I have been an RN on a med/surg floor for just over 1 year. I feel comfortable, still not 100% confident, but I am BORED. I feel like I'm not being challenged. I've had 3 of my own patient codes and have participated in 1 other, and I love the rush that comes along with them.
I spend my nights wiping butts, passing meds, and babysitting geriatric patients. I KNOW I'm better than this. So although the thought of moving on petrifies me, I think I'm ready. ICU? ER?
I guess what I'm asking, is are there specific goals or guidelines I should meet before I take that next step? I want to be a competent, efficient nurse before I take the next step.
I think you are being harsh. Surely OP could have used different wording or put it more mildly but I do not deduct she is a disgusting nurse or someone without principals, morals or empathy. I think that was needless and harsh![/quote'] This!
To answer the title to your post OP..it's not time...one to two more years, IMHO...Expand yourself-ACLS, charge nurse duties, committees, BLS and ACLS instructor...find some other skill sets to broaden your tunnel vision that you are having for that first year.
I've worked from LTC, Step-Down, ICU..from cradle to grave, nursing is nursing is nursing...it's the state of mind of the nurse that influences the satisfaction, most of the time. :)
Perhaps if instead of merely "babysitting," you were assessing your patients and intervening in a more timely manner, you'd not have 3 of your patients code in a year.
I can't help but feel a little worried by a new grad (because seriously, with one year experience, you are really still a new grad) who simultaneously talks about how bored she is with basic nursing duties that are fundamental to your assessments, and having three patients code in that time. Did you really mean code, as in blue? Or like rapid response maybe? Just trying to give you the benefit of the doubt here.
Yes, med surg tends to have mostly geriatric patients. But these people tend to have complex medical issues compounded by many co-morbidities that make their care especially challenging. To me, your post kinda reminds me of some CNAs I used to work with, who claimed that once they finished nursing school they would never have to change diapers and deal with bedpans again. Kinda offensive on top of missing the point of nursing 101.
To me, your post kinda reminds me of some CNAs I used to work with, who claimed that once they finished nursing school they would never have to change diapers and deal with bedpans again. Kinda offensive on top of missing the point of nursing 101.
This is actually funny, because I was that CNA, guess what....I work on an ICU step-down and I still do poop. :poop:
It is time to expand your search. I also need excitement a lot to not feel bored. I do not sense you fell it is beneath you, I just think you were under the impression the floor would be more lively. Their is no universal time limit for someone to become bored, so if you are bored move on.
If not, you may try to make some excitement and that would be bad.
It is time to expand your search. I also need excitement a lot to not feel bored. I do not sense you feel it is beneath you I just think you were under the impression the floor would be more lively.There is no universal time limit for someone to become bored, so if you are bored move on. If not, you may try to make some excitement and that would be bad.[/quote']
I empathize with the OP. I work Med/Surg and I have been there a year, on day shift, and there are days that are boring when I feel like a pill-pushing robot. Some days are absolutely crazy busy and the day goes by quickly. I have also started looking at my options. I know that another year or 2 on med/Surg would be good experience because I need more practice inserting IVs, I havent had some opportunities to use some of my clinical skills as much as others, so I am waiting until I can say yes, I feel comfortable doing this and that and can teach it. I think it is a good time to reflect on what parts of your practice you need to improve. I started to look at my nursing school notes and realized there are a lot of small things that I forgot that I can incorporate into my daily practice to provide better care for my patients. I also started reading about meds that I give frequently. I will start working on getting certified because that is a requirement where I work. I have considered going to the ICU, but I really like my co-workers and it is hard to find a solid group of people that mesh well together. The grass is not always greener on the other side. Maybe you could shadow an ER nurse for half a day and see for yourself if you would like it. Maybe you go there and you realize you would be in way over your head until you get a little more experience under your belt. Just think, there will be more anxiety-provoking, "adrenaline" rush moments in an ED where you will have to perform skills quickly without really thinking about it, can you do it under that pressure?
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
I have been an RN on a med/surg floor for just over 1 year. I feel comfortable, still not 100% confident, but I am BORED.
I feel like I'm not being challenged. I've had 3 of my own patient codes and have participated in 1 other, and I love the rush that comes along with them.
I spend my nights wiping butts, passing meds, and babysitting geriatric patients. I KNOW I'm better than this. So although the thought of moving on petrifies me, I think I'm ready. ICU? ER?
I guess what I'm asking, is are there specific goals or guidelines I should meet before I take that next step? I want to be a competent, efficient nurse before I take the next step.
I appreciate the replies!
If you're bored after a year on Med/Surg, you're not doing it right. Med/Surg is probably one of the most difficult specialties -- there are so many different disease processes/ surgical interventions that get lumped into "Med/Surg", it would take a lifetime to master all of them. So the issue seems to be not that you're not being challenged, but that you're not challenging yourself.
Your statement that "I know I'm better than this" is a red flag to me. Are you superior to all of your colleagues on Med/Surg? I doubt it. Especially not after just one year. After two or three, I'd consider the possibility, but not after just one. And this makes me wonder about your attitude.
You spend your nights wiping butts, passing meds and babysitting geriatric patients. Are you thinking about the meds you're giving and how they interact, how they relate to the patient's disease process? Do you understand the careplan, what the goals of treatment are and where your patient is on progress towards those goals? Do you understand the lab results and how they relate? Is the patient doing better, getting worse or staying about the same?
Everything you've said in your post makes me believe that you're just going through the motions. You're getting the tasks done without thinking about how each task relates to the health of the patient as a whole. And THAT makes me believe you're NOT ready for ICU or ER.
nursehaley91, BSN, RN
74 Posts