Is this new grad a nut or what? Opinions please !

bethin · Sep 29, 2005

I hope I don't get some nasty replies, but what are her parents like? I may be a youngin, but I figured out a long, long time ago that as adults we tend to take after our parents or whoever raised us.

Don't you ever find yourself saying "Oh my God, I've become my mother"?

We all have little quirks about us that we can't change, no matter how hard we try. Maybe one of her quirks is picking up accents.

I have been a pt. where I work and if I EVER found out that a nurse had turned off her pager I would IMMEDIATELY report that nurse!! I know what it's like to be on the other side and it's not fun. What if there was an emergency with one of her patients? She needs to be told that if she does it again, she's out the door. If she can't do 2 things at once then maybe she should go work at um, I'm thinking.....

For heaven's sake, I multitask in my sleep!

talaxandra · Sep 29, 2005

The accent= Extremely odd.
Working slow=Normal for a new grad
Turning off pager= Dumb, someone needs to tell her very bluntly. She may have actually seen other nurses do it, so she thought it was okay.

:yeahthat:

gypsyatheart · Sep 29, 2005

She's a new grad. She's only been on orientation 4 wks. Her "stats" (age, race, gender, GPA) do not matter. The fact that her parents are doctors do not matter. Sounds like the preceptor needs to be more assertive w/her, guide her as to correct procedures on your floor. Likely she will need far more than 4wks, as most new grads do. Perhaps the preceptor and this new grad are not a good "mix". Maybe another preceptor could take over.

As for the accent....odd, but that is not the issue, that just needs to be ignored. (Maybe she was trying so hard to identify w/her preceptor, she unconciously picked it up... :confused: )

We have a new grad (23 y/o, single WF) on our floor. We kept hearing that she was going to be so good. She graduated with a 4.0 and her parents are both physicians. Well, she is far from good.
First of all the RN who is precepting her is from England and now she goes around speaking with a Britiish accent to everyone including the doctors. They kind of look at her like they are not taking her serious.
Second she turns off her pager to chart. In the meantime her patients are asking for pain meds and she is ignoring them.
Third, she is sooo very slow. She has been on orientation for a month and this week they have started letting her take her own patients (just 2 easy pts)and everything she does is being overseen by one of us. She says she knows how to do everything but you check on her and she's got the PB plugged in under the pump. I can take alot, I've been a preceptor for years and with some real challenges who have turned out to be very good nurses. The thing that really blows my mind is the fact that she has picked up the British accent. Fiona, our brit, has told her numerous times to cut it out and speak normally but has finally given up. I mean is she immature or what? Any opinions? Suggestions? Thanks!

BamaBound2bRN · Sep 29, 2005

i really personally don't care if this chick makes it in nursing or not
wow, i hope her preceptor doesn't take that attitude. i thought nursing was a team of professionals that feed off of each others strengths and weaknesses. or maybe it is true that "nurses eat their young, old, new, and seasoned co-workers alike."

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Sep 29, 2005

(I wish that phrase would just go away....)

talaxandra · Sep 29, 2005

I'm with you, Marie.

NYNewGrad · Sep 29, 2005

Unfortuantely I think it might be true... not ALL the time, but often enough.

Just the opinion of a new grad who has had her share of both pleasant and unpleasant experiences on the floor.

mtnmom · Sep 29, 2005

that there were some unconscious, hidden resentments against this girl when she came in because of her supposed privileged background and GPA??? No one mentions what school she went to...I would be curious to know.

How would all of this be viewed if this young new grad had come from an average or meager background with an average GPA????

A lot of nursing is the critical thinking/common sense part that some people just get quicker than others. A lot of it is taught in school, but much has to be developed in practice. Plugging the piggyback in under the pump...OK, granted that is goofy, but isn't that what orientation is for? So new nurses can have oversight???

As for the accent thing, her speech may be easily molded, like others have said. We moved a lot when I was younger and relatives were always commenting that my accent had changed when we moved.

Give her some more time and back off the criticism, IMO. This type of backbiting is counterproductive to the whole unit. Maybe she needs a different preceptor or a different unit where she can have a more nurturing environment.

prmenrs, RN · Sep 29, 2005

Nobody can take a bite out of anything, or anybody, that moves fast enough!!

