For those of us who graduated in May (or thereabout) how is the first few months of nursing? How are you feeling and where are you working? Thoughts?
I'm working in a PICU at a teaching hospital and I LOVE it! I learn something new everyday and my co-workers are the bomb! I feel supported and there is always someone if I need help/have questions.
There have been some days where I feel very overwhelmed and want to throw in the towel but most days I really enjoy it. I'm thankfully that I work on a very supportive unit to new grad ICU nurses. I had a 10 week orientation and that was adequate I thought....so far so good on my own.
Yesterday was funny for me, I have to share. Everyone had told me that new residents don't know anything but I never really believed it. Well yesterday was the first of the month and the new residents/interns came. The resident who was assigned to one of my patients (we usually have 1-2 patients per nurse) told me it was his first day and he didn't know what he was doing. So *I* the new NURSE had to show him the ropes....she him how our vents worked, etc. He then got assigned to pull back my patients PICC line to 5cm and I had to show him step-by-step how to do that and then I dressed it. ME a NEW nurse?! LOL He was so thankful and kept shaking my hand and telling me how thankful he was.....lol. Hopefully down the road he will remember the nurses who helped him when he didn't know what he was doing :)
look at it this way, at least you have the opportunity to put in for the transfer. I remember I had asked my director if things don't workout can I transfer to a med-surg floor, I was on a med telemetry floor. She had said yes. When I got terminated I asked can I be transferred to another unit and she said that she didn't feel comfortable in doing that ,what a load of bull .
While working i felt like I was training myself. Half the time my preceptor was no where to be found. They had told me that the ratio of nurse to patients is 1:5 and that while on orientation they have you expereince having a 6pt load at leasr once. Well I had to mange 6pts for 2wks straight, one time they tried to have me at 7 and I nice told my preceptor, NO!!!!!!. So I ended up taking six and my precpetor got 1. It was to the point because I was working at a small hospital, my unit was the dumping ground to put patients. with in my 82 days of employment I dealt more with psych and drug and alcohol dextoxers than cardiac patients. The placed I worked at said that if you get two unsatisfactory evaluations while on orientation then termination is done. I got for first unsatisfactory for not being able to manage 5 pts independently.The following week I did accomplish it. The second unsatifactory who knows why I got . I was never told what I did. I was just told we don't feel comfortable having you on your own. What the #$%^$. Not once was i ever told that i did something unsafe . It was to the point I was always the one bringing up safety, not them.When I was terminated my floor orientation totalled 8 wks.
I just thank my lucky stars my license is valid and not tainted. Even if I did make it off orientation I think I would have quit. That placed I worked at was nothing but "fastfood" nursing. They could have cared less about staff needs and patient needs, all they cared about was looking good to pass state inspection and what not and making sure empty beds became filled ones. There was no teamwork at all, that many places talk about. Plus when I was working I learned that a lot of the staff wasn't happy to be working there and I also realized it wasn't a place for a nurse to grow in. It was to the point I thought to myself if sickness was to come upon me while at work, i would request to be transfered and treated at another hospital.
It sucks not working, looking for a new job, and having to tell places I was fired, but I am so happy i'm outta that place. I
I'm really not sure why some places would hire a new grad into an ICU without a realistic orientation time period. Many hospitals are getting the hint about that and now have started up speciality residencies (ICU, ER, etc). Some places are also realizing that going from a student nurse to a RN isn't as easy for some as it is for others. nurses have to know and do a lot more than they did before.
I like nursing, but i truly don't like the politics that goes along with it in the work place, but I'm just going to suck it up and do what I gotta do, because the BS politics is not going to go away.
Sounds like a lot of us are definately not having a good first year post graduation. For those of us still looking hang in there, we shall find something. For those of us terminated before even finishing orientation (yeah I'm one of 'em) don't sweat it, we will find something much better and more supportive. Yes some of us learn slower than others, it doesn't mean we are stupid, just more thorough. Don't let it stop you from following your dream. If you dream of working in a certain area, keep at it until you get it. You are the only one who can say if you are "cut out" for a certain area/unit.
For those whose year had been a good one...keep on keepin on LOL.
Too bad patients couldn't read some of these posts before filling out Press-Gainey. Then they might have a different idea about patient satisfaction.
I'm six months into my tele floor, and it just seems that they (patients and bosses) want MORE and MORE and MORE, while "throwing us to the Wolves", then can't understand why new people screw up...why patients aren't satisfied...why the turnover rate is so high...
I am just absolutely worn out. I feel like I have burnout. I love nursing, but it seems like my boss is always threatening me with something. No matter what I do, it is never good enough. Do all nurses, not just new ones, work in a fear-motivated environment?
Do all nurses, not just new ones, work in a fear-motivated environment?
I'm really quite sad that that question is asked! It makes me realize how lucky I am to work for the hospital system that I do. Of course we all find faults in our work too, but none of us feel like *this.* (At least, not to my knowledge!) I guess this is why we finally earned Magnet status at our facility...?
