I apologize for the very lengthy post. But if you have the patience to read and offer some advice, it would be very much appreciated.
I am feeling great deal of distress.
I received a job offer to work part time 0.8 in a Kaiser CV-ICU. Job posting requirements stated "One year recent experience in a Cardiovascular ICU or in a Critical Care Unit caring for post-operative cardiovascular surgery patients." It has always been my dream to work in a dedicated Cardiovascular ICU.
Just some background information regarding my experience:
4 years mixed ICU (patient demographic includes treatment and caring for patient's with Sepsis, ARDS, Cardiac and Neuro patients). My experience in the cardiac aspect included taking care of patients CABG POD #1 (1 year), CABG POD 0 (3 with preceptor, 2 on my own with backup for resource) ECMO, IABP, management of PA catheters and hemodynamic monitor via Vigilance II monitor. I was completely transparent with the manager.
As I got into the unit and the orientation, my manager gave me some advice to inform the preceptors that I have no prior experience in taking care of Open Heart patients. I did as I was told. My first week of orientation consisted of shadowing my am shift preceptor as my HealthConnect (Epic), GRASP and Glucose ID was not ready. I admit I could not independently take a two patient assignment at this time and was slow at task. My evaluation for the week was done by the manager and ANM (Assistant Nurse Manager) and they expressed concerns that my performance did not match my experience. "We expected you to take care of two patient's and it seems you are not able to do that." In addition, the manager accused me of not taking her seriously, I assured her that I did take everything she said very seriously. I explained my inability to have any access with Epic/GRASP/Glucose made it challenging to take care of two patient's independently, in addition to not being familiar with the hospitals policy/procedures. They agreed and expected better performance in the weeks to come.
My second week, I worked my scheduled evening shift with two different preceptors. Everything seemed to be going better. Gained access to Epic and GRASP (still not Glucometer access). Independently took care of two patient's with the occasional question regarding their protocols. I asked for daily feedback regarding my performance from the preceptors and got them in writing. My preceptor #1 only concerns were how slow I am with charting and preceptor #2 is how quickly I finished charting and how she wanted me to do a more thorough assessment (assess extremity strength despite seeing them ambulate). I took all their criticism into consideration and adjusted accordingly. However, my second week evaluation with the Manager and ANM was worse than the first. They said "You are fabricating your assessment, slow to chart and you turned off patient alarms." I denied the fabrication of my assessments. I told them I may have failed to check the alarm setting but my preceptor educated me to check it regularly as some of their staff are notorious for turning off alarms. They said these comments are concerning as they feel I am unsafe and these are serious red flags. And I still have not met their expectations to taking care of patient's because my preceptors have expressed that they feel they still have to hold my hand. None of this was reported to me. I felt I was able to take care of two patients, titrated drips accordingly and finished tasks in a timely manner. They say that may be true but they don't feel I would know what critical values and conditions to report to the MD if faced with a situation. I requested for complete transparency from my preceptors and the ANM said "in a perfect world that would happen". All comments regarding my performance, the ANM said the preceptors would like to remain anonymous.
They are giving me another week to deliberate but per my preceptor despite his opinion regarding my performance at bedside the manager seems to have made up her mind. Per the preceptor, the manager states "They don't want you to be the weak link in this unit." Despite the promised 5 week orientation the ANM compared what should be my training with that of travel RN hired in their facility, which is 1 day orientation in CVICU and 1 day in ICU.
I have until next week for my evaluation. And will request union representation during the deliberation. I have started seeking new employment. But this whole ordeal is so dishearting.
Begging for advice:
1) During the meeting, should I quit/ wait to be let go/ request an extension/ asked to be transferred?
2) Will this orientation hinder/affect any future applications in all Kaiser facility?
3) Should I include this orientation period in my resume?
A five week orientation seems short for CVICU if you had no prior experience. Your manager sounds inflexible, I feel like I would ask to be transferred, your manager saying you falsified assessments is, imo, kind of a huge accusation to make. If you ask for an extension, request that it have measurable goals with enough time. Best of luck
jodispamodi
230 Posts
A five week orientation seems short for CVICU if you had no prior experience. Your manager sounds inflexible, I feel like I would ask to be transferred, your manager saying you falsified assessments is, imo, kind of a huge accusation to make. If you ask for an extension, request that it have measurable goals with enough time. Best of luck