The first year..

Nurses General Nursing

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Some other threads have me thinking about the expectation of the first years out of nursing school compared to med and law school and the like.

Now I'm not saying I didn't do the same thing myself but can you imagine a new Dr or lawyer (and maybe they do because I don't frequent their online forums) complaining about the long hours, lack of moral support and accolades of encouragement with any sort of surprise or expectation that it was going to be a more pleasant experience initially?

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Specializes in Management, Med/Surg, Clinical Trainer.

Any new job transition [let alone a new career transition] is a stressful situation for any person. It takes time to learn the needed skills and culture of the facility.

I would be VERY surprised if new Docs or Lawyers did not complain or feel overwhelmed. Hopefully, they have a forum such as this to talk about it.

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Actually that was the point I was trying to make, they tend to get their asses kicked, but I think it's more expected with less indignancy (or better word) than what I've read from reports here.

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Specializes in ER.

So, you are saying that nurses are a bunch of whiners compared to the more 'prestigious' professions?

I know I do see some silly posts here from, what I assume are younger people. "I'm freaking out after the NCLEX, sweating bullets! I can't sleep! I tried the PVT trick, I'm not sure if it works! I'm gonna have to wait for the quick results! I'm dying here!"

Is that what you're talking about?

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THE ALL CAPS AND !!!! LOL.

I don't mean to say whiners as much as maybe naive for what they're in for.

Posts about preceptors would be an example. It would be great to have an awesome preceptor that was a good personality fit, but considering the job climate, I guess I'm inclined to say buck up butter cup, though I don't mean that in a snarky way but more in a hey, nursing is HARD, chances of your orientation being a pleasant experience isn't realistic.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Initial years of 'baby lawyers' are frequently very brutal as they are forced to produce an extreme amount of 'billable hours', but you're right.... this is pretty much an expectation. Physicians actually undergo their intro 'hazing' as part of their educational process (interns, residents, etc) rather than afterward. I think the biggest difference is that they are a much more homogenous group - all required to meet the same entry requirements and following the same general pathway to professional practice rather than the "Chinese Menu" options in nursing.

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THE ALL CAPS AND !!!! LOL.

I don't mean to say whiners as much as maybe naive for what they're in for.

Posts about preceptors would be an example. It would be great to have an awesome preceptor that was a good personality fit, but considering the job climate, I guess I'm inclined to say buck up butter cup, though I don't mean that in a snarky way but more in a hey, nursing is HARD, chances of your orientation being a pleasant experience isn't realistic.

Nursing can be hard and I knew that but in my second job as a nurse I had a preceptor who made comments to me such as, "oh I didn't know you could walk fast" and constantly asking if I was trying to get her fired when I asked questions about why she did things a certain way. She and her friends were downright mean. They still are sometimes and I don't care, but as newer nurses---this is what we are complaining about. I don't expect it to be easy but I do expect it to be civil.

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Specializes in PDN; Burn; Phone triage.

Plenty of other professions *****. Have you seen the online forums dedicated to medical students and residents?

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