New Grad Stupids

Nurses General Nursing

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walkaway

9 Posts

Originally posted by bbqchick:

You are all wonderful to share like this.

And it does my heart good, especially today, when my whole entire body hurts from the worst night shift I have worked yet. I worked so hard two nights ago that I still ache all over and my brain hurts. Somehow, I had an average of 7 patients and my coworkers had 5 each. And I often have 7 patients, but one was demented and combative and restraints didn't hold them, one needed a potent drip but was ordered IVP's q few minutes and the rest were post-ops or bleedouts. It was unbelievable and I got a little mad, but controlled it. And was exasperated. Asked my charge nurse for help and she acted like she was going to do something but never did, and I gave up on her. She basically told me to ask the doc on call if we could move one or two to ICU. I had already spoken to the doc on call, who didn't know any of the patients and was told to carry out the existing orders. It seemed that everyone's attitude was just live with it. My assistant was virtually nonexistant most of the night. One LPN sat in her corner and read magazines. One RN played on the computer and studied for a class. One RN was agency and kept taking breaks. I had liked it there so far, but...??? I hope I don't have a night like that again for a long time.

walkaway

9 Posts

dear bbqchick.. does a nurse since '68 still do dummies? sure hopefully no one noticed that I just posted a blank reply. I'm just learning this stuff. Just last week I had a pt who was on a trach and non-verbal. I was new to her and I talked to her with all the care I gave her. But I was not getting any kind of reaction from her just a stare and I wasn't sure how much she was understanding. I cared for her again the second day and of course things are always easier the second day-right? Well she had a peg tube with continuous feeding but per protocol I had to stop it for 2 hours pre and post med administration. Well about 1 hour after I stopped it I was checking on her and she was giving me this really strange look-it was actually the first facial expression I had seen in about 12 hours of caring for her. I could not figure it out but after 2 hours I went to administer her med and then turn her. Well there was 180 cc of tube feedng on her. I had disconnected the feeding but left the nozzle on her abdomen and failed to turn off the pump. After bathing her and changing the bed I looked at her and she was smiling so big that I think she was laughing at me. So you see it still happens. And yes I have never seen my hospital as busy and as short as the past 2 years. So hang in there, it will take you awhile just give yourself alot of positive self talk. But us old nurses need you young nurses. So I'm glad to have you in the profession!

fergus51

6,620 Posts

Man, am I glad I saw this topic! I am a student and feeling stupid is a daily thing. Most of my fellow students have done stupid things too, which gives me some comfort. One even discharged a patient without doctors orders. The nurses all had a good laugh and the head nurse told all the others to refer patients they wanted discharged to that student. He'll get it done. My latest goof was taking out a catheter without pinching it off properly. I am starting to wonder at what point washing urine off my clothes and shoes became normal to me. What will seem normal after years of nursing? I don't think I even want to know!

CardiacRN

22 Posts

Hehe, these are great! I still make silly errors, but one of my most memorable during my first months as an RN, was connecting a femoral arterial line to a regular bag of saline. For the first hour or so, I saw tinges of blood in the line, but I failed to make the connection. The was visiting the patient, and upon exiting the room he was giggling. He explained what I had done, and 'recommended' pressurized heparin. He certainly found the humor in a new grad's goof. Amazing how you never make the same mistake twice, huh?!!

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babs_rn

346 Posts

Originally posted by bbqchick:

You are all wonderful to share like this.

And it does my heart good, especially today, when my whole entire body hurts from the worst night shift I have worked yet. I worked so hard two nights ago that I still ache all over and my brain hurts. Somehow, I had an average of 7 patients and my coworkers had 5 each. And I often have 7 patients, but one was demented and combative and restraints didn't hold them, one needed a potent drip but was ordered IVP's q few minutes and the rest were post-ops or bleedouts. It was unbelievable and I got a little mad, but controlled it. And was exasperated. Asked my charge nurse for help and she acted like she was going to do something but never did, and I gave up on her. She basically told me to ask the doc on call if we could move one or two to ICU. I had already spoken to the doc on call, who didn't know any of the patients and was told to carry out the existing orders. It seemed that everyone's attitude was just live with it. My assistant was virtually nonexistant most of the night. One LPN sat in her corner and read magazines. One RN played on the computer and studied for a class. One RN was agency and kept taking breaks. I had liked it there so far, but...??? I hope I don't have a night like that again for a long time.

