Had a realy bad experiance, need some advice.

[nur2009se]

i'm in a little bit of a funk right now and needed some advice its a long story but i need to get it out.... i just passed boards for my rn in december and did very well, i did well through school and had great relationships with my instructors. i recently accepted a rn position at a ltc facility, a condition of the position was that i completed a orientation for the lpn position before they started me on the orientation for the rn position, it was supposed to be about a 2-3 month orientation but it was supposed to be "tailored to my needs". it sounded odd to me but i accepted it because i have never been employed in the healthcare field before and i understood needing to know how to perform the lpn duties if i were to be supervising them. my first day was a 4 hour day of watching movies, and the 2nd consisted of me shadowing a lpn. the next week i was on the same cart and the lpn had me do fingersticks and the afternoon med. pass while she was present. for the rest of the week she had me do the passes, without being with me, and when i started taking too long for the pass she would take over and finish, so the meds wern't over the alotted time. there was no advice given, preceptor, or instructions at all....the next week was the same way, only with a different nurse on the same unit (we had 20, + or - a few, patients per lpn). the first day of the third week i was pulled off the unit i was orienting to, and instructed to cover a lpn's afternoon pass because she went home early. i did the pass but i let them know i was uncomfortable before doing it, and they just said oh you'll be okay and gave me the keys. the next day i was expecting to go back to my first unit, but they floated me again and had me cover the same lpn whole shift, i was scared out of my mind. no one had given me any instructions on anything, and i had never had 19 pts. to do treatments, meds, and notes on before and had no clue on what paperwork i had to do for this shift. on top of it i had a representative from the pharmacy observing my pass. even with all the nervousness, and overwhelming feelings, i was trying to do the best i could and managed to pick out a sliding scale that began "0-151: 2 units" . needless to say when i went in the next day, after crying when i went home, the lady from the pharmacy had written me up for about 8 different things. the don pulled me into her office, in front of another employee who shared an office with her and went down the list: using hand sanitizer for more that 3 pts., using had sanitizer after degloving after eye drops instead of washing my hands, not having applesauce on my cart, not ordering a liquid form of potassium for a pt. who had difficulty swallowing, not closing a curtain for a lidoderm patch, giving calcium and iron at the same time, giving miacalcin in both nostrils, like the mar said to do, and taking over the the time allowed to give meds. (i went 1 1/2 hours over). before i could even say anything, the don started with "i know my nurses didn't train you like this"..... i didn't even know how to reply. i just told her that i was doing everything to the best of my ability, that i was overwhelmed, and i came in early today to find a way to organize my time better. she proceeded to ask me what my goals were and i said i wanted to get to the point where i could do the weekend incentive program for her facility and that i wanted to go into icu later on. she ripped back at me with " i don't believe you are in no way fit to handle the icu at this time if at all, not if you can't handle this...if anything i recommend you go to a dr's office and start there so you can know the basics of nursing." then i was advised to go home for a few days, review medication administration techniques and cdc guidelines and return the following monday. i'm a difficult person to break down, but at that point i felt worthless... i went home did as she said, cried a little bit and returned to work the following monday. i was so nervous, when i went back she told me to go back to the unit i started on i was put with the lpn i started with and told that she was to give me no instructions and i was to do the whole pass by myself and strictly observed. right before my pass i was given the medication administration policy book but not alloted to time to review it, i was told well review it when we get a chance ( which never came). after my shift was over i was sent to the don's office and asked why my pass took me so long today, i stated that i have to check the med more than the other nurses because i'm not used to them and i want to make sure their right ( and i wanted to say i wash my hands for a full minute and every time, but i didn't) and i was told that "her nurses do do their checks on their meds". instead of arguing i let her speak her mind and just felt degraded this time i was told "i've spoken with you instructors and they said you were a very bright girl, and you might be, but some times people with even the most book smarts don't have any common sense, did you ever think that "floor nursing" isn't something cut out for you there are jobs out there that might fit your personality a little better." at that point i was done, and i quit listening, and at the end of the conversation i was told that i could come back to work when i completed a pharmacology refresher course. i'm not going to talk about all the things that i seen going on "wrong" in the facility, done by the nurses who were training me because my post is long enough and they just taught me what not to do. but i feel as though all the things i were written up for should be proof of how things are being ran in the facility because that was how i was trained, i a even changed things up a bit because i know that the way they showed me was wrong. i don't let people get to me like this usually, i've lived a difficult life and i have a thick hide because of it. i'm only 23 and i busted my butt getting through school with two kids, and still graduated with honors. i couldn't have done everything i did, and have been told i did it that well, for me to have chosen the "wrong" profession. when i was in school, as hard as it was, i loved going to clinicals, i love being able to make someone smile or feel comfort when their having difficult times. i love being able to talk to my pts. and i love the empathy that i share with them. i've been on the other side of things, i know what its like to have a "mean" person trying to take care of you when your in that much pain and thats whole reason i came into nursing. i wanted to be that one person to make that one difference in someones day. every time i walk into a room, no matter how hard my day has been, i smile at my pt. and i give them an opportunity to tell me how their day is. and now i feel like i don't know where i stand, any input is good input. i am putting my resignation letter in tomorrow, now i just feel like i'm walking away with my tail between my legs and i don't know where to go next.

