I not only feel disheartened after reading this thread but angry. In such a large profession that really doesn't get the props it deserves from the community, don't you think that not supporting each other has something to do with it? Yes I was a new grad in the ICU, I worked in a great unit and hospital that supports new grads. Everyone accepted us on the unit because we're needed. I was taught so much, and it was tough, but I was not treated like a hangnail. I worked my butt off and got praise from the staff, not resentment. Who in the heck does everyone think they are to believe it's not their responsibility to teach the new people of our profession? Just because you're in the "elite" section of the hospital. Let me tell you, just about every other unit and specialty in the hospital thinks they are "elite".
Many of us before starting as nurses worked as techs of some form and often saw the "dirty end of the foley". I actually worked in the ICU as a nurse tech and was taught to perform like a nurse. They expected me to live up to that, always under the supervision of an RN, but it helped me excel. I think that's the difference between the OP's unit and the one I worked in.
It is horrible to hear older nurses complaining about having to explain things to orientees, big deal, get over it already. I am almost finished with anesthesia school, and I can honestly say that I've never been treated so badly, and never hated my life so much. But even though I've worked with some right b#stards who raked me over the coals, it was always in an effort to make me a great anesthetist someday. At the end of the day they would tell me what I needed to work on, they gave me the support, and gave me inspiration to be a food provider. I believe this is why nurse anesthetists have such a strong profession, no matter what docs and nurses say about them, they support each other and work hard to earn their respect. If you have a new orientee or student, take it as your responsibility to teach them and make the nursing profession stronger.
To the OP, keep your head up, don't talk to your manager because everyone is always friends and loves to talk about the new people. Don't let people see that things bother you. Ask a ton of questions, even if people don't appear approachable. Act eager, excited, and willing to learn. When you have time, stroll around the unit and watch what others are doing, especially if they have an interesting patient. Ask those people questions. Be open to helping anyone out. When you finish orientation still look for support from the nurses on the unit. I am sorry that you are working with stagnant nurses, yes that's what they are. People should treat others as they expect to be treated, this whole "I've worked for 30 yrs as a nurse and have earned my right" bull only weakens us as a profession.
Great post. I said in an earlier post that 'all new grads are not considered equal'. With that said, here's what I have to say about new grads in ICU. I know for a fact that the majority of the students in my program could not hack it in the ICU. If they did survive orientation, then they would probably quit soon after. Frankly, I don't care if some nurses don't like me or the fact that I'm here. Doesn't bother me one bit. What bothers me is if they complain about me and it's a legit concern. I really want to know what I'm doing wrong.
So go to the ICU, be prepared to learn and be prepared to be mistreated at times. Just don't take it personally.
As a former CICU nurse and a current supervisor, I often hear from senior staff....."I can't take a pt from the ED.....So and So are working and they are fairly new grads. I have a weak crew today and as the charge nurse it is really hard. I just can't take any more."
I can truely appreciate the sentiment of a charge nurse trying to "keep it together" and working with a bunch of newbies. I really feel that the MANAGER should never leave the unit staffed so poorly, and poor staffing isn't all about the numbers! But on off shifts most managers only care that there is an adequate number of nurses and pay little attention to the mix of nurses:nono: .
New grads are allowed to work in the ICU right out of school. Those who choose this road need to understand that it will be anything but easy! BUT this is the road that YOU decided to take. You can learn to be great or you can learn to be bitter, your choice!
Having said the above......seasoned nurses really do need to put themselves in the shoes of others. I realized they are stressed, but how does picking on the new grad fix that???? We can either help each other and hopefully end up with some great co-workers or we can pick, pick, pick until they leave......our choice!
wanted to add: I didn't read all of the responses, sorry if I repeated others.
Specializes in Paeds, Gen surg, Coronary Care, ED.
basically, after reading these comments, i have this to say:
In ccu where i work, there are alot of strong personalities i have been bullied, undermined and hurt by the unit. the average age is about 47, and the knowledge base its phenominal. i have been in CCU for 6 months... i was there as a 2nd yr RN as part of my grad program (post training support). and i am staying on. i am the only one of this program to stay on. i was threathening to leave, when my NUM said that i was part of his plan to get younger nurses into ccu. i have always made an effort to suck all the knowledge out of the senior staff...
