Happy vs. Sad, Team vs. Stress

[soundsLikesirens]

I just had my first week of being "precepted" on the same floor of a hospital (2 different units), and was amazed at how different the units were. The first unit, we'll call it unit1, was a med-surg/oncology unit. The people there worked as a team: communicating and helping each other. When they got stressed-out, they'd go the the nurses' lounge and vent. The clinical leader was open, friendly and encouraging. Unit2, a medsurg/telemetry unit: within the first half-hour I knew I was in trouble: no one SMILED. People looked tense and upset, like they were sitting on dynamite. No communication at all. No fun. If you're going to work you might as well have fun doing it, in a professional manner, of course.....but there was no teamwork, nurses were blowing off at the nurses' station; even the ward clerk was getting into the act (she was a ****h). No way am I going to work there!!!!!!

[jwl300]

It is always interesting to compare different units of the same institution. I hope you feel fortunate to have the opportunity to explore different areas. What if you had accepted a job on the less pleasant unit? Follow your intuition...

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Jennifer

[This message has been edited by jwl300 (edited September 09, 2000).]