Help me with my project on New Grads! Please!

April13RN · Apr 9, 2010

1. What type of education program did you complete? BSN, ASN, Second degree, etc.

4 year BSN

2. When did you graduate and how long have you been working?

Graduated May 2009, passed NCLEX first time in August 2009, started first nursing position March 2010

3. Current position and goals for the future. grad school, specialty?

RN at a school for autistic children doing their meds and daily assessments

4. Tell me a little about your orientation. How long was it? Was it structured? Did you feel like you were just thrown in?

When I started we didn't have a supervisor and there was no official orientation it was just kind of learn as you go, luckily I have great co-workers that are willing to teach and answer any questions.

5. What were the biggest challenges you faced in orientation? when you got on the unit alone?

Biggest challenge; realizing that all documentation is my responsibility and that there is no preceptor to double check and make sure that I signed and documented in all the right places.

6. Biggest suprises?

Biggest surprise; the amount of staff that I treat for injuries from the students.

7. Did your educational training adequately prepare for the "real world"?

It prepared me somewhat but most of my learning has been taking place at my job.

8. Something you wish you had been told while you were in school?

People make mistakes, it's not the end of the world just learn from it and move on.

9. Were more experienced nurses helpful and receptive to your questions? what about the doctors?

My co-workers are great I work on a team of four nurses and luckily they were receptive to having a new grad.

10. Any advice for new grads?

Accept that you will be learning for a long time and try not to take any advice/criticism personally, most of the time people are just trying to help you learn.

Ace587RN, RN · Apr 9, 2010

Hi everyone,

I am a student in an accelerated 2nd degree BSN program at Georgetown University and I am working on a small project on the experiences of new grads. I'm looking for some opinions, from new grads as well as more experienced nurses and would appreciate anyone that is able to answer some questions. Feel free to PM me. Anonymous.

1. What type of education program did you complete? BSN, ASN, Second degree, etc.

BSN degree

2. When did you graduate and how long have you been working?

May 2009, been working for 2 months

3. Current position and goals for the future. grad school, specialty?

I work in Med Surg and planning to get into the military

4. Tell me a little about your orientation. How long was it? Was it structured? Did you feel like you were just thrown in?

Orientation was 9 weeks. It was decent cant complain

5. What were the biggest challenges you faced in orientation? when you got on the unit alone?

Prioritization of my tasks

6. Biggest suprises?

Its not what they told you in school :mad:

7. Did your educational training adequately prepare for the "real world"?

Maybe :lol2:

8. Something you wish you had been told while you were in school?

I wish i was told to get a job as a tech earlier

9. Were more experienced nurses helpful and receptive to your questions? what about the doctors?

They were very nice to me. The doctors were cool too

10. Any advice for new grads?

Do a lot of stuff while looking for employment that'll make that resume good like ACLS, any certifications. Like get a job in any in the mean time. Volunteer a lot!. Be involved in any professional organizations

Any questions you can answer would be great! Would also love to hear from ANY nurse relating their new grad experience to compare experience across time.

Thanks!

Jessica

Quidam · Apr 10, 2010

Hi everyone,

I am a student in an accelerated 2nd degree BSN program at Georgetown University and I am working on a small project on the experiences of new grads. I'm looking for some opinions, from new grads as well as more experienced nurses and would appreciate anyone that is able to answer some questions. Feel free to PM me. Anonymous.

1. What type of education program did you complete? BSN, ASN, Second degree, etc.

ADN

2. When did you graduate and how long have you been working?

I graduated in December 09. I have been working since January 4, 2010.

3. Current position and goals for the future. grad school, specialty?

I work in the short-stay unit that is an extension of the ED. We have tele and med/surg patients, we do potent drips, and we run an infusion clinic out of our area.

4. Tell me a little about your orientation. How long was it? Was it structured?

Did you feel like you were just thrown in?

