Is it to much to ask.....

[KalipsoRed]

Is it to much to ask for a job that doesn't make you feel like you've been put through a ringer every time you go in? Why is it that nursing must be that way? When I get done with work I feel emotionally and physically spent and generally it takes me an entire day to recover from working 2 or 3 shifts in a row. The funny part is that it is not even patient care that I find so exhausting. Wiping up poop, handing out meds, changing sheets, checking the monitors and vital signs are not so bad. I don't like documenting just because I don't like paper work, but that isn't even really all that bad. What I find exhausting is doctors who put me down or ask me rehtorical questions like "So what do you want the pt's BP to be? I think it's fine at 90/50." Please don't be a smarty pants. Or dealing with charge nurses who yell at me and get very annoyed with the trillion questions I come to them with. Sorry, I'm new and I need help.

This all stems from my last day at work, which really hadn't been going to very badly until... I had a patient with a BP 240/96 so I called the physician who proceeded to yell at me over the phone that he had done all he was going to do for that pt's BP and I had better not call him again. Well I documented that, but I still felt nervous about my patient because her BP was so high. Then I got a 95 year old pt from cardiac cath lab who had a stent placed. She had a pressure dressing applied to the puncture site. I went in and checked her as I was suppose to. Pushed around the bandage, checked for a pulse, looked for bleeding, so on and so forth. Her BP prior to the procedure was 140s/80s, when she got to my floor it was 110s/60s and by the time the shift changed it was 90s/50s. I had continued to check the site, without taking of the bandage because I thought pressure dressings had to stay on for 24 hrs, and checking a pulse. When the night shift charge got there she started asking me if I had taken off the dressing when they brought the pt up from cath lab. I said no because I thought it had to stay on for 24 hrs. She starts going off, "Well then how do you know there is no hematoma?! You NEVER trust what the cath lab says! Now look at her blood pressure, don't you think you should have done something different?! Now this pt has a hematoma!" Then she proceeded to yell at me about a dobutamine drip that had run dry while I had been in the room with my cath patient. "Don't you know that is for the pt's cardiac output! You can't let those kind of drips run dry!"

I went and got a new bag, hung it, called the MD for my cath pt who was annoyed that I called about the pt's BP even though I felt like it was a concern. He then proceeded to question me as to why I let his pt get a hematoma...like I had done it on purpose. He then just told me to put pressure on it and that was it. I told the night charge, who didn't even acknowledge me when I spoke to her, so when I said it the second time she turned to me and snapped, "I heard you." I finished charting, made it to the elevator and cried.

I don't care what anyone says. No one should have to go to work and be made to feel like crap about themselves on a regular basis. Those of you who would like to respond to this senerio in a manner that goes something like this, "Well at least you won't do that again." Can go blow it out your bottom. People do not have to learn how to do things the right way by being put down, period. My other issue is that these were my two mistakes that day, but I had been able to keep up with my paper work, collect 5 samples for the lab, and start another nurses IV because she was having issues. No one noticed any of that, they only cared about the things I messed up.

I was looking at going into the military as a RN. From the forum I was reading, at least the expectations of the military might be a little more forward and more structured. I want structure so bad! I don't know. All I do know is that I want to take care of my patients. I like patients and caring for people, but I don't like being verbally abused by my charge nurses, doctors, and managers on a regular basis. I really don't need to be treated like that and I don't think I can work there much longer if all working does is make me feel worse about my self.

I'm willing to go to any extra educatioin that is suggested. I try to look things up on my own when I get home. But no one is pointing me in a direction. If the charges feel like I'm such a screwup why don't they have any suggestions that I could use to improve? Their best suggestion is for me to go to a med floor. I went and asked my NM if I could be moved to a med floor and she told me there are no openings, so now I'm moving to nights on my tele floor to see if I do any better. What I would really like, but no one seems capable of giving me, is a true evaluation of how I'm doing. Am I doing worse than an average new nurse? I'm I struggeling more than an average new nurse? Am I completely unprepaired, or am I exhibiting the knowledge and thinking skills that I should be at this point. Have I improved at all since I started?! These are all questions that I have asked my nurse manager, I need some feed back! All she could tell me was that only I could tell if where I was at was right for me and that she felt I was struggeling. Ha! Of course she feels that I'm struggeling. I TOLD her I was struggeling! What kind of feed back is that?!

*Sigh* I don't know what to do.

[rabbitgirrl]

OMG. This is so wrong, how they are treating you.

I have been through SO many scenerios like this as a new nurse.

Why, why, why, is nursing culture so VERY screwed up?

I think this is the result of that "angel of mercy" mindset. Instead of setting healthy limits, nurses are used to being abused, and instead of finding solidarity in other nurses, they take it out on each other, and God help anyone who is new or needs help in anyway.

When will nurses realize that this petty behavior

HURTS PATIENTS

and keeps our profession in the pink ghetto.

