How to grow as a nurse? (LVN)

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I am three weeks into my job at an SNF. It's small with a census under 30. It has been going okay as my responsibility is med pass (for now). My facility is understanding as I came from a pandemic class that had zero hands-on clinical experience. I am learning my meds. I am familiarizing myself with my patients. Although I still find myself not knowing what to do. If someone has chest pain what do I do? If they're aspirating, what do I do? These examples are standard/simple. Yet somehow I feel like I don't know. I feel inadequate as a nurse. Nothing from nursing school feels like it lingers in my brain. I feel so lost. I am never alone on my shifts yet. They want to make sure a senior nurse is in the building with me for now, but sooner or later they'll start leaving me alone to make the calls. I know how to do SBAR, head to toe, etc. It's just actually applying it to real world and having to do it for my first time feels strange. My mind goes blank. I know people will probably chew me out in the post and tell me I should know better. I am trying !!

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Start consulting your resources.

  • Policies at your workplace
  • Review with senior nurse(s) at your workplace
  • Your textbooks, or especially a good med-surg/fundamentals text if you don't have one
  • BLS (Basic life support for healthcare providers)
  • Familiarize self with the patients' plans of care at your facility
  • Youtube/apps
  • Web-searching your questions
  • Advocating for yourself in your workplace:
    • Since they seem sympathetic to your situation, you could talk with your DON and see if there are any additional resources which might be possible. Be flexible and creative--even regular,  set-aside times with an experienced nurse who can review some basics would be helpful. Can a staff member meet with you even 30 mins a week, for example?
    • Would they allow you to come in and observe other nurses (this would be especially helpful for things like treatments, wound care, dressing changes, setting up enteral feedings, ostomy care, etc., etc.)
    • Requesting additional orientation before being alone in the facility (that is to say, kindly stating that you feel it is imperative that you have additional orientation before being left alone)

 

8 hours ago, abndntqn17 said:

I know people will probably chew me out in the post and tell me I should know better. I am trying !!

People know that students were in a bad position. It was/is very unfortunate for you. Negative sentiment generally isn't personal; it stems from the fact that these circumstances are also extremely unfortunate for patients...and patients are our first concern as nurses.

It's good that you recognize the issue and are taking steps to augment your learning. Even though it is not your fault that these were the circumstances of your educational experience (AT ALL), at the end of the day you will still have an ethical duty to speak up and refuse to put patients in an unsafe scenario if you truly feel that you are significantly unprepared to be left in charge of their care.

Best of luck as you keep learning. ??

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This website is also a great resource! Sometimes people might be able to answer your questions but other times answers might direct you to consult policies specific to your workplace. In addition to this New Nurse forum and the General forum, you might also be interested in this area of allnurses:

https://allnurses.com/lpn-lvn-corner-c59/

 

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