:bluecry1: today was my 3rd day of what i thought was orientation. the facility that i work at has 4 wings and the side they put me on today is pretty heavy. i found that out also today. the med pass is brutal. i didn't and still don't feel like 2 days on each unit is enough. i did fine on the first unit. no problems, buttttttttttttt, i keep telling them that i just passed my boards a few weeks ago, and med pass in school is totally different from the real world version. i am hearing two different versions of how long orientation is. i was told 6 wks and then i heard two weeks:uhoh3: there is no way on this planet that i am going to be ready in two weeks!!!!! well anyways, the side i was on today and expected to pass all of the a.m. meds on has 32 patients, i kept saying i don't feel too comfortable, and i don't know these patients, i feel like i am falling behind. the supervisor said i was doing fine (which was a total lie, that is what my gut was telling me).one of the patient's i passed meds on had to have at least 17 different things!!!! that alone only took me forever and a day. the med error happened about half way through, when my preceptor was showing me how to go faster. that person knows the patients and was pulling out of order and doing not only my patient, but the one she decided she was going to do. well low and behold, i gave her meds to my patient. :angryfire :crying2: :crying2: . i feel like crap right now, i am upset with the way my orientation is going, and i have only been there for 3 days. i am ready to just say forget it and leave. i didn't give anything that would cause "real harm" is what i was told. now i am going to be up allllll night. but stilll, it's a med error!!!! after giving it, i told my preceptor that i was not touching anything else. i don't understand why they would want to start me out on a full med pass on a side where the meds are so heavy. please any advice from experience would be helpful. oh btw, half of the patients for what ever reason don't have name bands and there was no pic to identify the patient. i did ask which bed.
Many nurses give false hope to new grads, when things are different b/c they may have been doing the job for 20+ years, when you have been there for 3 days, that stuff makes me soooo mad:angryfire , because those nurses don't know your strengths and weaknessess.
willdgate...your words are ringing true..but what do you mean when you say... (I want to hear what you have to say)
false hope=?
things are different b/c...20years=?
b/c don't know your s&w=?
Are you referring to the lack of synergy and cooperation between the precepting unit and appreciation for what the new grad's brings: didactic education and lack of practical experience?
I felt like nursing school is a waste of time once I got on the floor.
Assessment is the first step in the nursing process and adult education...planning is the second. New grads deserve some professional treatment!
Yeah, I found out very fast that real world nursing is wayyyyyy different from what I was doing in school. I have work experience in surgery which is fast paced, but.... I guess I can't really use that as experience because I only had to deal with one patient, although there was usually a number of residents, plus the main surgeon all with their hands out for instruments. I am really considering going back to the O.R. as a tech. The pay is the same, but it is an environment I am familiar with and one I enjoyed alot. Some days I question why my career choice. The facility is very understaffed for whatever reason. I am just more careful, and let people know that I can't be interrupted when preparing meds because I don't want to give them or give their loved one the wrong medication. It is working out pretty well so far, even though I got chewed out by a resident because she was " sitting in this chair for five minutes, and you won't tell me where my sister is", after I had explained to her I don't know her sister or where she may be, but I could find out after I was threw preparing meds for the woman whom I had prepared for eyedrop instillation. It's an interesting job to say the least. Happy Nurse's Week to you all
DO NOT LET HER SHOW YOU SHORTCUTS. That was how I was taught, too, and it is WRONG. The new job trained me RIGHT, and now that I am accustomed to doing it the right way it's actually faster than the short cuts.
On my first day her I got interupted and confused and gave someone someone else's meds, too. I reported it. The resident got diarrhea from the sorbitol.
Kaka pasa.
I started this thread on my own med errors and it turns out that they were all - and I was making a lot - from bad habits formed right out of school. Sure, pulling from memory works unless an order has been changed or added.