Watch your back if they're treating you this way. One problem that I, as a veteran nurse, run into is the fact that you can't let things go undone and people's needs not be met, so you do what is right and meet those needs. - which lends to your own overwork and your co-workers will pick up on this and just let you do your work and theirs too. I'm still not sure how to handle that; approaching the "wrong" person will buy you even tougher assignments, complaining to the nurse manager may or may not do you any good, you can't just NOT take care of a matter when it arises, and you can't say "That's not my job, it's hers (or his)" referring to the nurse who should be caring for this patient. In my case, it's the ER and there are certain nurses who will just let patients sit out in the waiting room until somebody else (me) brings them back to begin care. Yesterday I noticed a patient needed to be brought straight back from triage, an 83 y/o chest painer with a systolic of 247. So I mention this to the nurse who has the cardiac rooms (i had the crotch corner yesterday, and my rooms were all full and had me running ragged) but he ignored me so I had the triage nurse bring him straight back and I went ahead and started his IV and drew his blood, while EKG and XRay came in. I walked out of the patient's room, and offered the blood tubes to the nurse in charge of that room and I was promptly told, "I'm not taking care of him, I'm about to go home" (It was 6:15 pm and I work 11-11, everybody else works 7-7) ---

Just watch your back. Nurses are notorious for making other nurses' lives miserable just to make you want to quit. You can have pride and hang on until you die, or you can take control of your own life and leave on your own if it starts to get too bad.

Be well

Babs

Peggy G

4 Posts

Originally posted by oramar:

Originally posted by bbqchick:

Help! I am a new grad and my co-workers have forgotten what it's like. I'm not sure how this can ethically be done, but I need to hear the stupidest things you experience nurses have done, please.

I have a story for anyone who tends to unsympathtic to people who are students and new hires. About eight years ago I took a new job, the nurse manager greeted me like an old friend and seemed to go out of her way to help me get adjusted to the new place. Later she told me I had been charge nurse on the floor where she was a student. She said that I made a big impression on her and of all the floor nurses she met in clinical I was the kindest and most patient when it came to dealing with dumb student questions and mistakes. Now she was my BOSS, for the next four years she was my manager and they were the best four years of my long career.

Cheer up, realize your own worth...I too was a new grad and I went through all the stuff about how experience is the best teacher....but I found out something interesting......Alot of those " expeienced nurse" had been going alot of things all wrong for years and years....some had not kept up on current practices... and some just thought they knew everything....TAke heart you probably know more right now fresh out of school than alot of the older staff around you. ( they won't tell you that however).

Jenny P

1,164 Posts

Specializes in CV-ICU.

bbqchick, You've said it yourself in this preceding post that the agency nurses say "this is the most hateful unit they have ever worked on." Sometimes, Kiddo, you have to know when to quit. It doesn't make you a poor nurse and it shouldn't shake your self confidence. I think there are some places where the attitude of "eating our young" may be really bad. Quit that unit; it isn't worth it to you to be treated like that. Maybe you need to try working in the outside agency so you can get a feel for several different places, then you could find one that fits you better. This particular unit is only harming you and themselves. You need to think about self-preservation at this time. There are better places in the world; find another area of nursing that feels good for a change.

Constance

2 Posts

Nurses can be mean and cruel to one another and to new grads. It's a fact. We know it. Why don't we stop?

Originally posted by Jenny P:

bbqchick, You've said it yourself in this preceding post that the agency nurses say "this is the most hateful unit they have ever worked on." Sometimes, Kiddo, you have to know when to quit. It doesn't make you a poor nurse and it shouldn't shake your self confidence. I think there are some places where the attitude of "eating our young" may be really bad. Quit that unit; it isn't worth it to you to be treated like that. Maybe you need to try working in the outside agency so you can get a feel for several different places, then you could find one that fits you better. This particular unit is only harming you and themselves. You need to think about self-preservation at this time. There are better places in the world; find another area of nursing that feels good for a change.

mustangsheba

499 Posts

bbqchick: Agree with previous post. Don't waste your energy and your talents with all that negative energy. You're a swan trying to swim around with a bunch of ducks. Find yourself some swans. That's not giving up, it's making a wise decision. I can tell you that after 18 years, I am still charting when everyone else is through, but if I go too fast, you can't read my handwriting. Good luck, chickadee.

wiskey

3 Posts

I also am finishing nusing school (thank God). As a male, I have a story to tell you but one that stands is one morning I was asigned a 345lbs lady who had a gastric bypass 4-days earlier and had not voided yet and the staff were beginning to be concerned and contemplating putting in a catheter. Well that morning I go in her room, introduce myself, and help her get ready for a shower. so far so good. After her shower she was quite tired so she was sitting on the toilet while I helped her dry off and put on an IV gown. Well I have never seen an IV gown before!!! I had this lady sit on the toilet for 20 min while I figured out how this stupid thing went together. I had this lady laugh so hard at my comments during that unforgetfull 20 min she voided, and voided and voided. The lady thanked me for giving her the best laugh in years, the staff laughed so hard after they were told that some had to go to the bathroom and said that I should put my new way to help people void in the care plan. When I left the floor that day they gave me an IV gown to take home so I could make other people "pee their pants". To this day I'm still refer to as the "PEE MAN"! Don't get down on yourself, All the nurses I talk to say we are all human.

