May 2008 grads....how are things going?

Nurses New Nurse

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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 :)

Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.
marilynmom,

may I ask just what kind of new job did you get? what field are you in now?

Are you in OKC?

I'm working for Saints in an adolescent psych unit, but it's not in the hospital but across town--- it's a great job, low stress and the patients are fine. I have no plans to *ever* work in any hospital again.

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Specializes in cardiac, psychiatric emergency, rehab.

Gawd,

I got out of psych as it has as many trepidations and problems as any other area; I guess if you are not in charge, it is not as difficult.

However, I can also understand why someone would take this route and never look back! :yeah:

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Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.
Gawd,

I got out of psych as it has as many trepidations and problems as any other area; I guess if you are not in charge, it is not as difficult.

However, I can also understand why someone would take this route and never look back! :yeah:

Thanks!

I don't have your typical psych job though which I think makes a difference :) It's very low stress. We had only 2 patient "holds" last year if that tells you anything.

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Specializes in cardiac, psychiatric emergency, rehab.

Lol... I understand and GOOD for you!:yeah:

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On the bright side, today was a good day... 5 pts, no one violent, no one assaulting me (patients, family members or coworkers), stayed out of the boss's way, no codes, actually got done close to time to go....

Wish I had more like these....

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Graduated in May and didn't take NCLEX until July... passed at 75 but really wished I had taken it right away ---could not get into a hospital and finally ended up in LTC. Love the residents, hate the environment. Talk about pressure. 54 residents, on my own. HUGE med passes.

I have an interview Wednesday with a hospital almost 2 hrs away and let me tell you if I get an offer I am so there!

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Specializes in OB/GYN & Med/Surg.

get out, immediately! run run run!!!

can i second that opinion?!!! if your nurse to pt ratio is 1:8 on a telemetry floor, with fresh open hearts, you're looking to lose your license! sooner or later, you're gonna lose a pt, because another had your attention for other serious problems. get out immediately! run, run, run!!!

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Specializes in OB/GYN & Med/Surg.
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?:crying2:

you probably won't. i would see if i could get transfered to another unit, or get a job at another facility. if you're not good enough yet, it ain't gonna' happen. sorry to break it so "gently" to you. :o

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Specializes in OB/GYN & Med/Surg.

well, unfortunately i don't have such glowing words about my time since graduating. i graduated may 8, passed the nclex on june 26 with 75 questions. started on june 16 or so with the unit i worked on as a cna ii for 2 years during nursing school. from the get-go, my [day-shift] preceptor & i didn't get along very well. she often criticized me, once in front of a patient (which i thought was totally unprofessional, and on top of it all, what she said wasn't even true). finally my boss moved me back to nights. i had a hard time adjusting to the rn role as opposed to the cna role. time management was my enemy, i was certain. i did some reeeeaaaalyyyyy stupid stuff (2 really bad mistakes which could have caused horrible outcomes, but thankfully didn't). part of the mistakes was because i had no time management, so i got stressed really easy, and therefore didn't grasp when others tried to give me instructions. after my big mistakes, i cried & begged god to never let me be so stupid again. i would rather get out of nursing all together (which i don't want to, because i love it!) than to ever endanger a patient's life again. well, i learned from my experiences, big time. things were starting to look soooooo much better. i finally began getting some organization. i began to get my work done and have time to spend with my patients. then it got even better - i could get my work done, spend time with my patients, and even help out the other nurses when they needed. i thought, "this is how nursing is supposed to be!" then on mondazy (2/2) my boss called me to tell me she needed to meet with me asap. once i arrived in her office, she told me she has to "let me go." from everything my coworkers have said, i don't think my dismissal was my fault. all i can hope & pray is that i'll be able to find something else that will allow me job security & a decent paycheck (somewhat comparable to my previous job). if it hadn't been for getting laid off/fired, i would have said that nursing is the most awesome thing ever. i still think that nursing is the most awesome thing ever - i just wish that those in it would be a little more helpful, and a little less critical. that's all for now. i hope soon i'll change my opinion (and love, love, love nursing like never before). thanks for whoever reads & comments on my story. i hope it's not a discouragement to anybody. take care.

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you probably won't. i would see if i could get transfered to another unit, or get a job at another facility. if you're not good enough yet, it ain't gonna' happen. sorry to break it so "gently" to you. :o

i agree. i think there is no pleasing her. i do think i'm a good nurse, and i'm not trying to be arrogant. i work hard, and everyone enjoys working with me. my problem is that i'm not good enough for me yet. i was venting about how i still don't get things right, no matter how hard i try. and i know that is life some days. it seems that in nursing there are more murphy's law days than not. and that's what i need to get used to.

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Specializes in Oncology, Med-Surg, Nursery.

I'm already headed to job number 2, lol. I actually liked the area and the job I was at (Oncology), but there were some issues with the actual floor and some co-workers that I couldn't get beyond. Plus, I wanted to be closer to home and my family. Other than that, I am doing fairly well. Hard to believe we're coming up on a year! :)

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.

I need to vent.

Nine months after graduation, and 7 months after licensure, I'm still looking for my first RN job. This week, I was turned down by a SNF (they weren't hiring new grads) and an ALF.

Staying positive is very hard. I'm starting to wonder why I bothered with nursing school. I'm mature, reliable, good with people, and have a good work ethic (or so I've been told), yet I can't get a 1-star nursing home (I checked) to return my phone calls.

I've accepted that I'll need to move to get a job. I've wanted to leave the area for years. The next time my husband whines that his father will take it "hard" if we leave the area, I'm going to slap him. The man is 86, and has 8 other kids, including 1 who lives with him. I'll stay here and let my skills rot so Hubby can look after Dad, but only if if Hubby will pay for my refresher course.

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