I am being advised that when I graduate...

Lexnursingstudent · Mar 30, 2009

no, like i said a few days ago, nursing is not going to get any special attention. saving the economy of the US is, whatever it takes. coal miners are just as important to the economy as much as nurses are. without coal miners there would be no nurses, so attention to the coal miners will come first. that only makes sense, right?

look, we all know that nursing is not a promising job, and the money that we have to spend to go to a 4 year university is outrages, so yes the money stimulus will go to the universities with the BA programs, and everything will be based on the level of education.

allnurses Guide · Mar 30, 2009

Moderator Request: please could I ask that all members to engage in friendly and respectful debate, we don't have to agree with each other but we can be polite and respectful about it.

Thank you

Sharrie

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Mar 30, 2009

I am not beating up the nurse manager, thank you very much for you insensitivity, and false accusation!! I am not that type of a person, and before you go accusing me, sounds like you are a professional at business hiring. I was not iquiring about your expertise perhaps in another are than nursing.

Lex, I'd like to add some thoughts here, if you're willing to listen to them? I'm not going to jump on you, but I'm also going to disagree with you--respectfully--so would appreciate the same response. Message boards are funny places; we can't see each other's expressions and sometimes we misread what the other person has written, because of HOW it's written, so that's what we go on. What you might think of as just honest venting might come across as cautic or rude to someone else. And the same goes back and forth: you might take what someone writes in response to your statement as rude or insensitive, and that's not how it was intended. So, there's my note of caution about posting on a public message board :)

Yes, maybe they NM ought to take a pay cut as well, it does not take 6 MN (one for each floor) to hire nurses to fill a hospital.

Well, actually, it usually DOES take all those nurse managers to hire for different departments. Each department does work differently than another, and the professional needs and desired personalities will differ, too. My nurse manager might choose Nurse A for her unit when another nurse manager has rejected Nurse A. And vice versa. So no, I don't think it's a good idea to have one person in charge of hiring for an entire hospital's worth of nursing departments.

Not more than it takes to hire someone with 3 years experience for the ICU compared to a new graduate, becuase they are training us really well here at the university, and there are a lot of us who are a lot more smarter than some nurses in the hospital now. Yes, that is right, we are being taught and are getting hands on the most updated nursing concepts and training there is. So, take that to your NM.

Please be careful; this attitude, if it presents itself during the hiring process, is a sure-fire application killer. YOU might feel you are "a lot more smarter" than the nurses currently on staff, but I guarantee you the person hiring you won't be so predisposed to your way of thinking. The attitude that you've just learned--paraphrased--'all there is' because you've just graduated is not only a slap in the face of those with TONS of experience, but also incorrect. You've learned whatever your program decided was the best focus for your class, and that changes every year. But those in the trenches know what DOES work, not only in theory, but in reality. Don't discount experience over recent classroom time. You won't win--and you can take that to any nurse manager.

We are good trained nurses while we are in college, and if anybody gives me a hard time as a new grad, I call that bullying, and will file a harassment law suit. Trust me!!!

You are well-trained students while in college, not nurses. A notable distinction. You are well-prepped to BEGIN LEARNING what it takes to become a good nurse. You have all the theories, all the well-supervised clinical time in place, you have spent lots of time practicing in VERY monitored settings. You will only learn if you are really a good nurse when you are working in the field, without the instructors overseeing your actions. You will find out how good you are when you are put to the test on a daily basis--not just for an actual test.

To suggest that anyone who gives you what you perceive to be a "hard time as a new grad" is bullying and harrassment (and makes you think lawsuit instead of 'how can I do better?) is really where you'll get into trouble as that new grad. The new grad or new nurse whose first thought is 'if they don't bend over and kiss my butt they're stupid and if they say anything to me I'm gonna sue' is not the nurse who will survive in this industry.

I'm glad your sister has hired you for a position you're excited about. Truly, the only thing you've said about the job that you find exciting is that she makes the schedules and you will earn a decent paycheck. Not sure if there's longevity in that, but I hope for your sake there is. I do worry, too, that when you find yourself defending actions made on the job (as you will, believe me, everyone does!), you will wrongly assume that everyone is out to get you and they are all wrong. Your sister getting you the job is nice, but if people believe that's the only reason you are hanging onto it, it will be very difficult for you.

Nursing is hard enough. Try to remember that there are those around you who ARE wanting you to succeed, but are NOT going to support your current mode of thinking. It doesn't make them bullies, it makes them wise.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2009

RNsRWe,

Thank you for your thorough and sage post. I cannot imagine better advice for what has been said in this thread.

linda1959 · Mar 30, 2009

Lord, when I think back to my early days of nursing after graduation! I got by, but I realized years later how little I knew! Experience is truly the best teacher - nice job RNsRWe-

j_audrey · Mar 30, 2009

Well said RNsRWe... :)

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Mar 30, 2009

Lord, when I think back to my early days of nursing after graduation! I got by, but I realized years later how little I knew! Experience is truly the best teacher - nice job RNsRWe-

Every year there are new grads in the heap of new hires who truly believe they are on par with the experienced staff BECAUSE they have just graduated. They believe that they have learned all the newest concepts and hands-on techniques, mostly because their instructors have told them so.