Dplear

288 Posts

I remeber once as a new grad....god soooooooo many years ago, i was cleaning a trach wioth my preceptor...the pt proceded to couh up a large juicy mucous plug and hit me right on the cheek...I then immediately turned my head and puked on his chest...thankfully the pt was comatose. my precptor laughed her butt off and that taught me to always keep my head out of the line of fire..

Also I feel that new grads are an important part of nursing....SLAVE LABOR...HAHA not really, but tehy bring fresh iderals into an old field but I also have to say the most dangerous thing in nursing is a new grad who is not smart enough to realize that they do not know everything....and I have found those are the ones who usually had the best grades and were on all the right clubs...they are to self assured if themselves to make a great BEDSIDE nurse. They may make great admin nurses though.....remember the only stupid thing you can do is not know when to ask a question and the only stupid question is the unasked question. and secondly if you do not know the answer never be afraid to say so but learn where to find the answer and DO SO.

babs_rn

346 Posts

Originally posted by bbqchick:

I don't understand why they would want to make me quit. But weird things are happening. The other day, a chart was missing. Knowing that sometimes certain doc's take them to their in-house offices, I decided to finish my current task, and then search for it. Later, when I noticed that the same patient's MAR's were gone, I became concerned. I finally found the MAR's and the kardex stuck in a rack of books in an out-of-the-way corner. The chart was still gone. I began combing over the MAR's and kardex and mysteriously the chart reappears in its place in the rack. Found by a nurse, whom I believe is capable of not so nice things. There were orders from before my shift that had not been noted, as well as new orders, that were about two hours old. I started to wonder if mayber I was losing my mind. I don't sense any overt hostility from the co-workers. They chide me because I am always late on my charting. It's very frustrating and wearing me out, every shift, because I feel like I'm doing a good job, but get behind on the charting. If I stop every instance and chart as I do things, I will get very behind. And no matter how hard I try to get more efficient, it swims away. I don't understand how they can get assessments done so quickly. One LPN gets 7 patients assessed in 15 minutes. Every time I go into a patient's room, they want everything done. They get real irritated if I try to leave without it, like change their bed, fetch things, check on things, listen to a story about this and that they want done. It's always, "And oh honey, there's this thing..." and they ramble on and on. I love the patient's and believe that I am too nice. I get my work done, but am a laughingstock, because the other nurses are taking all kinds of breaks and I'm always working. I always get stuck with the new assistants that are slow and leave a lot of things undone. I really feel like I'm getting the razz. Another new grad, who started when I did, gets things done on time usually. I get care done on time, but not charting. She is so accepted that when she talks about her past as a druggie, or that she didn't get any sleep all night and is tired and muddle headed, or whatever she exclaims, she gets sympathy and acceptance. If I merely mention, that I needed a little more sleep, they all get after me and gossip about how I'm too tired to work. My perfomance is not bad. My attitude is good. I know I'm dang smart. I know more and understand more than the other new grads. I'm just always bogged down. We have a nurse who ridicules other nurses and assistants to certain assistants and those assistants are really getting ugly. They even pull stunts to make the others look bad. When one of those particular assistants is our only one all night, she won't help me. If I say something to her, she gets all huffy and the certain nurse defends her. I feel like I'm losing my mind. The agency nurses tell me that I'm doing a good job and that our unit is one of the most hateful ones they have ever worked at. I'm ready to quit while I'm ahead, but I won't respect myself if I let this get me. I've worked to hard and owe too much. I really don't think it's me, it's kinda like junior high school, where one kid is singled out for abuse for no reason. I was always accepted through out school and escaped all of that. Is this my payback time?

bbqchick, I think it's in Proverbs in the Bible where it says, "Pride goeth before a fall." Get the hell outta dodge. I believe a job is like a relationship - you give it your best shot, but if you get screwed over too many times, you really have to get out for your own sake so you can have something better AND have some self-respect. Just a thought.

Babs

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