last week of orientation, should i ask for more time?

[R8T3D_RN]

I am about to enter my last week of orientation in the ED (about a 10 week orientation). I work nights and my preceptor during the day pretty much left me on my own to do things for myself and I would ask them questions when I needed help. my prior experience was pacu in an ambulatory surgery center. I felt like there was a lack of teaching from my preceptor and I did ask for a new one but they did not provide me with a new preceptor. I asked as much questions as i could. We have had meetings with the nurse educator and my preceptor said I was doing well carrying a full load on my own with 5-7 pts.

I went to night orientation with a new nurse who watched how I worked, I guess due to the lack of guidance from my day preceptor she acknowledged to me how I am not prioritizing my patients and spending too much time going in and out of the rooms that causes me to loose a lot of time and be "behind", causing me to be slow. when she said this it opened up my mind and she was definitely right. (she is a very knowledgable preceptor andwe get along well)

I feel stressed when I get on shift at 7pm and its busy which I then get assigned another 3-4pts within the hr ontop of the pts I had been endorsed from the leaving nurse. our max pt. load is 7. I am deffinatly going to work on prioritizing and time managment in my last week. Should I talk to the nurse educator and ask for more time to be precepted? I do not feel like i am there with my prioritizing and time management skills.

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

No, you are just opening yourself up to trouble by telling your educator that you have poor prioritization skills. 1 week is not going to make a difference anyway. Being out there by yourself will.

[R8T3D_RN]

I just feel I have so much anxiety and doubt, can I really do this by myself? are these feelings all normal?

[jbug1792]

I agree, just go for it. Hopefully you will have great co-workers and plenty of support on your shift. I transferred to a level one trauma center from a med surge unit. It is a scary transition. It is normal to be anxious and doubt yourself. You have what it takes, and it will take time to get comfortable in such an unpredictable environment. The emergency room is an intimidating environment, anyone who says they weren't nervous when they first started there is full of bs.

I was and am lucky, I work with amazing co-workers and when the you know what hits the fan I never feel alone. I hope the same becomes true for you.

[R8T3D_RN]

Everytime I go to work my heart is pounding out of my chest. Thanks you for your advice and support (:

[NurseOnAMotorcycle, ASN, RN]

Being off of orientation does not mean that you were not allowed to ask for help. Get your LPNs and HCT's involved. Let them know that you are new and sometimes need help catching up. The good ones will help you. Hang in there, find another RN who you can talk to for help if you are getting bogged down. Like any new job, time management will come as you get more settled in.