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Discussion

Insight please!

Not to long ago I was searching for a job. I ended up having a manager call me about an interview. When I called back he asked me about another person that graduated in my school. I brushed it off and asked him if he still wanted to interview me and he said yes. I went through the interview process and at the end I asked him when would I know if I got the job. He was beating around the bush and not really saying when and I asked him again. he finally told me that he would hire me. I got the job to work in an ICU as a new BSN grad. The first two weeks I didn't have one preceptor. I was paired with different nurses. The last two weeks I was paired with one specific nurse. The nurse I was paired with had an associates with two years of experience and is going to school to get a BSN. The first two days I was with her things were not really going well. I could tell she was frustrated at times because of her mannerisms. She would sometimes say she did not have enough time to teach me things. One day she told me that I needed to be more aware about what was going on in the unit and not just my patient. The next day there was an incident in a room with the patient and family members. She and other nurses were trying to find out what was going on. They finally found out and I asked them what was going on. One nurse was about to tell me and she let out a huge sigh and told me to go empty a foley. I asked the nurse next to me and she didn't say anything. she just pointed to the nurse that I was paired with. I did what I was told and didn't say anything even though I wanted to. I did not think what I had to say was going to be professional. I had another incident earlier with IV tubing. There were two IV tubing hung on an IV pole. One was dated that it was due that day and it was in the pump and the other didn't have a due date. I was grabbing new tubing and the nurse that I was with told me that since I had that patient yesterday I was wasting and should just use the one that had no date. I tried to tell her which one was in the pump last and she let out a huge sigh and told me to do what I wanted to do. On my off day I went to talk with the manager and he told me that there was only another nurse that could orient me to the floor but she was a charge nurse and really didn't have the time. He said he would speak with her. This week I had extremely easy patients that I was assigned to. I asked the charge nurse if she could give me another patient or a harder patient and she said she didn't think I was ready for that. The nurse I was paired with was there when I asked and she said, "no offense but you can't even fill out a consent form." (she said this because I asked if I was the one that signed to be a witness). The day went by and my manager spoke to me and told me that I would be transferred to work in PCU from now on. He said that some of the nurses that he spoke to said I asked different nurses the same questions. I explained to him that the nurse that was orienting me was not around all the time so I asked other nurses for help but that it was not the same question. He said I wouldn't have that problem in the other unit because every one is new there. He said just ask the nurse that is orienting me for help. .... I know this was a really long rant. I'm sorry if I was rambling. What I really want to know is your thoughts and opinions on all of this. Do you think I made a bad decision by accepting this job? Should I start looking for another job? Should I stay? Am I the problem? What do I do in the other unit to make things work?

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    I can't answer the questions you are asking. My personal opinion is that new grads in ICU will always have a difficult time. They may not be as fast with the mundane things. I am not saying they are stupid or slow. I am saying that a nurse who had been around a hospital for a while would know P&P questions like informed consents without asking a busy nurse.

    Your first remark about the original nurse who was assisting you is kind of a put down. Does not matter what her basic education is. She has 2 years in the field. You had 30 seconds. She probably was stressed to be going back to school while working. If you treated her with any, and I do mean any disrespect, because her education was less than yours you set yourself up for failure.

    Could be your timing was not good about questioning what happened in the unit. Who knows except those who were there.

    Why would you want to look for another job? Have you any knowledge about this other floor? Will you take yourself with you?

    Search within yourself about the question of if you are at fault. Someone thinks so. Since you are leaving you might ask one of those nurses to have coffee with you and honestly share and invite their input. The term "humble Pie" might fit what should be served.

    Critical care units are tough. The work is rough, the decisons quick and sure. there is little time for the "critical thinking Process" You need to have it on the tip of your fingers and on your tongue. Your feet have to magically move in the right direction. All of these things are forgein to a new grad. Some places prefer new grads in units so they donn't have habits that need to be changed. Newbies are maliable. If there is support it works. If there is too much stress it does not. It sounds like your place may fit the second description.

    There is no reason to be bitter. Learn from this experience. What have you learned that will help you in your next job?

    Best wishes to find the right answers. Remember that might include changing some of the questions.

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    • Author

    I treated her with respect. I even offered to help her at times when she had a lot of work to do and she told me she wanted to do it herself. If you read my post I was not treated with respect. I pointed her level of education out to see if that had anything to do with the way she was treating me. I do not think anything less of her. If anything I think she knows more than me. I posted this to get advice not to be demeaned.

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    You asked for insight in your opening, not advice. You were in a difficult environment. The NM has offered you an opportunity where you might fit in better. What I wrote was not to be demeaning. It was to look at reality in a different way.

    I think you may have a way of firing people up. An example of this is "If you read my post I was not treated with respect. I pointed her level of education out to see if that had anything to do with the way she was treating me. I do not think anything less of her. If anything I think she knows more than me." I added the bold.

    Of course she knows more than you. What kind of respect did you expect? I once read a book in which a man described himself as an egg. "I am only an egg". Meaning I am young and learning. That is you. You will gain more respect as you learn more. This is a function of self AND time. You have been given a great deal of respect that you do not see yet. They could have pushed you to make mistakes that would have had you fired. Instead you are getting an opportunity. You have the ability to ask them how to be a better team member (if that is the complaint). How you choose to look at this will determine if you are successful in the new environment.

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    Were you this defensive when you were there? That might have a lot to do with it. You were in no way demeaned by the previous poster. You were offered insight and bristled at it.

    It sounds to me from your original post that you are very caught up in what happened but not looking much into WHY it was happening and what your part was in it. Naming what everyone else was doing, what their education may or may not be, etc. speaks of an external "there's nothing wrong with me so there must be other clues here" mentality. You did well enough to merely get transferred to a step down unit and not get fired, so obviously nobody was thinking poorly of you, only that you are not ready to meet the demands in the ICU with their current system of training. It doesn't sound like you were picked on. It sounds like you just for whatever reason were not a good fit for that unit.

    I wish you the best of luck in your new career and hope you find success and fulfillment on your current floor.

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    • Author

    I wasnt defensive on the floor at all. I do appreciate all of the responses on here and apologize for comming off as defensive to anyone on here.

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