I am so sorry that you are going through this.

[NYRN08]

Geez....I haven't even started a nursing job yet as an RN (because I can't find one) but now I'm not sure if I want too...hearing about all the horrific things that are happening to new nurses. I truly to feel for you - you should not be treated this way. I really can't give you any advice on what to do..I only hope that things get better for you very soon.

[BerryHappy]

Wow. I know what you mean. I too am a new nurse and have gotten chewed out when a kinder "Here's the right way to do it" would have really been nice. I am sorry for you, but know there are lots of us who feel your pain. Just try to find a way to not internalize other people criticisms. One thing I did notice is that things move so quickly, small mistakes are quickly forgotten so learn from each on and keep moving ahead.

You will improve, they will back off. DON'T WORRY!

[Quilter0225]

I totally feel for you. Tele can be very rough. I started my first job on a very busy, high acuity med-surg tele floor. I too did not get the support I needed. At first my preceptor told me how to do everything, so I didn't get a chance to figure anything out on my own. The manager told her to stop doing that, so then I barely saw her at all. The only time I saw her was when periodically she would hand me a list of things I'd forgotten or done wrong. That is not what I consider supportive. After 12 weeks of orientation, my manager told me I had made too many safety mistakes. (I have checked with other experience nurses and they tell me my mistakes were typical new grad mistakes, and NONE of them harmed the patient.) With no formal or written reprimands or warnings of any kind, I was given 36 hours to resign or be terminated. I resigned and am now in my 6th week of looking for a new job. The whole time I was in orientation other nurses in orientation told me how much they were struggling. A nurse who had recently gone out on her own told me she had insomnia, vomiting and diarrhea every night before work. I thought it was just the floor I worked on, but maybe not. Maybe it is something about tele, I don't know. From what I read on this site, it doesn't have to be this way. I don't know what I could have done during the interview or internship that would have let me anticipate that this would happen to me. I think maybe I should have been more assertive in telling my preceptor or my manager that their expectations were not realistic for a new grad. That probably wouldn't have changed anything, but it would have made me feel like I had at least tried to do something. So, I just want to offer you some solidarity and let you know you are not alone. I am trying to find a new job where there is more support for a new grad. Keep us posted on how things are going with you.

[green_serenity]

Just try to find a way to not internalize other people criticisms.

yes, please don't internalize criticisms.. it would just worsen how you feel...

when a shift had passed just look back to it as history and there's nothing you could do about it but learn...

and just look ahead to the next shift as another shift...

I also had an experience being treated like that. Doctors and co-staff alike reprimanded me in front of the patients.

It was a hell out of work and not to mention the pressing gossips around on what I've done wrong. During my first few months, I really thought of quitting but before I quit I have to prove them wrong.

YOU HAVE TO PROVE THEM WRONG....

How I dealt with those scenarios was not a piece of cake...

First, I reviewed all my concepts.

Second, I reviewed my procedures.

Befriend the staff nurses... even if they don't like you... Be tactful and respectful whenever you approach them... they are the only source of help whenever you need one...

Pertaining to the gossip... well, if you can't beat them join them...

Observe how other staff nurses are doing in the floor...like how they respond to possible problems encountered.

About the doctors, ask your befriended staff nurses on how to approach irate doctors...

Well, I hope this could help...

And another thing, pray before you go on duty... Godbless...

[TangoLima]

I feel for you! I'm a new grad with 7 months on a busy tele floor but haven't had nearly as bad experience as you have. Sure, I've had a few doctors yell at me or give me some smart-a** response, I've had a few run-ins with fellow nurses, and my NM doesn't offer much in the way of support.

One tactic I used recently (I actually modified this from a friend I went to NS with) was to use self-deprecation to get on the good side of more experienced nurses. Such as...."I learn so much from you when getting/giving report. I really want to do a good job, so if you ever find something that I have dropped the ball on/done wrong/etc, please educate me about it so I can improve my practice". Isn't there a saying about flattery getting you everywhere?

I also have learned to put on a thick skin. It is hard, but a necessity in this field. I don't know whether it's good or bad, but somehow after my shift I am able to leave and put it all behind me. Of course, I reflect on my shift and how I could have improved or done things differently, but I refuse to beat myself up about it.

I hope things get better for you. You sound like a good, conscientious nurse and they would be remiss if they ran you off. Good luck!

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

It's hard enough being a new nurse without being treated as you describe. This is why I support new nurse mentoring programs in any facility that hires new grads. Just remember you can come here to vent any time!

[stressgal, RN]

I too have experienced and observed these types of behaviours in my career. It's hard, and it's uncalled for. I really believe it stems from generational differences. At my employer the most "seasoned" nurses trained under hospital or diploma programs, then along came ADN programs, and it is only a few younger nurses who have their BSN. The same profession, yet different models of training. Just know you are not alone and have us to turn to.