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Okay, full disclosure, I am still pretty much a new grad on the floor myself with a whole whopping seven months on the floor- I work in a very busy TCU, with a patient population that ranges from Total knee replacement A&O x3, to higher acutity with us to see if they need LTC services in the near future
Having said that, here is what I have learned on the floor thus far about being a new grad
1. Keep your eyes and ears open at all times
2. Ask questions all the time!
3. Be very honest about what do you do and don't know from the get go! which as a new grad is NOT MUCH
4. Addendum to #3, be humble
5. Obvioulsy follow all rules and company policy to keep management happy but first and foremost form good bonds with your co-workers, especially the more seasoned knowledgeable nurses- you need them more then you can ever know initially!
Having said that, one of my coworkers is driving me frickin' nuts, and is the EXACT OPPOSITE of eveything I wrote aboved
She's a new grad in her mid twenties, been on our floor two months- very OVERLY confident- refuses to admit she doesn't know something, in fact for the first two weeks she had managed to trick me- whenever we would explain a new procedure/tx on the floor with a patient in report she would say " Oh sure just like in the hospital!" which I thought meant she had worked in one until I found out SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT CLINICALS
anyhow, due to being a family friend of the one of the higher ups she got position as a shift supervisor after one month on the floor- ( the word on the street is that she plans to stick at our facility as a supervisor for a year so that she can go have her pick of hospital jobs) I told her straight up when she told me "You're crazy to take that job- I wouldn't have- it's stressful for nurses with 20 years on the job"
So basically she is overly nice Suzy sunshine , but really passive agressive too- yesterday was a hellish day at work for me- one of my patient's went into crisis, every annoying demanding family member that has someone on our floor all visited at once, several meds were missing resulting in more work phone calls for me to pharmacy, etc.
THen PM shift pulls a no call/no show, so after waiting for 1/2 an hour past my shift to go home little miss Suzy is gonna take the shift so I report off to her- I explain my hellish day, how all I wanna do is get the hell off the floor and she is all sympathetic-
so what does she do as we are counting narcs? a bottle of liquid oxycodone is a little OVER (thank god not under) the # of MLs in the book ( my theory pharm over filled it a little initially, they have done so in the past) She creates this big drama about how " I'm not signing off with you until this is resolved!" and gets managers from other floors who happen to be hanging around haivng just all completed a meeting on our floor- Most of the managers were just like " Just be happy it's not under, just waste the extra"
BUT OH NO!Suzy has gotta get an official stamp from the DON, calling her at home while she has taken the day off to visit her new grandbaby
I finally get out of there, and an hour later I get a VM from my actual manger sounding weary, stating "Suzy has found a few meds you forgot to sign out, you need to call us so we know what meds you didn't give" (okay, bad I know, but given my constant interruptions during med pass yesterday I'm surprised I got half of them signed out- we are old school, use carts, cards, and paper charting- and I ALWAYS give all of my meds, wanna know how you can know? MAYBE CHECK THE EMPTY BUBBLE NEXT TO THE DAY'S DATE)
This btw, in light of a conversation I had with Suzy where I made it clear that no one should call me at home for little things that can wait until the next day- correction, you can call me, but if it is petty, I will not call you bak on my own time, sorry.
In short, how do I work with this newbie without punching her in the Larynx?
If you read this far MANY THANKS
Dumb question here, but did she take the dropper out of the Roxanol when she did count? Because if you keep it in there while you are looking at the measurements, it will displace the liquid, making it look like more than what it is. At any rate, if there actually was more, it would be an issue with the pharmacy, not you.
Dumb question here, but did she take the dropper out of the Roxanol when she did count? Because if you keep it in there while you are looking at the measurements, it will displace the liquid, making it look like more than what it is. At any rate, if there actually was more, it would be an issue with the pharmacy, not you.
Sigh, sadly no dropper to blame it on- had to have been pharm, and neither or I or the six nurse who signed off on it before me caught it either, not an excuse I know but clearly I was not the only one not eyeballing that bottle carefully enough
Pharm really has overfilled them in the past, I know because I have caught it several times myself when a new bottle was delivered- instead of just logging "120 mL" like it should be I have poured out the extra over the 120 line, measured it then written down what it actually was (127.5 mL or 130)
Clearly whoever took delivery of that bottle on Thursday PM shift did NOT do that
This is only being stated from my past job experience- I am not yet a nurse. We will always work with some people (or a particular person) that we "clash" with. You both sound like very strong minded people- which is a good thing! Just continue to go to work, do your job the very best you can, and Suzy Sunshine should have no reason to bother you. As far as her being passive, that will catch up to her later on and you will most likely be the one to bail her out, maybe then her attitude toward you will change. Keep your chin up!! This is one of the reasons I like this forum- it allows us to vent!! lol
Sigh, sadly no dropper to blame it on- had to have been pharm, and neither or I or the six nurse who signed off on it before me caught it either, not an excuse I know but clearly I was not the only one not eyeballing that bottle carefully enoughPharm really has overfilled them in the past, I know because I have caught it several times myself when a new bottle was delivered- instead of just logging "120 mL" like it should be I have poured out the extra over the 120 line, measured it then written down what it actually was (127.5 mL or 130)
Clearly whoever took delivery of that bottle on Thursday PM shift did NOT do that
Okay, now you are putting the blame elsewhere. The thread started with issues against the new grad. Now six other nurses are involved with an overage of a narc. I honestly believe the bottle came that way, most liquids are sent that way, but you were in possession of it, own it. You could have added something to it...see where this is going? Please let it go. Focus on what you do and not anyone else. It will eat you alive to focus on others work. You made the errors, own them and move on. I am not your enemy, just trying to tell you what is best. We have all in one way or another been in uncomfortable situations. We understand. Most of the post here are trying to encourage you, accept it. But please stop justifying poor choices. Peace!
Okay, now you are putting the blame elsewhere. The thread started with issues against the new grad. Now six other nurses are involved with an overage of a narc. I honestly believe the bottle came that way, most liquids are sent that way, but you were in possession of it, own it. You could have added something to it...see where this is going? Please let it go. Focus on what you do and not anyone else. It will eat you alive to focus on others work. You made the errors, own them and move on. I am not your enemy, just trying to tell you what is best. We have all in one way or another been in uncomfortable situations. We understand. Most of the post here are trying to encourage you, accept it. But please stop justifying poor choices. Peace!
thought I did own it when I said "not an excuse I know" what else were you looking for?
I agree w/ Leslie. Sounds more personal than professional to me. Susie stepped over you in a hurry, and even if you didn't want that position it is a little humbling to some people to see others rise to the top so quickly. Try not to let it bother you as you go about your business. Just smile, make nice and do your job and you will be fine. If you step up the passive aggressiveness, you will probably be the one to lose her job.
Holy Buckets, I'm wondering if anyone read my response to the initial query of whether this is just personal where I gave several examples of her being incompetent and dangerous
I think nearly shooting a non-diabetic patient full of insulin, which was only averted due to the patient being alert is a big deal
I think not doing any assessment for a new admit, who btw turned out to be very confused, kept trying to elope and ended up needing alarms and NOT reporting it to night shift to pass on to AM is a big deal ( patient was sleeping all night, night nurse had no clue either
I think not doing a lovenox shot for someone due at 8 PM but then asking night nurse to do it at midnight is kind of a big deal
am I wrong?
Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN
1,790 Posts
Just because a med is missing from the blister pack doesn't mean it was given. Maybe it was dropped on the floor. Maybe the pt refused it.
Better to check and be sure.
Sorry. getting calls at home sucks but sometimes it is the only way to know if the pt got the meds