Is nursing really for me? It's a little long (sorry)

Kittyfeet · Oct 18, 2009

Hi! I've been off orientation about the same amount of time and sometimes I feel like I really got screwed with my patients too, and wonder if med/surg is for me. I have noticed they try to give me 5 when they can. I think you should talk to your boss and maybe they can ask the charge nurses to watch the acuity level when assigning you, or give you 5 for a while. Let them know you feel like you need more time to catch up in speed and don't want to miss important things. You may also consider switching to nights too! It helped me a lot. There are rarely new orders so you kind of know what you are getting at the top of the shift. I think it's normal to feel overwhelmed at first but not to the point of feeling unsafe. Good luck!

Mulan · Oct 18, 2009

I would suggest trying nights as well.

Sun_danc3rRN · Oct 18, 2009

Hi there. I have been off of orientation for about 6 weeks now, and I get my butt kicked every day. Last week I had an 8 patient team..1 on cbi, 3 on seizure precautions, one copd'er who had brain surgery, 2 gi bleeds, and one who was a train wreck getting unit after unit of ffb, prbc's and cryoprecipitate, back to back to back. I felt overwhelmed, had no back up from charge, and the orders never stopped coming in(and I work nights). I left both days crying because it was a HARD. I contemplated leaving the nursing profession this week. I had to report a charge to admin, I had to report a cna to admin, and in general feel like I was hazed. This week, my new charge comes to me and says, "you only have 7 this week, and so and so is having a hard time with her team, so we are going to give you one of her patients". They tried to give me the trainwreck. I finally got up the nerve, which I should have done before, and said, "I am NOT taking that patient. I had them all last week, with a full load of 8, it is not safe with my current load, and the nurse taking her has 15 years experience...so if I managed all last week, she can manage this week". I felt really guilty saying all of that, but I still refused to take that patient and you know what..that guilt left a lot faster than I thought it would. I will never again allow myself to be put in a situation that is not safe for myself, or my patients. PERIOD. Hang in there, and dont be afraid to speak up for yourself and your patients.

Namaste

indigonurse · Oct 18, 2009

That does sound very challenging. Thank goodness nursing is a very diverse field. This type of nursing might not be for you but there might be other areas that are. There is home care, skilled nursing, teaching, labor and deliver, etc.

meadow85 · Oct 18, 2009

Sounds like a normal day to me, sadly enough. If you feel your assignment is unfair them speak up. I have done that on occasions. If you are feeling overwhelmed then ask for help. Its all about teamwork. Work with the ward clerk as well. If there are important orders that need to be transcribed ASAP then bring it to his/her attention or do it yourself if you can (often times I do it myself but my clerk is great and she is always behind me). Or sometimes orders will have to wait. You can only do so much at a time. Although its not an excuse for heavy workloads ... you will learn how to manage everything better in time. Just do what you can. Good luck!

Hang in there, you will find you have good days and bad days. If med/surg isn't for you. Then try a different area (public, community, teaching, research, different specialty etc).

questionsforall · Oct 19, 2009

Hang in there it gets better and you will start getting out on time, once you get used to things and start a routine. I will not lie, because there will still be bad days. We all have them. Patients are not always predictable. When I started nursing I worked on a step down unit with 4 patients and it took me a while to get used to it (that was only four patients and I had a difficult time). Then, I switched to the ICU and had to start from scratch. In my ICU they give all the newbies the admissions and the crashing patients. They say they are breaking you in. I will tell you that it was hard at first ( cried every night when I got home), but because of my experiences I learned a lot and am now able to handle the most difficult situations with ease (I still get out an hour late sometimes, but rarely). Stick with it.

One word of advice, try and ask for help (it won't hurt, the worst they could say is no). That was something I had a hard time with at first. I learned that sometimes people will not help you unless you ask.

changeofpaceRN · Oct 19, 2009

You will have your good days and bad days (in the beginning it seems like more bad than anything else but it is just adjusting to different situations and getting organized IMO). After you gain some more experience, look for another area of nursing. I switched to public health and I LOVE my job now.. I went from crying before my shift to being fine about going to work.. big change for me!

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Oct 19, 2009

op: why are you re-writing my past posts??? oh, wait, you are experiencing what i experienced a few weeks post orientation on the worse medical surgical floor in my former hospital. sadly, as the others have said, you are not alone!!! i think part of your problem is your time management. the bigger part of your problem are the nurse managers such as your crazy charge nurses who think it is ok to break-you-in. i have no idea why some charge nurses/experienced nurses think this type of treatment is ok! i feel it is unsafe and dangerous for the patients. however, it happens to us all. :down:

on a brighter note, as time goes on you will grow some nursing thingies to stand up for yourself and not take assignments that are beyond you present skill set. also, you will improve your time management and sometimes do the impossible (get through an entire shift with high acuity patients without needing to remain late)!!! plus, at some point soon your charge nurses will see you improve and will back off because you will not be the new-kid-on-the-block any more (new grads graduate all year long). good luck and hang in there ...

btw, join us on the first year after nursing licensure board... https://allnurses.com/first-year-after/

-now a new grad in the ed and having a much better experience then med surg ....

hope3456, ASN, RN · Oct 19, 2009

I work m/s too and can relate to all above posts. I have decided that i have to stop being so hard on myself and realize that I am only one human being and that I alone can only do so much. I worked 14 hrs w/o a break on my last shift. I feel I do have good time management skills and a good knowledge base - have been a RN for 4 yrs now. My unit will not staff according to acuity either and it is just out right unsafe. I routinely have 6 pts with or w/o a CNA, and the CNA is very limited on what she can do. No other back up staff, and I have to do all the RT tx's. I gave a 2 wk notice just on fri and am going to home health. I feel i am risking my license. I have complained (as have my coworkers) and the NM is very good at turning the issue back around on us.....bad time management, ect. I floated to OB the other night, it seemed like a cake walk and the RN's sat and read their books for about 3 hrs.

If the economy was any better I would be looking for a new profession all together. I am a big believer there is no shortage of nurses, only a shortage of nurses who are willing to work in crappy working conditions.