I need help. =(

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi,

I never thought I'd actually have the need to make an account on here until now. I'm a new grad nurse working at a free standing emergency room, basically an emergency room that's not connected to the hospital but at an offsite location.

Anyway, I was called into my manager's office last night and he asked me what I feel like I am struggling in. I mentioned pediatrics and he stated he was glad I said that because it is one of my weaknesses. I know that it is, as are so many other things too. I'm thankful he us giving me a chance to improve on my nursing. But here us the thing, if I don't do well on a med/surg floor for this upcoming month, they will have to let me go.

That's what terrifies me. I moved 1600 miles to where I'm at now, sacrificed my friends and family and happiness to get the experience that I need. I'm now at a loss and I'm afraid that I'm going to slip away and end up getting fired.

I have a lot to learn and I'll be working on med surg for a month. I need advice and lots of it. I'm feeling very discouraged at this point in time. If I get fired, I don't even know what on earth I'm going to do. Help me, I'm scared. =(

Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Right,? I will talk be talking to the floor manager and make mention of it to him. I'll let you know what he says, I'm meeting with him soon.

You sound like a smart woman, I'm sure you will do well!

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Specializes in MS, ED.
Yes, I wasn't clear on that. They're taking me out of the ED to have me do training on med/surg to improve my skills. I've strictly been in the ED the past nine months and I thought I was doing well. I know I have many things to work on and a whole lot more to learn, I'm just terrified this will be the end of the road for me. I've been working so hard each and every day, go out of my way to help my team members, but still that doesn't seem to be enough. Some days can be overwhelming, especially since we do see a lot of children. Children are not my forte and I know I didn't do well in peds during nursing school. I'm going to go in with a positive attitude and soak everything up like a sponge. I have to pass this, otherwise I don't know what I will be doing.

Please take this gently, OP, but sometimes we aren't always doing as well as we think we are. A month on med-surg to work on your skills may just mean that you're lacking the assessment skills and time management of your more experienced ED peers at this time. It's just something that comes with time. No knock on you, but I can't tell you how many clogged NGs, missing or overlooked labs and unfinished stats I've received from new(er) nurses who handed them off to me without even mentioning what was undone. While I try to mention these things as they come up, not everyone does and I've seen new(er) nurses blindsided by complaints later on when they otherwise thought they were doing well. Sometimes you just don't know what you don't know. Not saying this is the issue in your case, but try maybe to get some specifics to work on from your manager before you go to the floor?

Last thought: make contacts while you're on the floor, in case this isn't just for a month. You'll want to be able to keep a job - even if it's not the ED - rather than be let go entirely. Best of luck.

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Thank you for that. I got clarification from my manager and the things he wants me to work on are time management, prioritization and team work. I thought I had been working on all of that and I know I need improvement. It's not something that can happen over night. I am a new grad and I have loads more to learn and I do learn, every day.

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Where is this... El Paso?

You said "down there," 1600 miles away, and 95% hispanic.

That doesn't seem very specific... sometimes people on here who are almost let go are very specific with what they did wrong. Are you just slow in the ER?

I'd also start applying for other jobs, just in case they do let you go.. you'll have 10 months experience (almost a year) to help with that. It's always good to have plan B,C, D... and so on. :) Good luck!

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Not El Paso, I'm in McAllen, Texas. The thing is I'm not slow, I'm pretty quick when it gets to getting things done on patients. The only set back I have is when I'd need to do everything for a patient that is a baby and there is no one around to help keeping the baby steady, or even with translating Spanish so the parents understand what I am doing. I can simply tell them that I'll be drawing blood and starting am iv, but explaining it's not pleasant and it's scary is a whole nother ballpark.

I'm going to try my hardest with this med surg floor, I have to excel, and I hope I do.

