Finally...a bad night

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Specializes in M/S, Tele, Sub (stepdown), Hospice.

So, I've been on orientation & precepting now for 7 shifts (we get 12 w/ our preceptor). I'm still only taking 4 patients (our load is 5) & feeling completely overwhelmed. I know this is a normal feeling but I can't help but being frustrated with myself. I find myself making minor mistakes which I know is better than making huge mistakes.....but I'm still stressing out :crying2:

All my other friends who are in the new grad program with me describe the same thing & up until last night, I've had pretty good nights (lots of learning, etc.). I knew my night would come & it did last night.

It wasn't anything major but I was so busy & feeling so overwhelmed that I didn't get my P/O patient OOB (she was to be OOB w/in 12 hrs of returning to the unit - should have been up by 0600). I told the aide but it wasn't done & I was too busy to stop what I was doing to get her up....regardless, it's my responsibility. I was also supposed to advance her diet for breakfast as she was supposed to be going home that day but I didn't. Her FC was also supposed to be d/c'd by 0600 & after paging the aide twice, it was still never done & by the time I went in there, it was 0700. Needless to say, when I gave report to the day shift nurse, she was less than impressed w/ me & didn't even try to hide it :crying2: I felt horrible & even cried on my way home....the stress of the night & everything else finally caught up to me, I guess.

We just don't learn this stuff in nursing school. I don't know how to advance someone's diet....sounds stupid but I don't. I guess this is learning.....learning by my own mistakes. I hate learning this way.... :rolleyes:

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I don't think one "off" night is going to ruin you :). It's all just a matter of time management and figuring out how to do everything. I hope the nurses on your unit will give you a break, considering you are so fresh on the job! There's so much on the job training, so don't worry about not knowing it all at this point, there is no way you could. I work nights and when I come on and the afternoon shift leaves me with all kinds of problems and undone tasks it drives me nuts, so I try my hardest to not do the same to the nurses I will be passing my pts onto. I still end up passing along some medical interventions like prn htn meds that weren't on the unit and I have put an order for them in, or if I can't get a physician to return my pages during the night those pt issues sometimes get pushed along instead of solved on my shift. Nothing is usually perfect, I don't expect myself to be with so many pts to look after.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

Am I out to lunch here or is nursing not a 24 hour a day responsibility shared among several people in that period? Why is it that we feel like leaving something for the next shift is a colossal sin? Our jobs are unpredictable and things happen. There are going to be many shifts where you cannot get everything done. If you don't know how to do something, find someone to ask. In that instance the ward secretary should have been able to help you out with things like advancing diets. Your preceptor should be providing you with a resource for unit- and facility-specific tasks. And s/he should be available to lend a hand when you need it. If you're taking 4 of the 5 patients assigned to the two of you, s/he should have ample free time to be helping you stay on track. And if you're going to delegate responsibilities to another person you need to hold them to it. If the aide wasn't going to find time to do the tasks you assigned, you should have been informed BEFORE it became too late to do anything about it. There has to be an aspect of teamwork in nursing or things will be missed. It's a fact of life. Don't let this define you, because it's not you.

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small suggestion:

if by FC you mean dc foley catheter, take it out yourself instead of wasting time paging the aid twice. maybe the pt coulda got up outta bed to the bathroom and voided by 7a.

how nice would thatta been? a few birds with one stone...

dont beat yerself up. it will come with time.

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Specializes in M/S, Tele, Sub (stepdown), Hospice.
small suggestion:

if by FC you mean dc foley catheter, take it out yourself instead of wasting time paging the aid twice. maybe the pt coulda got up outta bed to the bathroom and voided by 7a.

how nice would thatta been? a few birds with one stone...

dont beat yerself up. it will come with time.

Actually, I told the aide at the beginning of the shift to d/c the foley & when I peeked in at 0630, I noticed the drainage bag was still hanging there. I was still running around trying to finish up my stuff (passing a few more meds, writing my shift summaries) & it took me 3 seconds to page the aide. I finally did do it myself when she never responded. Hmmm....I don't know if she would have been ready to void an hour after taking the foley out. We usually give them 6-8 hours to void.

Thanks everyone for your advice & support :)

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Specializes in Med Surg, Ortho.

Welcome to the 'Real' world of nursing. Lots of times things don't get done because we simply don't have enough hours in the day, that is why it's 24/7,

different shifts, etc etc.

What I have learned the hard way and will tell you. Don't give TMI in report, give pertinent info only. The nicer you are and the more info you give will only get your butt chewed out!! You'll learn. Take this as a learning exp and move on.

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