Worried that experienced nurse may know nothing

Nurses General Nursing

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We have hired a nurse with 10 yrs experience where I work. I orientated her last week (atleast I tried too). During my first med pass all she did was sit at the nurses station and read a book. She kept disappearing and such. I went to her and said, "don't you want to come with me on these rounds so that you can learn who the kids are and about their meds and such and what you can and can not do?" She said, "nah, I'll do it second med pass." :nono: Well during second med pass I caught her on several med errors (now keep in mind, I've only been a nurse 3 months) that involved seriously needed meds. (Seizure)(Narcotic) Well, I found out last night that when she trained with another nurse the night before she did the same thing. Well, tonight she is back and she's on her own. We (the other nurse) are freaking scared to death for our kids. Her comment was "I've been doing this for 10 yrs!" In my opinion, "WHO FREAKING CARES!!!! " She don't know these kids. She's never worked with kids that can go from stable to 'DEAD' in the blink of an eye. No one will be able to watch her tonight. What if she forgets their sz meds again? There are sooooo many things that can go wrong in a heartbeat. I've been there 3 months and I still worry something will happen with my kiddos. Are we justified in being concerned? :uhoh21:

Oh, come come, mattsmom...we all know that never happens! It's always the "older nurses" who are to blame for everything!

(Thanks, because I was thinking the same thing. Here we go again with another thread about ratting out a fellow nurse. I said it before, I am starting to be afraid of the new nurses out there...seems like there's a bounty on bagging older nurses.)

I'm sorry you feel that way, but thank God the "older" nurse that oriented her the DAY AFTER I did had the exact same problem. Although, she did tell the preceptor "i've been a nurse for 10 yrs, i know how to pass meds" Well, her first night on the floor, and her 1st med pass took 7 1/2 hours!!!! she never made her 2nd one. Where's the meds? Giving them all at once? Not giving them? Well, the nurse on duty with me that night and I were really upset. I went into work early the next day and went to the DON's office and told her EVERYTHING!!!

The DON was shocked needless to say. I haven't seen either of them since 2 days ago. hmmm... there was a note that we have a MANDATORY...YOU'RE JOB DEPENDS ON IT meeting Friday at 1600. Nursing only. Wondering what that is all about... Well, sorry if ya'll thought I was "out to eat my elders" :chuckle (instead of my young) that's not the case at all. I respect older nurses...younger than me or older...they are more experienced than I and I can learn ALOT from them...

Well, thanks for answering the post guys...again, I'm sorry if i offended anyone by ya'll thinking i was just nickpicking on an older nurse. :o

P.S. the other nurses and nurse aides all wrote statements about how rude she was to the aides and yelling at them and refusing to do certain aspects of her job with orientation and all...so atleast now it won't look like I've "got an ax to grind" which is one reason I was afraid to say anything to the DON, because I AM A NEW NURSE and would not be taken seriously.

I always tell my students: never assume that because someone has a nursing license that they know their butt from a hole in the ground.

Report all unsafe nurses pronto! Your kids are counting on you to be their advocate!

Wow. I thought that you were just a new nurse to that facility, not a new grad. You are orienting with 3 months of nursing experience? Wow. Just wow. Imagine the census of your facility if that info had to be posted for families to read. :crying2:

I don't think I would call this orienting or precepting. It sounds like the New nurse is just following whomever is giving meds on her shift. Of course I might be wrong. At my hospital the orientation/preceptor relationship is you work the experienced nurses ( the same nurse ) shift for x number of weeks. Sounds like DON expected a 10 year experienced nurse to already know her stuff and she is just having an informal orientation.

*** sidenote: I remember from my ped's rotation that we were told ped nurses are the most possessive nurses to work with. They get very focused on their patients and they do not like anyone else fooling with them and not to take it personal. We didn't do anything with our peds unless we s/w the nurse first. If my child was so fragile I would want a focused, on top of it nurse on our side. I think we need to forget about whether the nurse in question is new or old and just concentrate on the info given. I look at each work day as an opportunity to help someone and learn something new. :)

I think that some here may be trying to discredit this LVN just because she's a new nurse, thereby trying to make her opinions null. Just an impression I'm getting. Would folks say the same about an experienced nurse orienting an experienced nurse? Is the LVN's experience really relevant in this situation? Besides, this "10-year" nurse didn't seem to want to learn much from the more experienced nurses on the unit.

I think that saying the LVN is inexperienced is drawing attention away from the real problem--that this "10-year" nurse is probably dangerous. What is the point of drawing attention away from the LVN's actual concern? The focus is on the "10-year" nurse, not the LVN.

As far as "ratting" anyone out... I think it's not "ratting out," I think it's being responsible. If you want to keep your license and keep your patients safe, you report what you see that you feel could endanger the patients.

Specializes in ER.
I'd like to see specifically what this new RN did that was so extreme, sans the drama. I can't assume all she accuses this nurse of is true until I hear more about what's really going on.

She sat at the desk reading a book on her first day of orientation... :uhoh21:

I always tell my students: never assume that because someone has a nursing license that they know their butt from a hole in the ground.

Report all unsafe nurses pronto! Your kids are counting on you to be their advocate!

Oh my oh my. No wonder so many young nurses critique the seasoned nurses.

I get very irked by threads here criticizing other nurses. Its unprofessional to do it here and childish IMO. To be truthful the OP lost my attention after the title "experienced nurse knows NOTHING" which is a gross exageration from the getgo.....

If you are working with someone who is not picking up, or you have concerns about their practice...talk to them!! find out where they're coming from...explain your POV and be clear about standards. Remember a new nurse may be nervous even if she's been a nurse 20 years, she is NEW to this job.

Concerns that do not improve must then go to the manager (or through the appropriate hoops of the facility)

This whole thread seemed a gossippy, 'crowing' self congratulation...'look at this awful nurse I found. (gasp)

Sad so many nurses have come to this. Too many gossip and talk behind backs (and on BB's) instead of each other, and 'eat' each other to make themselves feel better. :(

Ok lecture done. :rolleyes:

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Oh my oh my. No wonder so many young nurses critique the seasoned nurses.

I get very irked by threads here criticizing other nurses. Its unprofessional to do it here and childish IMO. To be truthful the OP lost my attention after the title "experienced nurse knows NOTHING" which is a gross exageration from the getgo.....

If you are working with someone who is not picking up, or you have concerns about their practice...talk to them!! find out where they're coming from...explain your POV and be clear about standards. Remember a new nurse may be nervous even if she's been a nurse 20 years, she is NEW to this job.

Concerns that do not improve must then go to the manager (or through the appropriate hoops of the facility)

This whole thread seemed a gossippy, 'crowing' self congratulation...'look at this awful nurse I found. (gasp)

Sad so many nurses have come to this. Too many gossip and talk behind backs (and on BB's) instead of each other, and 'eat' each other to make themselves feel better. :(

Ok lecture done. :rolleyes:

I agree. therefore I am closing it pending dicussion/cooling off. I think we are getting a bit off track. And I apologize, as I was part of it. I do, however, stand by my advice for documentation. You should have in place tools for this---such as occurence and/or variance reporting. You also have some other options you MUST consider:

If you have problem with a coworker, it's generally the best and most professional thing to address that person in private, diplomatically---if at all possible. Failing that, after you have addressed the individual, seeking assistance from your manager and going up the chain, as well as accurately and objectively documenting such things---- are my next best pieces of advice.

Good luck. Be professional; if possible, address the person with whom the problem exists or your unit manager--- and try to work something out.

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