Methodical Nurse/please advise

nursemike, ASN, RN · Mar 27, 2008

A. Please don't feel bad for coming to allnurses for whatever support you need. As nice as it will be, someday, when you're posting about some recent triumph or how great things are, as you say, nurses understand.

B. I don't really have much specific advice, but as I was reading your post, I happened to think of our dialysis unit. I've never worked there, but when I was a transporter, I used to take patients there, and it seemed like a place where thoroughness was a virtue. Each nurse appears to have one patient, usually for several hours per treatment, and it seemed like a place where doing things right was more crucial than doing things quickly--usually, anyway. I also know some nurses who've moved from med-surg to the ICU's or ER and love it, but I think those would be places where you'd want to be pretty confident in your skills.

I work on a busy med-surg (actually, neuro/neurosurg) unit, and I can relate to envying those energetic youngsters who seem able to be six places at once. I also work with some great, experienced nurses. One thing I notice, though, is that you rarely see the really great nurses in a hurry. It reminds me of when I was a carpenter. There were guys who were fast because they ran all the time and did everything in a hurry. Then there were the old pros who never rushed, but never wasted a movement. If you needed a job done quick and dirty, get one of the young hotshots, but if you need it done now and done right, go to one of the old pros. Similarly, it doesn't appear to me that the really great nurses aren't so much reacting quickly to problems as anticipating them before they become problems. I'm sure it helps that it doesn't take half an hour to do something routine, like starting an IV or changing a dressing. But a lot of it appears to be recognizing situations they've seen before and knowing what to do before it gets out of hand.

Going back to carpentry, when my father was teaching me the trade, he told me that if you start out doing a job right, you'll automatically get quicker with practice, but if you sacrifice quality for speed, your quality won't improve. We don't always have that luxury in nursing--sometimes every second counts--but the principle still applies a lot of the time. If our goal is to be fast and methodical, slow and methodical is a better place to start than quick and dirty.

Becca608 · Mar 29, 2008

:icon_hug:Take care...we all need time to find the home where we belong! Glad you are here!

kronfeldhastings · Apr 1, 2008

I was wondering if you have ever thought of being a Practice Nurse(medical centre/dr nurse), I gave up on the hospital system because i could not give the care i was trained to do with limited resources and limited time. I have never loved a job so much in my life, and I've tryed nearly every specialty.

other ideas: day chemo unit,blood bank,ICU/CCu,transit lounges. hope this helps alittle:sofahider