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Not El Paso, I'm in McAllen, Texas. The thing is I'm not slow, I'm pretty quick when it gets to getting things done on patients. The only set back I have is when I'd need to do everything for a patient that is a baby and there is no one around to help keeping the baby steady, or even with translating Spanish so the parents understand what I am doing. I can simply tell them that I'll be drawing blood and starting am iv, but explaining it's not pleasant and it's scary is a whole nother ballpark.

I'm going to try my hardest with this med surg floor, I have to excel, and I hope I do.

Yikes, you're in McAllen! I worked in Robstown & people told me I needed to learn Spanish. I should've but I quit my job. :p

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Yea, I think that's my main problem is that my Spanish isn't up to par. It's a huge setback for me, I think. That's what stalls me the most when it comes to care for the patient. I can explain simply, but when they start asking questions, which is fine, I know they'll need more information than what I can give them. That might put me behind, way behind on my time management because now I'm having to find a nurse who speaks Spanish so they can help the patient. This happens more than once in a day. My Spanish today is way better than it was 10 months ago.

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Yea, I think that's my main problem is that my Spanish isn't up to par. It's a huge setback for me, I think. That's what stalls me the most when it comes to care for the patient. I can explain simply, but when they start asking questions, which is fine, I know they'll need more information than what I can give them. That might put me behind, way behind on my time management because now I'm having to find a nurse who speaks Spanish so they can help the patient. This happens more than once in a day. My Spanish today is way better than it was 10 months ago.

Lol. I know the problem. I had to find another nurse or CO who spoke Spanish. My Spanish was never good so if I didn't know the word I had to act something out or we just stood there staring at each other awkwardly. Lol. Oh the fun.

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Specializes in Oncology.

Does you hospital have any translation services? I'm pretty sure all hospital need to have that service available since most staff members aren't certified in interpretation.

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Thank you for that. I got clarification from my manager and the things he wants me to work on are time management, prioritization and team work. I thought I had been working on all of that and I know I need improvement. It's not something that can happen over night. I am a new grad and I have loads more to learn and I do learn, every day.

A long time ago when I was new to nursing and both RNs and LPNs were widely used in most areas of the hospital, the facility that I worked for required us to put in at least six months on either med/surg or telemetry med/surg before going flex poole or specializing in a different unit such as ICU or ER. The reason for this is that there is a big difference between being a student and a nurse and there is a transition period needed to get the time management, organization, delegation, etc down before moving into advanced areas of care. Focus hard on the med/surg floor, embrace the opportunity, and see what happens. You may even prefer it (who knows until you try). Peds is a whole different animal. I used to think that I would like to work in peds and quickly changed my mind during the clinical rotation. Not only are you treating a child who responds differently both physically and psychologically to their diagnosis than an adult would but you are also dealing with their parents and their reactions. It takes a special person to work in peds. You very well may be that special person, just give yourself time to get there if you want it after you've passed the med/surg period. Good luck to you.

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Haha! I was close to where you were from my guess... got the same state and border correct! Know bc I've been over there before... it is different from Cali.

From what has been said, it seems like maybe the Spanish could be a large issue..and it sounds like they just want someone more efficient. It's not like you have mixed up patient orders, mislabled bottles, messed up IV lines, ect, right? Those seem to be some complaints on here from students who had been fired or close to being fired before.

Have you been written-up before? It looks like you got a verbal warning. It seems very generalized... rather than specific. It seems like new grads have a higher chance of messing up in ER or ICU from what I've read than med-surg floor and most posts from new nurses almost fired seemed to be from those floors... It sounds like they see you are awkward around children, but would awkwardness warrant getting fired? Maybe I'm missing something>

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New grad for how long? How long was your orientation? So your manager talked to you, that is great..what is the action plan to help you improve? Did he assign a mentor to help you? If their idea is to say "improve or you're fired" that is NOT a place you want to work. There a a thousand places you can go to get the experience you want. No one deserves this, especially a new grad! Start looking for jobs in other places…get your ducks in a row and keep your head up!! The whole world is out there and you have a million options as an RN!

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