[caliotter3]

By the time I read half of your post I had concluded that you got a raw deal and were in a no win situation. They wanted somebody to beat up on and you were the latest candidate. This is a perfect example of nurses eating their young. Nothing that you described fell out of the realm of someone new to the job. If you would have been properly precepted, your questions would have been answered and all of those "mistakes" would have been straightened out. Instead they put you down. Look for a job somewhere else and be glad to be out of there.

[donsterRN, ASN, BSN]

I agree. You've been treated very poorly by the very people who should be supporting you. I'm so sorry. Your environment sounds toxic, and I'd move heaven and hell to get out of there and into another facility where you can be properly precepted. Good luck to you.

[•M♥J•]

I'm not even in nursing school yet and I can tell you that you were treated very unfairly by people who should have been there for you to guide the way. No matter how much education you have, everyone has to get at least some training on the job. Run like the wind, girl! And feel free to omit that place from your resume!

[jillebean]

I'm so sorry you're dealing with that. I agree, get out of there!!! It's nothing you did wrong...it's a weird situation. You can make it, and everything happens for a reason. Find somewhere that you feel appreciated. You have NOTHING to be ashamed of!!

[nur2009se]

Thank all of you guy's for your support, I've been looking into everyone's experiences on here today and don't really see information on what a typical orientation is like. At the least, I've seen people post that their hospital orientations were 4 weeks long, and they wern't evaluated until it was over. 12 days into my "orientation" just seemed way to early, even if they were teaching me properly, to be covering another persons shift and to be evaluated at the same time. I may sound naive for this, but how long should an orientation be before I'm by myself at all? I'm just new to this, the only two jobs I've had before this were a house keeping position and an administrative assistant position for a construction company, I don't even really know what my expectations should be. Was it normal, or understandable for me to even be oriented as and LPN?

[NurseThis21, BSN, RN]

Hi there!

It seems as if you've been introduced to the wonderful world of nursing. NOT!!!! That is definitely not how you're supposed to be oriented to a new position. It looks like your supervisor just wanted to up the employee census so that they wouldn't have dangerously low staffing. What I've heard from friends as well as my own experience, no matter where you work as a nurse, if you're just starting out, they should have someone work with you from day one and help you remember the basics, get acquainted with the intermediate, and excel with the advanced. It takes at least 1-2 years before you're comfortable as a nurse, so your orientation should reflect at least some preparation. And if you don't feel comfortable at the end of the orientation, then it's their responsibility to make sure that you continue to get the proper teaching. No one should be left with a wet match in a dark cave!

As for myself, I've been given a 2 1/2 month orientation (I work as a Psych RN) and in between those few months are sporadic days where I can review with my preceptor and clarify anything that is still confusing. The preceptor should be there to help you become quicker, more intuitive, and more confident. I know that most facilities are suffering financially and can only give a certain amount of orientation time, but if they don't have the resources or personnel to help you out, then there's no need for them to even entice new grads with the job opening.

If I were you, I'd take this as a sign to start searching for something better. Thank goodness you haven't encountered any major errors while at work and your license is still safe. Use the intuition you already have inside and if you don't feel comfortable with where you are, then you shouldn't be there. Use your time wisely at a facility that will spend time with you, follow you through your progress, and ensure that you feel comfortable where you are. I know that it's rather difficult to get a job right now, but just keep your fingers crossed and look forward to a much more rewarding, and most importantly, SAFER career!

I wish you all the luck and hopefully, in a few years, you can look back on this experience and laugh! Don't let a few crummy people get you down. If anything, get stronger from this and realize that you are much better off at a new place!

Goof Luck!

[caliotter3]

To orient you as an LPN was meant to humiliate you and put you on the defensive from the get go. I first thought that they were doing it to justify paying you as an LPN instead of as an RN. In no facility have I seen an RN treated this way, and we had people right out of school. Some of them were afraid to go near their assignment, they were so new and out of it. But they were accorded the respect of being an RN. You can learn the LPN job from the vantage point of RN. Putting you in the LPN role was a surefire way to set you up for disrespect from your coworkers, making it difficult, if not impossible to supervise them when you did take over the RN role. That is, if you were ever going to get there. Clearly, you were never going to make it to the RN job and there was no intention for that to happen. Don't waste much time over this. Approach job hunting as if this never happened. And I agree, leave it off your resume. Do not give that DON the opportunity to ruin your job prospects. Not everyone is like her.

[letsseehere]

Wow. Run.

[RNOkie]

Run..run hard, run fast, run like the wind and get the heck out Dodge. The fact that you came back after the first day speaks volumes about your character; either that or you are really glutton for punishment. (just teasing). Some facilities are a cess-pool and it sounds like you fell right into it. Just know that is NOT a normal practice; don't only resign, but tell admin to stick it you know where and never look back. Please don't allow this horrible first job ruin your view of nursing as a whole. It can be a very rewarding career, but it's not all wine and roses. Be ready for short-staffing, disgruntled patients, families and doctors, long shifts and lots of back biting. Sounds like you've got big shoulders and can handle yourself well, however.

Also, one tid-bit of advice for future employment...if they pay better than most surrounding facilities, there is usually a reason why.

Good Luck

[HollyHobby]

Your orientation should last exactly as long as it takes for you to be ready to function independently. This place sounds like a deathtrap, girl. Get out of there and into a place where your education and skills are needed and appreciated!

[JenniferSews]

I agree, RUN! They set you up to fail, and then belittled and berated you with when they succeeded. Good luck in your next position.