HELP New Hospital Educator

[JGuz]

Hi all,

I am a new nurse educator with all Emergency Department experience but I am now educator for the floors, ICU, and a extended care facility. I am working with a well seasoned educator whom at times I feel just puts all my ideas down. She constantly says how the ED is not filled with brilliant people and how we do not work with any of the ED nurses. However, soon after she will make a comment saying how they desperately needs one.

So instead of helping me facilitate the ED education she has me taking over the orientation week duties (which she was in charge of) and doing diabetes education (she is a certified DM educator). I am also "rounding" on the floors because she is too busy in the ICU (she was a ICU nurse for 20yrs) or she is busy doing her "rounding". I never worked with a educator who rounds on the units to see how the nurses are and PCT's. I think it is a great thing to do but I am so new no one wants to ask me for help and often times the nurses just ignore I am even there. It is completely discouraging for me to even be there.

Towards the end of the day she will complain saying she is so busy and that she didn't get a chance to do anything. I on the other hand am completely bored out of my mind trying to find something/anything to do. When I ask her why shes so busy and if I can help I am given tasks she doesn't want to do or am told that there is just so much she doesn't even know where to begin.

I feel like I am her personal assistant and given junk she dose not want to do. When I try to be a team player and give suggestions for improvement I am shot down right away and told to just round on the floors. I want to quit but I am so new and really want the experience. I know she is not my boss but it seems discouraging for me to even bring suggestions to my boss. Any help is seriously appreciated on how I can work with this to make it positive.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Who is your actual "boss"? Can you approach him or her and discuss that you are feeling a little out of sorts and disorganized in your orientation process? If you are a brand new educator without hospital educator experience, you really need a more proctored approach to tackling your job. It sounds like the seasoned educator isn't very good at orienting other educators or at least not inexperienced ones. You don't need to say that, only to discuss with your boss and request feedback.

I have encountered the same barriers when making suggestions on improving things. I think people who have been somewhere a long time get very invested in their processes. Sometimes it is because they know things we don't, such as regulatory requirements. Other times it is because the work to make the change is more than the benefit of the change. Sometimes it is because they just plain don't want you showing them up. It is hard to speak to the motivation of your preceptor right now, but discussing your concerns with your boss without actually putting down the educator you are working with would be a good place to start. Good luck!