Good opportunity...so why the teacher backlash?

[RKRobbins]

Ok...Great news first! I applied to one of our local ED's and was told the job is mine..just pass my NCLEX.

Well ER nursing is something I absolutely love..I love the fast pace, tend to think fast on my feet and I truly think deep down in my gut that this is a good fit for myself. NOW I KNOW I will still have a TON to learn and it won't be roses all the time and it will be difficult but I understand that and totally readily accept the challenge.

Well...I have an instructor who happens to know I interviewed and that it went well. So here lately I swear I think they are upset about it...I have heard backhanded comments about how new grads don't have any business there...and no you don't have to learn that because y'all wont start out in the ED.

First I think by limiting our education bc you don't think we will start there is absolutely ridiculous! I mean emergency care can happen any where in the hospital! I want to learn everything I can and especially while I am still in the "safety" of school, but attitudes like that just kill me! And side note... I came home and figured out exactly what the care should have been for that situation so ha! you can't stop learning...you would think the teacher would encourage it.

I am just absolutely sick of being held to a "professional" standard that my instructor isn't held to aswell. If you don't think I can do it that's fine with me...most of my life I have been told I couldn't do things so it only makes me that much more determined. BUT if you got the kahunas to say some back handed smart mouth comment and giggle about it then why not just come out and say something like a real nurse because like most nurses I don't have time for the bs.

Ok that's my rant...sorry

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

I agree with some things not being touched on in school because most folks don't go into the areas that need some of the more critical stuff.....BUT...

I've been hearing a LOT about the things in school that are blown off because there are other people who do that, getting the task checked off in the lab is "enough", and other examples of what wasn't covered in class that are actually pretty basic skills that are blown off....and I feel really badly that several of you students are getting less than you need to function when you get out on your own. True- you learn a lot by doing after you graduate- but it's not fair that you don't get the essentials (like IV/NG/Foley insertions).

Hats off to you...if this is what you want, go for it...it's the ED's decision- and the others can bite rocks :) They aren't employing you, and have no say. I always advocate for med-surg initially- but if you got the chance, and it's feeling right, the rest can sit on skinny fence posts

[Murse901, MSN, RN]

I'm sure your instructor has the die-hard "everyone needs a year in med/surg" mentality. It's bullcrap. Take the job in ED. You will have a higher learning curve as a new nurse, but you won't regret skipping that year of med/surg.

Besides, if it's good enough for the ED director, it's good enough.

[babyNP., APRN]

Yep, once I finished my last med-surg clinical in the winter of my senior year in nursing school, I never (and hopefully will never) touch an adult ever again.

Got my dream job in the NICU as a new grad and have never looked back.

Good luck in the new job!

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

The easiest way for me to get rid of negative comments is to listen intently, nod a little, and say, "You're probably right about that." Then I can move right on without my blood pressure going up.

It gets easier to do that as you gain experience, especially when the person you're doing it to no longer controls your grade. Hang in there!

[Chico David, BSN, RN]

Just another voice of encouragement: There are certain areas that new grads have traditonally been discouraged from going into: ER, ICU, often Maternity. I do think it's true that the learning curve is steep for a new grad in those areas. But it absolutely can work, provided two elements are there: a highly motivate nurse willing and anxious to spend some time learning on their own and a supportive supervisor and strong mentor/preceptor to help them through the process. I've seen new grads fail in areas like that, and I've seen them succeed very well and be great nurses. I'd discourage the "average" new grad from those areas, but not someone who has what it takes.

[RKRobbins]

Just another voice of encouragement: There are certain areas that new grads have traditonally been discouraged from going into: ER, ICU, often Maternity. I do think it's true that the learning curve is steep for a new grad in those areas. But it absolutely can work, provided two elements are there: a highly motivate nurse willing and anxious to spend some time learning on their own and a supportive supervisor and strong mentor/preceptor to help them through the process. I've seen new grads fail in areas like that, and I've seen them succeed very well and be great nurses. I'd discourage the "average" new grad from those areas, but not someone who has what it takes.

You are exactly right, and I know I have weaknesses but what makes me different is that I identify those as they come along and try my hardest to fix it and be better. I constantly seek as absolutely much nursing and people knowledge that I can possibly get into my head and my heart. I've never been afraid to ask questions and quite frankly that's exactly how I have so many talented nursing friends because of my attitude they want to help me succeed and mentor me, you can learn a ton by listening to their own experiences. And I'm humble, or at least I'd like to think I am, I know dues have to be paid in nursing and not only have the science knowledge down but also learn the art of it aswell. I know I was meant to be a nurse and I honestly love my community and I feel like I have a different connection with them as patients when in it's in a more critical type setting and I like that special connection.

I know I should let these comments this so called nursing instructor makes roll off my back but when you honestly have people who want to learn and aren't concerned with the hourly pay then I think you should appreciate that type of student bc they're becoming rarer. Ughhh makes me mad enough that I want to get my msn and come back as an instructor and prove you don't have to act like that!!!

[merlee]

As a brand-new grad, I started in Neonatal ICU. This was at the hospital where I trained, and the facility only hired their own grads into the ICU's. If you went to a different school you needed at least one year of experience.

I fell in love with NICU during my rotation there, and I suppose I impressed the head nurse, because at least 2 of my classmates also applied, but I was the one hired.

Go for it!!!

[Dalzac, LPN, LVN, RN]

I am so glad I had the instructors on my side in school! I worked as a monitor tech-CCU tech before I went to school and was promised a job when I got out. I went to LPN school and our instructors chose our assignment and Oboy did they give me some doozies. They were all very, very sick. And they were just as hard. Every hospital or clinicals we went to I was usually stuck in some kind of ICU or step down unit. My class mates when we at Childrens Hospital got tonsillectomies and appendectomies. I got babies with multiple deformities, Kids in long term comas, and kids on vents.

Thank God they fine tuned me like they did.

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

Well if you are highly motivated as you obviously are why not give it a try! Usually they give longer orientation programs for ER and ICU as well, just keep your eyes and ears open and soak up all the knowledge you can!

[kool-aide, RN]

control freak with a bad attitude! Plain and simple!

[nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN]

I think a lot of it depends on where you get your education and what level of ER you'll be working in. I thank God every day that I was a LPN before I went into my ADN program, because we were literally fighting over patients that needed foleys, NGTs, etc. If you had a good program where you had a lot of hands on clinical experience, I can't understand her attitude. If you had one like ours, where good clinical experiences were rare, I'd be worried about turning out an unprepared student into a situation where their lack of knowledge /experience would be so immediately evident. Nothing to do with you or your skills, but I've seen teachers not want students to go into critical areas because it would look bad on the teacher when the student wasn't prepared.