So I moved for a job 300 miles away from home...this was my first nursing job...I have no prior hospital experience,this was a big change for me but I was also quite excited (it took me nearly 6 months to find a job)...well the position I found was in a private teaching hospital on a telemetry floor...very nice unit,nice people I guess you can say a dream job...I was happy despite being far away from my hometown and my family,friends and a boyfriend..When I was first introduced my preceptor she appeared to be nice and pleasant but also had that look about her that told you "be aware of her she might smile but she looks tough" Well at first she was nice and enouraging,telling me when she first started working on this unit she felt overwhelmed and she didnt know a lots of meds etc..so I thought that she was humble and "cool".Then fast forward to a day when she asked me to give an IM injection in the arm (flu shoot) Ok so I graduated from a ADN program and we didnt get any experience in a flu clinics during our school so I asked her if she could demonstrate an IM injection on a patient just this one time for me (since I never had given an IM injection in the arm before) Mistake number one!! She got upset and was "shocked" that I never gave an IM injection in the arm...then she told me straight up to my face "that I must come from a lousy school" That day she went into manager office and told her that my school didnt prepare me well enough for the real world,strike number one....then she went ahead and told everyone on the floor that I dont know anything...oh and she also asked me "if I like it over here and if I ever though about transferring?" Mind you this was my second week on the floor!!! But despite being discouraged I kept going and showing up every day one hour earlier before my start time....It is worth to mention that my preceptor never discussed our patients with me,never asked my opinion,what was the plan for the day etc,during lunch never spoke about our patients,nothing....I often had a feeling that she "was bothered by questions and I was hesistant to ask questions and I often felt discourage to ask questions or even scared at that point! Well then came strike number two,patient had a low blood pressure and she asked me to take his bloood pressure manually,so I put on a cuff on the patient inflated the cuff but for the life of me I couldnt hear a thing....so anyway since the patient was unstable and she was in the room with me I told her if she could recheck for me since I couldnt hear anything....she did..Later I realized that my stethoscope somehow got turned off,but I guess it was too late cause she run to the manager office and told her that she doubts that I can handle unstable patient,so later that day my manager call me and her to the office for a meeting.....the manager voiced her concern to me with the preceptor backup,the manager told me that according my preceptor I'm not meeting my goals and she is giving me one week to improve (I should have known right there and then I was going to be terminated in the near future)..so I tried my best the following week,yes I did my share of mistakes (nothing major,nothing to do with a patient safety)...all of the sudden (that week) my preceptor started to take interest in me....asking me which patient I think I should go see first,what did I think the plan for the day was for each patient...asking me did I check my labs etc??? I swear to you she never bothered to ask me that before...I guess she got scared after the previous meeting with the manager...So like I was saying that week I made some mistakes but also I caugh a lot of things (like inflitrating IVs,patient pulling out IVs,pressure ulcers) my skills were getting better,I was gaining more and more confidence and started to feel that I can do it....still had some trouble with prioritizing but I think that is expected of a new grad,unfortunately not on this floor..well fastforward to yesterday (sunday)...very busy day,my preceptor was a charge nurse and one of the nurses overslept and she had to take care of her patients so she left me with 'our patients" well I handle my patients quite smoothly,finally felt like a real nurse and went home with a light heart and happy that things finally are coming together for...hah what a dillusionment of my part....today monday my manager calls me home in the morning to come in to see her ( I was suppose work a night shift today with my preceptor)..I have a feeling that something is wrong...so I go with a heavy heart...the human resource person is there,all of the sudden I know I'm getting fired...so the manager tells me that she doesnt think I'm a good fit for this floor,that she spoke with my preceptor friday and she still thinks I have trouble prioritizing...I'm crushed I'm trying to explain that I'm a new nurse and that comes with an experience and that there is always someone there to help...but my manager is set on her mind...she tells me that I should go into med surg first and then maybe after one year reapply if I want (is she ******* kiddding or what??)..I almost burst into tears,yep,signed the termination papers and left...yep so that is my story what do yo think?
I think I forgot to mention that I knew how to give an IM injection in the tigh but I never gave one in the arm( I never had an opportunity to give a flu shot in school also our instructors always told us to avoid arms because of nerves). I did tell her that I gave IM injection to babies in the tigh but she brushed it off. Also I know how to take a BP but I didnt realize that my stethscope was turned off,and yes possibly it was a bad choice to hire a new grad into a tele but I still think med-surg is a much harder floor.
A little piece of advice. To me, this looks like a lot of "yeah but". As a new grad, when being offered constructive criticism, I would try to avoid the "yeah but". There is a time and place to stand your ground and defend yourself, and a time and place to just nod and smile. Think about this in your next job.
And, whatever floor you are on, do not ever say anything that could be interpreted to mean that you don't think it has the most skilled nurses. By saying that you think med/surg is harder, that's like saying the tele nurses aren't as smart and don't work as hard. It rubs people the wrong way. If you don't care about your job, go ahead and rub people the wrong way. If you want to stick around for a while, I'd suggest you avoid it. You can think it all you want, but I'd never say it.
She has come to a forum to express herself, and say some things that maybe she didn't get to say or thought about as an after thought. You may consider your tone, although maybe not intentional feels a bit demeaning, sometimes it can make people feel defensive. Although I do agree with you 100%, on having a positive/open attitude when receiving constructive input/critsisim, it important on the deliverer to deliver it constructively:)
I'm sorry, I am truly not trying to be hard on you. It's just that if I were precepting you, and you kept offering "yeah buts" whenever I tried to give you feedback, and I heard you saying "I think med/surg is harder than this floor", I would be having doubts.