They don't realize they only learn what their program's focus is, and only what the clinical facility and teaching team have time to teach. And that all that newly-learned information is only a piece of what they must learn to become good nurses. They do NOT graduate as good nurses. They graduate as good students, with the skills and education in place to BECOME good nurses.

There's one in particular from last year's new grad pile that comes to mind as I type this. She was (and unfortunately, still is) of the mindset that as a newly-trained nurse she is completely qualified to do pretty much anything in the hospital. She doesn't see why she needs at least one more year on our med-surg floor before being considered for our ICU. As far as she's concerned, experience doesn't compare with her recent school clinical time. How very mistaken she is, and although there's not a single week that goes by without someone having to instruct her on something or re-educate her on something because of faulty application of knowledge or outright mistakes, she's still pretty sure she's the cat's meow.

If heaven-forbid my loved one were placed on our unit, I'd do everything possible to keep that 'Highly Educated Nurse' away from him, believe me!

twinner2 · Mar 30, 2009

As a new nurse with under a year of experience, I can honestly say that I have not made it through one shift without asking the more experienced nurses a question about patient care.

Please Lex, don't alienate those that are truly your best resources upon starting this challenging career.

linda1959 · Mar 30, 2009

I have always believed that one of the assets that really helped me when I graduated (almost 28 years ago!) was that I KNEW when to ask questions. And actually, as I type this, I am starting a new area of nursing-school nursing. I can do the "nursing part", but I have only been at the job 7 weeks, and I think I called another nurse everyday for the first 4 weeks. It was a lot of "ok, this is what I would do, but what do you do in this district?"

Every environment is different, and I think we all have to respect others environments when entering a new job, no matter how much experience. The best nurses are those who are willing to teach each other, and share our experiences. I am sure I could learn a lot from a new grad, about new ways things are done, and new ways of thinking. I took a refresher course last summer and don't know how many times I said "wow, we did it so different 20 years ago". On the otherhand, new nurses can benefit from the real-life experience of the nurse who has been working for many years.

This has turned into a nice discussion of how important it is to rely on each other.

noahsmama · Mar 30, 2009

As a new nurse with under a year of experience, I can honestly say that I have not made it through one shift without asking the more experienced nurses a question about patient care.
Please Lex, don't alienate those that are truly your best resources upon starting this challenging career.

Amen to that! That's my experience also -- and thank God I work on a unit where the other nurses are (mostly) very supportive of the less experienced nurse and willing to help out by answering my questions or even showing me how to do things I haven't quite mastered yet.

I happen to believe that a new nurse who knows what she (or he) doesn't know is far less dangerous than a new nurse who thinks she (or he) already knows everything.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Mar 30, 2009

I got worried from reading on here, I still have 2 years before I graduate but just to be proactive I emailed the HR person on the New Grad website page for the hopital. I expressed my concerns as I was seeing no New Grad jobs on the site and asked over these next 2 years if their is anything I can do to increase my chances of being hired. I just heard back from her today. She said they don't have a lot of the jobs posted because they are in contract with the 3 nursing schools in the area and take on between 10-24 new grads per semester. (out of 3 schools though that isn't much). SO she said although these are for new grads you won't find them on the job board. Than she said the ER hires 4 new grads a year usually in the summer and fall (I inquired about ER as well) So that made me feel good because I was looking at the job board and getting scared although I have no doubt that the economy will pick back up again by the time I am done.

She said the best thing I can do is stand out as a student and make a good impession on the units when I do my clinicals and I for sure intend to do that anyway.

johnst10 · Mar 30, 2009

check this out

http://www.sonoma.edu/users/n/nolan/n312/benner.htm

At one time I knew to approximate times to move from one phase to another.

Not more than it takes to hire someone with 3 years experience for the ICU compared to a new graduate, because they are training us really well here at the university, and there are a lot of us who are a lot more smarter than some nurses in the hospital now. Yes, that is right, we are being taught and are getting hands on the most updated nursing concepts and training there is. So, take that to your NM.

Due to a number of factors I would hesitate to say that because I have spent 5 years in the PCU I am quite competent. The point is, Benner has utilized a model I have not forgotten over the years. To think that I can now pop into LTC and consider myself competent would be a huge mistake. Heaven forbid I go back into the ICU and expect to be an expert in a year with my 25 years of experience. I'm not sure how all this got off track!

Anyway, Good luck to all those who are graduating, looking for a job or looking for a change. As was said before, it is not up to one person who gets hired and when.