My official orientation spanned 8 weeks. I had class almost every Thursday. EKG interpretation, ACLS, 12 Lead EKG class, Potent Drips class, ABG interpretation class, and an infusion class. The actual preceptorship was one on one with my nurse and I progressed at my own pace and was not forced to do anything I was unsure of or uncomfortable with. A very new nurse friendly environment with almost every other nurse on the floor willing to answer questions or jump in and help. The environment made my preceptorship a wonderful experience. I got really lucky from what I hear from other nurses.

I would say it was structured, I knew my schedule, I knew my preceptor and it was the same one with the exception of maybe 3 days here and there. And that proved valuable so I could see how other nurses worked and helped me to realize I could deviate from one set way of doing things. I never felt like I was thrown out there. I had and still have great support from other nurses. Someone is always coming and asking me how I am doing and if I need anything. Even the charge nurses.

5. What were the biggest challenges you faced in orientation? when you got on the unit alone?

My biggest challenge while in orientation was understanding all the paperwork involved in admissions and discharges. How these were generated and where all the paperwork went after a patient left. One of the few drawbacks to having extremely helpful coworkers...my paperwork would always just magically appear in my hands at the appropriate times.

After being on the unit alone my biggest challenge has been time management.

6. Biggest suprises?

How jaded some nurses are. I mean I understand the shine has worn off, but I have seen some outright callousness too. We can't change the patients or their circumstances, or why some do the things they do to themselves...but we can at least moderate our reactions to them.

7. Did your educational training adequately prepare for the "real world"?

No...I don't think so. But I served an externship, again at a really student friendly hospital. I was able to work in a variety of settings: PACU, ED, ICU, Tele, etc. This experience did more to teach me real world than did school.

8. Something you wish you had been told while you were in school?

How incompetent we can still feel during and post orientation...but that this is normal and reassure us that it gets better. Better to know to expect those feelings, than be blindsided.

9. Were more experienced nurses helpful and receptive to your questions? what about the doctors?

The nurses were, absolutely. The doctors...not so much helpful, but I have not had anyone be rude to me when I was asking a question or when I did not understand something...not yet anyway.

10. Any advice for new grads?

Do not go into a situation with an air of superiority. Yes, you are fresh out of school...probably still remember a bunch of facts that more experienced nurses have forgotten...but do not underestimate what they know and what experience has taught them. One of the major complaints I have heard from the nurses I work with is the new grads coming in thinking they know everything.

Also, don't forget your basics, the fundamentals from your early classes. Everything comes down to the basics. The later classes consume our minds, the facts and values, the processes and procedures. Remember to "see" your patient, put your hands on your patient. Assess your patient, not the monitors.

Any questions you can answer would be great! Would also love to hear from ANY nurse relating their new grad experience to compare experience across time.

Thanks!

Jessica

jbee · Apr 13, 2010

1. What type of education program did you complete? BSN, ASN, Second degree, etc.

BScN- This was my first degree.

2. When did you graduate and how long have you been working?

I graduated in late May 2009 and I have been working since June 1st 2009.

3. Current position and goals for the future. grad school, specialty? I currently work as a staff nurse in general surgery at a large teaching hospital. I hope to continue in surgery for a few years and eventually transfer to MSICU.

4. Tell me a little about your orientation. How long was it? Was it structured? Did you feel like you were just thrown in? My orientation was eight weeks long. The first week consisted of classroom learning. I also had the opportunity to see some common procedures performed. Unfortunately, about three weeks into my orientation, my preceptor ended up leaving due to illness. After that, I was orientated by 6-7 different RNs- it was VERY confusing. Each preceptor had a different teaching technique and a different way of doing things- although it was good to see how other RNs organize their day, problem solve, etc. I found it very stressful. Also, because I was being bounced around so much, I found that my orientation wasn't very structured- everything felt different every day. In the end, I didn't end up feeling like I was just "thrown in." By the time I was done orientation I felt ready to be on my own.

5. What were the biggest challenges you faced in orientation? when you got on the unit alone? As previously mentioned, one of my biggest challenges during orientation was having so many preceptors- I felt like I was constantly being told that I was doing something wrong as I was constantly being told, "OH, so-and-so taught you that, but this is how it *should* be done." Throughout orientation I also had a hard time with time management. When I started working alone, I found the following things challenging: time management, being assertive (ie. with doctors, more experienced RNs), and delegating tasks.