You have to be able to take feedback without offering excuses. And by saying med/surg is harder, makes it look like you don't really understand the complexities, the potential complications, and the critical nature of the patient population you are working with in tele.
I've said all I'm going to say. I do wish you the best.
It's OK to say I haven't done this. You do not stop learning after nursing school. Furthermore, you have to learn BASIC foundation nursing skills and learn how to critically think concurrently when going to a floor other that Med/Surg. Whenever you hire a new grad, it's rare to find one who is competent in all off the basic nursing skills. I would EXPECT to demonstrate FIRST and then you demonstrate under my supervision, that is part of teaching.
I found a great mentor in the hospital...she was a person in charge of hospital orientation (not the unit orientation) I asked one day for more IV therapy training and they assigned me this person and she took me to an outpatient surgery center,she was awsome,she has been a nurse for 30 years,I told her about my concerns with my preceptor (after I had my first meeting with the manager and preceptor) She was shocked!! She told me that they should switch me to another preceptor,that it is not right that I'm afraid to ask question,that my preceptor gives me looks like I'm a stupid person,that she took of in the middle of the day without any regards for my learning needs,mind you she was not sick,it was a slow day (we had 3 patients)..My mentor did share her concerns with my manager and said she should assign me a new preceptor,my manager refused to.
She has come to a forum to express herself, and say some things that maybe she didn't get to say or thought about as an after thought. You may consider your tone, although maybe not intentional feels a bit demeaning, sometimes it can make people feel defensive. Although I do agree with you 100%, on having a positive/open attitude when receiving constructive input/critsisim, it important on the deliverer to deliver it constructively:)
Yeah, the little smiley face feels a bit condescending. I might not mince words, but my intent is to help. She is free to disregard my opinion if she chooses. That's the beauty of posting on this forum, is that you will receive a lot of opinions, some of which you can use, and some of which you can ignore.
I found a great mentor in the hospital...she was a person in charge of hospital orientation (not the unit orientation) I asked one day for more IV therapy training and they assigned me this person and she took me to an outpatient surgery center,she was awsome,she has been a nurse for 30 years,I told her about my concerns with my preceptor (after I had my first meeting with the manager and preceptor) She was shocked!! She told me that they should switch me to another preceptor,that it is not right that I'm afraid to ask question,that my preceptor gives me looks like I'm a stupid person,that she took of in the middle of the day without any regards for my learning needs,mind you she was not sick,it was a slow day (we had 3 patients)..My mentor did share her concerns with my manager and said she should assign me a new preceptor,my manager refused to.
Very true! I' m just sitting here remembering back to when I was a new grad, whew! If you have questions honey, you just ask! And don't let anyone try and make you feel bad for asking them. In the PICU we always say, I would rather you ask a question than to not ask. Some people get a little "holier than thou". But I promise you there is no best nurse award or best nurse of the world award. We are all human, we all want to provide excellent care to our patients. And one thing to always remember. Know what you know, know what you don't know, and know when to ask. Don't let people try and make you feel bad for advocating for yourself. Some can only feel better when they are "downing" others.
A little piece of advice. To me, this looks like a lot of "yeah but". As a new grad, when being offered constructive criticism, I would try to avoid the "yeah but". There is a time and place to stand your ground and defend yourself, and a time and place to just nod and smile. Think about this in your next job.
And, whatever floor you are on, do not ever say anything that could be interpreted to mean that you don't think it has the most skilled nurses. By saying that you think med/surg is harder, that's like saying the tele nurses aren't as smart and don't work as hard. It rubs people the wrong way. If you don't care about your job, go ahead and rub people the wrong way. If you want to stick around for a while, I'd suggest you avoid it. You can think it all you want, but I'd never say it.
I think you misunderstood me,I'm telling you guys that I believe that Med-surg is harder (and I really do!! at least cardiac patients have a monitor on and a scope tech to look at their rhytms,and most are not so physically demanding,dont have thousand of tubes sticking out,also you must possess general knowledge on med-surg while on cardiac floor many tests and procedures repeat itself..)..I never told my manager or my preceptor that med-surg is harder,I just said that both are equally hard but I appreciate your feedback and constructive feedback
@ Virgo_RN Sorry if you received it that way, not my intention. Just giving you a smile in a positive light. I thought that's what smile did, was encourage positivity. :)
only 5 weeks-that is 15 shifts--so unfair--girl, I am sorry, bigger things are on your horizons!
Not even that,not even that......my preceptor called in sick for two days in a row and the next day she decided to leave in the middle of the day,cause we were slow.
Virgo_RN, BSN, RN
3,543 Posts
A little piece of advice. To me, this looks like a lot of "yeah but". As a new grad, when being offered constructive criticism, I would try to avoid the "yeah but". There is a time and place to stand your ground and defend yourself, and a time and place to just nod and smile. Think about this in your next job.
And, whatever floor you are on, do not ever say anything that could be interpreted to mean that you don't think it has the most skilled nurses. By saying that you think med/surg is harder, that's like saying the tele nurses aren't as smart and don't work as hard. It rubs people the wrong way. If you don't care about your job, go ahead and rub people the wrong way. If you want to stick around for a while, I'd suggest you avoid it. You can think it all you want, but I'd never say it.