Experienced nurses

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

I have been working as a nurse for 2 years. There are many new grads now and I have precepted some of them. Many seem to resent any instruction or direction even when it is needed for patient saftey. I do not want to get into too many specifics but they are things such as telling them that a doctor should be paged regarding a certain order, assessment, vitals, or maybe a certain pt should be seen first, prioritzing etc.I always explain my reasoning, previous similiar scenarios, why I would do things a certain way , question a certain order etc. I believe in every incident my judgement was correct.( I know I am not a perfect nurse, not even close but I have some experience). On the other hand, there are others that require constant supervision. There are shifts where I am the most experienced nurse. Therefore stuck in charge (charge on my unit can be any RN, usually the most experienced nurse is picked, some nurses love it, especially on day shift if he/she is free charge).

I still get overwhelmed sometimes. I still have questions, but often no one who would know more than I do or whose knowledge is any better than mine. Sometimes I am too busy to help them as much as they want/need ( not as a preceptor but when they are on their own and still need help with tasks, questions, etc) Some of them get pretty upset when I can't come running everytime. Accused of not helping, ignoring etc. I want to scream that I too have my own patients and am just as overwhelmed, we all have heavy assignments! I am not a "Bully" or rude or mean or anything else, just busy with my own work! I am beginning to get annoyed at managment for allowing this situation.

Does anyone else get overwhelmed because now you are the "experienced" nurse? It isn't a problem when there is another nurse or two with more than1 year experience but when it is all new grads I get just as overwhelmed as the rest of them. Isn't this a big issue in many places and a reason for high turnaround? it makes it stressful not just for the new staff but for any of the old staff left. ugh then they wonder why retention is so low.

[Good Morning, Gil]

I've been a nurse for 2 years now, too, and oddly, it seems much longer than that lol. No, I am not experiencing this currently as there are nurses of all experience levels in my unit. Anyway, what you're describing is not uncommon. It does stink that at 2 years of experience, you're the most experienced person, since even though you know what you're doing, and are confident now, there are times when you need to bounce a question off someone else, specifically someone more experienced than you.

And, there's nobody really to guide the new nurses once they're off orientation, so they get overwhelmed, and I imagine some without fortitude, just quit. So, hire more nurses, and then, they leave, on, and on. What kind of unit are you on? Certain units just are kind of expected to have a higher turn-over, which kind of stinks, but most people do not enjoy general medical floors, and just "bide their time." It's not too fun for the ones that do enjoy it since the work environment becomes more stressful from high turn-over, and then they decide to leave since nobody else is staying.

But, yes, part of the reason for high turn-over is new nurses feeling overwhelmed with nobody to help, and experienced nurses feeling badly since they physically cannot help them. When new nurses come off orientation, there needs to be a free charge nurse so that the new nurses can be helped, and the free charge nurse needs to be the kind to step up and help them obviously. But, if a nurse off orientation is requiring a lot of help, they probably shouldn't be off orientation.

Sorry you're experiencing this.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

Thanks for the reply. I work on a med surg floor. It is the nature of the game . This was an issue back when i started and has always been From what I've heard.

[Caffeine_IV]

I know how you feel. I am often the most experienced with 4 years. I like having the cushion of a more experienced nurse on the floor besides myself but you will also find it empowering that you know more than you even thought.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

bumping because this is still an issue and wondering if anyone else deals with this and how.....

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

First of all, kudos to you for stepping up into a "leadership position", although it can be quite taxing. Naturally, these new grads look up to you and trust your judgement, else they wouldn't get so upset when you aren't immediately available to them.

When I found myself in your position YEARS ago (I think that I actually treated a T-rex on my unit), I became quite discouraged because I felt so much pressure with guiding new nurses, as well as tending to my own duties. So I decided to adhere to the old saying, "Teach a man to fish...".

I made an "algorithm cheat sheet" for new grads, and brought it to my NM for approval. It helped the new nurses learn how to prioritize, who to call, WHEN to call, and what info they should have in front of them prior to calling. I also made a list of common phone numbers and shrunk it down to fit on the back of their badges.

It's good that you are being sought out for your knowledge. When your peers ask you for help when you are completely slammed, ask them to walk with you while you are completing your own tasks, and then pose the question to them, "Tell me what you are thinking?" It's easier to just solve the problem for them, but it's more beneficial to let them think through a challenge.

Easier said than done, I know.

If you work in a system that has a "tiered" clinical nurse ladder, you can use this algorithm as a project for your application to the next tier.

Hope this helps. Hang in there!