6. Biggest suprises? I work in a teaching hospital- we constantly have new residents coming in. Whenever I call to get an order for a drug, a lot of them will say, "okay, what do people normally order?" I never knew how to answer! I was also surprised at how supportive my fellow nurses were- I expected that the more experienced ones would "eat their young" but the majority of them have been very willing to answer my questions and pass on advice. I'm still shocked at how much paperwork we have to do- I feel like I'm constantly writing.

7. Did your educational training adequately prepare for the "real world"? No way! I wasn't prepared for how busy I would be, the stress I would face, the long shifts, night shifts, etc.

8. Something you wish you had been told while you were in school? That I would encounter so many rude patients! And that I would make mistake after mistake after mistake. And that some days you'll end up crying in the staff room- and that's okay too!

9. Were more experienced nurses helpful and receptive to your questions? what about the doctors? It completely depended on the person. Some doctors and nurses were receptive to questions, while others were not. I ended up figuring out who was the most receptive to questions and went straight to them if I had any concerns.

10. Any advice for new grads? Take it one day at a time, don't sweat the small stuff (ie. if one of your patients doesn't get washed up until suppertime, that's FINE- some days you have bigger fish to fry!), don't worry about making mistakes (everyone does! including meds!), and don't be afraid of asking questions. If you wind up in a job you hate, start to look elsewhere. Don't be afraid of doctors- they're human, too!

LifelongDream · Apr 15, 2010

1. What type of education program did you complete? Second Degree BSN

2. When did you graduate and how long have you been working? Graduated August 2009, Started working August 2009

3. Current position and goals for the future. grad school, specialty? Currently work in Pediatrics. Goals for Future? Actually, I am planning to return to teaching school in August. Bedside nursing in the hospital has not worked out well with my obligations to my three kids. I will continue to work PRN to keep my license and skills, but I can't stay where I am now.

4. Tell me a little about your orientation. How long was it? Was it structured? Did you feel like you were just thrown in? My orientation was 6 weeks. I had a checklist showing what I needed to master. I felt mildly prepared. I think it's impossible to feel like you are comfortable with everything. At first, everyone was supportative and willing to help (on days) and when i transferred to nights, my charge nurse was not as knowledgable as I had hoped she would be and this leaves me worried every night that something will occur that she/I won't know how to handle.

5. What were the biggest challenges you faced in orientation? when you got on the unit alone? Starting IV's!!! In pedi, it's a whole other monster. See comments above.

6. Biggest suprises? During clinicals, I trusted my preceptor and knew that I always had her as a resource if I didn't feel comfortable doing something. Once I got on my unit for orientation, I was on days with very knowledgable staff. I continued to feel fairly comfortable knowing that I would have someone to help if I was in a bind. Now that I'm on nights with my inexperienced charge nurse, I'm scared silly. It's just now occuring to me that situations may arise that she/I may not know how to handle. This could lead to civil/criminal liability. I realize that because of my lack of knowledge, I could miss something in my assessment and a baby/child could be permanently injured. As a teacher, I never doubted my ability to do a great job. In nursing, I'm not even remotely comfortable and constantly worry about what I may have missed. My quality of life after work stinks because I'm constantly tired after working nights. So, so, so disappointed!!!! :crying2:

7. Did your educational training adequately prepare for the "real world"? There's no possible way that you can become a competent nurse in a 12 month program. In school, they simply introduce you to a little bit about everything, but you don't truly master it until you apply it while working.

8. Something you wish you had been told while you were in school? You may end up on a floor where you don't have experienced nurses to help you....

9. Were more experienced nurses helpful and receptive to your questions? what about the doctors?See previous comments. Doctors: I work at a teaching hospital and the attendings are wonderful about answering my questions. Love it!!!!

10. Any advice for new grads? If this is something that you've always dreamed of doing, go for it. You won't know if it's right for you until you try it.

Any questions you can answer would be great! Would also love to hear from ANY nurse relating their new grad experience to compare experience across time.

Thanks!

Jessica