That being said, caution is suggested if you notice a lot of condiments on the nursing station desk!

(just trying to lighten it up a little, ok?)

kurtzmobile · Sep 30, 2005

We have a new grad (23 y/o, single WF) on our floor. We kept hearing that she was going to be so good. She graduated with a 4.0 and her parents are both physicians. Well, she is far from good.
I think you should update us with a new thread on her every week or so. She sounds hilarious! (of course I don't have to actually work with her).
Reminds me of the neice of my former DON at the diploma school from which I graduated. Now, the DON was the toughest character you knew. She was mean and had a look that turned my blood cold and froze me in mid step.
I heard she once told a soon to be new graduate that she shoud be very careful at the pinning ceremony as she just might get it in the neck! No lie!
Anyway, the neice was a sweet young girl whom I met when I came in to have my second child. Maternity rotation was in the beginning of her third year, so she had made it that far. She was introduced to me by the nursing educator on the floor who was a former classmate of mine. It was the day after my daughters birth and I had a serious case of hemorrhoids. I am not kidding, it was like, 3 baseballs between my legs. Well this girl came in to take my vitals and check lochia. Well the look on her face was priceless!!! But what she did next was outrageous! Here is the gist of our conversation,
Her: "what are those"
Me: "my hemorrhoids"
Her, "no really, what are they?"
Me, "my hemorrhoids"
Her, "no they are not, I am gettnig my teacher"
Me, "no you will not, they are hemorhoids."
Her, "I don't believe you" ...and then she proceeded to touch them with her finger.
Her, "what are they attached to?"
Me, "my rectum"
Her, "do they hurt"
Me, "what do you think? How about a percocet?"
Her, "I just don't believe that"
She went to tell my friend, her teacher, who came in and sat on the bed and we had a good laugh. Then she requested to bring in the entire class of students on Maternity to see them. I did put my foot down, and I got the Percocet.
True story.
That is waaaay too funny of a story!!! Sounds like something I would say to a student if I were in that situation. Isn't the pospartum experience lovely!?!? :roll :)

P_RN, ADN, RN · Sep 30, 2005

In my aged wisdom *I* think this girl needs a FRIEND on the floor. It seems she has a lot of bosses to point out what she's NOT doing and no one to say "hey you did well."

I finished with a 4.0. I'd only worked in Headstart, and a doctor's office when I bit the bullet and went hospital. Well I cried at the end of every day for nearly 6 months.

Finally one girl started asking for me to go to lunch with her. Then she'd say come here let me show you this piece of equipment or let me show you these awesome sutures.......I had a 4.0 education but now I had a 4.0 FRIEND. You'd be surprised what a little support does for self esteem.

Oh and you should hear me when I go to NY or when I went to London. My southern accent grows exponentially...thick as molasses in January and twice as sweet.

lpnsam · Oct 5, 2005

So glad to see this post. I'm a new grad (with honors and awards from teachers) and I am working in a small clinic. I'm trying to fit in but the staff is barely civil. They are starting to warm up (I think with some encouragement from our supervisor); all except my preceptor. She has yet to say anything encouraging workwise. I'm too slow and not getting the vast paperwork correct. She is supposed to be showing me how to do blood draws, etc. but right now I'm doing the barest of patient assessment (ht, wt, bp, temp). Being a new grad, we did a lot of things in theory and little practical experience. In the clinic I've done two mantoux (never in class). The preceptor and supervisor where aware of my experience when I was hired. Anyway, the first mantoux was "just do it" and it was more subq than it should have been. The second was fine. The preceptor is one vacation and now my supervisor is showing me how to do IM injections. I'm feeling like I should take a phlebotomy class and keep my options open to move. My work hours are perfect and driving distance is good. I really want to use the skills/training from school and I don't see that happening so much where I am. And the fit with the preceptor isn't there -- with the others, I see progress. The supervisor and other practioner are generous with advise. I don't want to leave this early in the job (working since August part time). I guess I'll see what happens when my preceptor returns from vacation and how much I can learn while she's away. Any suggestions would be so much appreciated. :uhoh3: