Last night was my first night of on-the-floor orientation for my first RN job, obviously a long term care facility since I'm posting here. I'm thankful to have had this board to scour before starting, so I had some idea of what I'll be facing. I'm fortunate that my facility appears to be wonderful by comparison with so many. The turnover among nurses appears to be very low, and many were CNAs before becoming nurses. I'll have four WEEKs of orientation before I'm on my own. After nursing school clinicals, it was weird to just pull and give meds on my own. (Not on my own in a scary way, my preceptor had watched me pull them and was around if I needed anything- just felt very independent) I was reminded that I still stink at lung sounds, and I know I've got a big learning curve ahead of me, but I think this will work out. When it was time to chart, I had to look at it again after I signed my name and then, RN.
So thanks for all the advice and support, even if you didn't know you provided it, and I wish you all the very best.