I don't think that you need to leave. But do NOT be upset that morning med pass will take you three hours. It will, and that's fine. Start an hour before the first time and, if the times are at all staggered, you will come in within the one hours before/after time frame. Do not allow your preceptor to push you into going faster. Simply say, "I'm not even comfortable with doing this the by-the-book way yet. I'm not ready for short cuts." With a smile.
i gave a wrong medication last night. it was horrible. i gave cefatoxime instead of cafzolin. somehow i did check the patients name. but sad to say, i mistakenly got the wrong medication... for know i feel so awkward and horrible of what i did. for now, i lose my confidence in giving medication.what must i do to overcome this kind of feeling. i am very sure that all the nurses in that area knows what happened that night.... i feel so horrible right now.... can someone enlighten me please...
DO NOT LET HER SHOW YOU SHORTCUTS. That was how I was taught, too, and it is WRONG. The new job trained me RIGHT, and now that I am accustomed to doing it the right way it's actually faster than the short cuts.
On my first day her I got interupted and confused and gave someone someone else's meds, too. I reported it. The resident got diarrhea from the sorbitol.
Kaka pasa.
I started this thread on my own med errors and it turns out that they were all - and I was making a lot - from bad habits formed right out of school. Sure, pulling from memory works unless an order has been changed or added.
I don't think that you need to leave. But do NOT be upset that morning med pass will take you three hours. It will, and that's fine. Start an hour before the first time and, if the times are at all staggered, you will come in within the one hours before/after time frame. Do not allow your preceptor to push you into going faster. Simply say, "I'm not even comfortable with doing this the by-the-book way yet. I'm not ready for short cuts." With a smile.
The Above advice is sound, I do not know how big your facility is and how many wings but one of the thing we offer in our facility is one day on each wing with a NAR (nursing Assistant regestered), to get to know the residents. you watch them get ready, help toilet a few. sit down in the dinning room while they eat and visit, help with the ones that need assistance. bring your wing sheet and make notes.
if you cant ID someone ask the NAR's they will help. I know it seems daunting but it will get better.
it is upsetting to make a med error. i, too, hate it when someone says, "but you did not give something that caused a problem." while that is true, it is still a problem like you said. there is not a nurse out there who can say they have never made one. if they do, they are lying!! you need to stand up for yourself and tell them that as a new grad, you do not feel comfortable working alone with 32 patients. that is a lot. i hate it when i have to work the units at my facility that have 25 patients. and i have been here for five years. demand that they give you proper orientation for a new grad or tell them that you will have to find a job elsewhere where they will be willing to train you properly. i once gave a patient another patients meds. i got lucky and the patient was ok. i felt horrible just like you do now. and this will be a learning experience for you. good luck!! keep your head up!
:bluecry1: 
today was my 3rd day of what i thought was orientation. the facility that i work at has 4 wings and the side they put me on today is pretty heavy. i found that out also today. the med pass is brutal. i didn't and still don't feel like 2 days on each unit is enough. i did fine on the first unit. no problems, buttttttttttttt, i keep telling them that i just passed my boards a few weeks ago, and med pass in school is totally different from the real world version. i am hearing two different versions of how long orientation is. i was told 6 wks and then i heard two weeks:uhoh3: there is no way on this planet that i am going to be ready in two weeks!!!!! well anyways, the side i was on today and expected to pass all of the a.m. meds on has 32 patients, i kept saying i don't feel too comfortable, and i don't know these patients, i feel like i am falling behind. the supervisor said i was doing fine (which was a total lie, that is what my gut was telling me).one of the patient's i passed meds on had to have at least 17 different things!!!! that alone only took me forever and a day. the med error happened about half way through, when my preceptor was showing me how to go faster. that person knows the patients and was pulling out of order and doing not only my patient, but the one she decided she was going to do. well low and behold, i gave her meds to my patient. :angryfire 
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fmwf
73 Posts
willdgate...your words are ringing true..but what do you mean when you say... (I want to hear what you have to say)
false hope=?
things are different b/c...20years=?
b/c don't know your s&w=?
Are you referring to the lack of synergy and cooperation between the precepting unit and appreciation for what the new grad's brings: didactic education and lack of practical experience?
I felt like nursing school is a waste of time once I got on the floor.
Assessment is the first step in the nursing process and adult education...planning is the second. New grads deserve some professional treatment!