am i just slow or is my brain not working

[AngelofSeduction]

so today a nurse im following on orientation had to do an IVPB for antibiotic. there was already a primary bag and she had to set up an antibiotic. the order said to run it over 6o min and there was 250ml in the bag, she put 150 as the rate and i was trying to figure out why she put it. i'm not fast with math off the top of my head i'm a pen and paper person. in school i'm used to " desired over have" and setting the calculation up but in real world it's not written as MD ordered and so on. i don't see no nurses doing math. i'm here feeling slow and everything above and on top of top i'm suppose to be doing med pass coming this thursday. i was starting to feel a lil confident until an orientee came to follow my nurse and she completely took over like she knows it all, she wants to do everything. i felt overshadowed. i'm feeling it right now.i'm not a fast person what someone might get in 2 sec i have to really think about it. *sigh*

[RainMom]

No, you're not slow. It should have been run at 250 ml/hr to infuse the whole bag over 60 minutes. Likely, the nurse was worried whether the IV site could handle the rate.

You'll feel slow for quite some time. I've always been that way too whenever I'm put on the spot. The answer could be screaming in my head, but at the same time I'm terrified I'm wrong & clam up. It will get easier!

[PA_RN87, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN]

I agree with nu rn. Most likely, the nurse was concerned about compromising the vein with a higher rate (250 ml/hr is pretty fast for a peripheral, especially if it's somewhere fragile like the hand). I personally never run antibiotics that fast, unless it's a central line or PICC line, for exactly that reason. Some antibiotics are naturally irritating or hard on veins to begin with.

This is a great example of nursing judgement, and is something you'll develop with more and more experience. Don't worry about the math, as doing rate calculations is usually more common with drips (Cardizem, etc.). These things get easier with time and experience.

Also, it sort of sounds like your preceptor nurse is orienting multiple orientees? If that's the case, I'd talk with your manager. Orientation is a critical time for a new nurse to learn with the direction of an experienced nurse. If this nurse is supervising 2 orientees, you're really only getting 50% of the attention you should be getting.