Point being - there ARE places that don't treat employees harshly, including newbies! It's just a matter of finding them. :)
I'm envious of your staff ratio. Ours is 8:1. On my floor we get open heart's 1 day post op with chest tubes + central lines. pt's going for cath's constantly, sometimes 3 out of the 8. I'm overwhelmed
I'm envious of your staff ratio. Ours is 8:1. On my floor we get open heart's 1 day post op with chest tubes + central lines. pt's going for cath's constantly, sometimes 3 out of the 8. I'm overwhelmed
Older RNs treating us new grads like crap is so counter-productive. Who the **** do they think is going to take care of them when they retire and need a nurse?
Don't get me wrong, I know that there is definitely some of the old vs. new viciousness out there, but my experience has been that the hospital environment sets up the new nurse to fail. From my first day, the Nurse Manager (NM) expected me to know what I was doing. Granted, I knew my skills, theory, etc, but things like phone numbers, doctors (even who they were), procedures (GI, surgery, etc- consents, preps), just the general flow of the floor that it takes a while to learn. I am not one of the new ones that got out of school and forgot everything. When those things came up that I didn't know, and sometimes still haven't run into yet, the NM would always give a dirty look and some sarcastic remark. I am not an incompetent nurse. I am inexperienced. I am not overly sensitive. But I think we all know when we've been given an unfair judgement. And not just once, but I can't do anything to please her. It's something new every day that she points out.
It hurts. I try to and want to and think I do a really good job, most of the time. But when will I ever be good enough?
Specializes in cardiac, psychiatric emergency, rehab.
Yes you will be good ENOUGH!
It is very difficult to be a 'new' nurse, learn the ropes of the facility, the people, who you can kid with and who takes your 'humor' in the wrong way. It is difficult to get to know all of the doctors, their style etc. It is difficult to learn what you are responsible for even when it did not originate with you!
Try to take it all in, be brave and try to identify at least one person you can count on for your information.
If there is not at least one person, run like the dickens!
I got a new job and am so much happier. I was working in a large level 1 ICU and had a great experience and learned a lot, liked most of the people I worked with and I'm glad I have that background. But I was getting tired and stressed out and starting to dread work (even my days off I couldn't enjoy) not knowing what the day would hold if it would be a total nightmare or ok. I hated being on call, hated the stress of the ICU--some days it was just overwhelming, hated the hospital environment, hate that the stress was taking a toll on my body (high BP, no appetite, etc) and my mental health (had to start taking antianxiety med and even that wasn't cutting it). So I put in my resignation after 8 months and left. I had signed a contract but even that wasn't enough to keep me. I was really nervous and unsure about leaving and had mixed emotions about it, but I am *very* glad I did leave.
I'm now working outside the hospital and it's great. No more being on call, I'm doing 8 hr shifts so my whole day isn't sucked into work--I have every evening off to go out and be with my kids and family, cook dinner, and my job is MUCH less stressful and I'm not nearly as tired and drained. I'm working in a residential adolescent psych center and it's great.
I just wanted to mention to some of you might want to look into psych nursing.
KeepingItRealEeyore
70 Posts
Hi Imgettingthere,
look at it this way, at least you have the opportunity to put in for the transfer. I remember I had asked my director if things don't workout can I transfer to a med-surg floor, I was on a med telemetry floor. She had said yes. When I got terminated I asked can I be transferred to another unit and she said that she didn't feel comfortable in doing that ,what a load of bull .
While working i felt like I was training myself. Half the time my preceptor was no where to be found. They had told me that the ratio of nurse to patients is 1:5 and that while on orientation they have you expereince having a 6pt load at leasr once. Well I had to mange 6pts for 2wks straight, one time they tried to have me at 7 and I nice told my preceptor, NO!!!!!!. So I ended up taking six and my precpetor got 1. It was to the point because I was working at a small hospital, my unit was the dumping ground to put patients. with in my 82 days of employment I dealt more with psych and drug and alcohol dextoxers than cardiac patients. The placed I worked at said that if you get two unsatisfactory evaluations while on orientation then termination is done. I got for first unsatisfactory for not being able to manage 5 pts independently.The following week I did accomplish it. The second unsatifactory who knows why I got . I was never told what I did. I was just told we don't feel comfortable having you on your own. What the #$%^$. Not once was i ever told that i did something unsafe
. It was to the point I was always the one bringing up safety, not them.When I was terminated my floor orientation totalled 8 wks.
I just thank my lucky stars my license is valid and not tainted. Even if I did make it off orientation I think I would have quit. That placed I worked at was nothing but "fastfood" nursing. They could have cared less about staff needs and patient needs, all they cared about was looking good to pass state inspection and what not and making sure empty beds became filled ones. There was no teamwork at all, that many places talk about. Plus when I was working I learned that a lot of the staff wasn't happy to be working there and I also realized it wasn't a place for a nurse to grow in. It was to the point I thought to myself if sickness was to come upon me while at work, i would request to be transfered and treated at another hospital.
It sucks not working, looking for a new job, and having to tell places I was fired, but I am so happy i'm outta that place. I
I'm really not sure why some places would hire a new grad into an ICU without a realistic orientation time period. Many hospitals are getting the hint about that and now have started up speciality residencies (ICU, ER, etc). Some places are also realizing that going from a student nurse to a RN isn't as easy for some as it is for others. nurses have to know and do a lot more than they did before.
I like nursing, but i truly don't like the politics that goes along with it in the work place, but I'm just going to suck it up and do what I gotta do, because the BS politics is not going to go away.