EVERY SINGLE WARD I have worked on has attempted to put me down. for most of it i would think of it as " constructive criticism" but sometimes its grates... its not that i'm a bad nurse... im a great nurse, but when one place or person tells you to do something one way, thenm the next day/week/month your told sometihng different, you feel deflated, and useless...
so my advise is this...
to the grads: you have to learn from somewhere, and unfortunatly, some people are unwilling to teach. for the first 3-6 months, you are not there to do anything but learn. only focus on your work. work hard, then go home. stay away from the politics. you are not expected to know everything. some wards are relevnt to ccu, but most arenot, and th same skills can be picked up in ccu...
to the more senior nurses; we have to learn from somewhere. if we dont learn, we wont be as useful to you. and when you retire, who's going to run the unit? no-one if they all hate it and leave. if a grad asks for a challenge, give them a challenge, be fair. , we respect you for your pvast amount of knowledge.
we are professionals now....lets work together like a professional team, instead of underminding eachother.
I, like many other people, are angered by reading many of these posts. I am a new grad in a CVICU (just 4 months in.. after a 3 month orientation period). I started on the unit at the same time as "more experienced" nurses coming from other units such as telemetry or medsurg and I've heard from RNs on my unit that new grads tend to have better critical thinking skills and a better willingness to learn than nurses who feel they already have the nursing skills to work in a busy CVICU.
And, on top of that, the new grads (and other nurses new to the unit) take the lowest acuity patients on the unit. This leaves our experienced CVICU RNs to take the fresh hearts and work on a 1-1 case, which every single CVICU nurse should enjoy. That's why we're here. So, any of the experienced nurses on other units (from the oh-so-many negative posts) who are complaining because the new grads are taking the "easy" cases should really reevaluate where you are working. If you WANT the easy cases, you should go back to a medsurg unit where your patients aren't so critical.
I love my experience and even though it's hard a lot of the time, it's so worth it. I cant imagine starting anywhere else when this is what I love doing!
Hm. I just started a little while ago as a new grad (but ACU ..not CCU...although I can't grasp yet the difference...it isn't ICU that's for sure but patients ARE fairly acute... )... Anywho... I am already sensing some "unwelcomeness"... from some. I would expect this will be the case everywhere, unfortunately. Just as in any work place, you have your allies and then...your "out of my way" people. Even my preceptor who is a nice person....gets short with me often. After only 3 days flying around the unit at 100mph I don't feel like I've learned a darn thing...and most of this is specialized so , I need to learn. I am an assertive person, but I wanted to take it in for a couple days. I still am confused! So now..I will start asking more questions. Example, hey how about letting ME try it and you talk me thru if I 'm about to make a mistake since I've never seen that done before and you just do it at 100mph then I still don't know what is up. You know...it's tough being a new grad. I don't enjoy it.
21 years ago I entered the CCU as a new grad - I did not spend time in Med/Surg - I have never worked anywhere but ICU until now - I think I turned out OK- I have been charge, asst manager, unit based educator, I have my BSN, PCCN, CCRN. If you want ICU - stick with it. There are hospitals that do it right!!!!. At my institution, we have a 3 month new graduate internship followed by an additional 9 months of a Nurse Residency Program where we give additional support and training throughout the transition period. The main problem with new grads in the ICU is lack of support at the administrative level. It is very difficult and frustrating to precept a new grad while carrying a full patient load. When I entered critical care, the average "age" of the nurses was 8-10 years of experience - now it is less than 5. So what we have is babies teaching babies. At less than five years of nursing you are just barely reaching the competent stage much less the expert stage. Without proper training in mentoring, teaching adult learners, and the logistics of orientation - failure is prevelant. I urge you to ask questions, take notes, and look up anything you don't know every night. Show your desire to learn and someone will teach you. If they don't - email me - we will be glad to teach you here.
I think that if you show that you are willing to learn there is no reason that a new grad can't work in an ICU. I am currently training two nurses to our unit. One, who is a "recent" grad and is moving along very nicely. We can't expect miracles with her, but she hasn't developed any "bad" habits and should be easily molded into an ICU nurse. But, learning is different for everyone, and preceptors need to adapt to each person differently. ICU tends to have strong personalities, and I believe that they are necessary to some degree. The strong willed nurses also need to remember that these nurses are here to help, and do need to be appreciative and lend their knowledge in the process.
Ruby Vee, BSN
17 Articles; 14,051 Posts
sometimes the negative attitude comes across loud and clear even in words on a computer screen. from your attitude here, i have no trouble understanding why you might feel that nurses eat their young.
if we're responsible for orienting you, we have to double check everything you do -- it's our patient and our fanny if you screw up. if i don't like the way you've done something, you might want to listen to me explain why i don't like it and how you can improve. unless you think you're already more knowlegeable than me. (after 28 years, i doubt it.)
and were you on a legitimate break in the break room? was your preceptor watching your patients after you having first asked her if this was a good time for you to take a break and then filled her in on what needed to be done while you were gone? if not, i'm sorry. i have no sympathy. she's probably trying to instill a good work ethic and sense of cooperation. from the sounds of your post, you don't have that yet.