new grad M/S nurse looking for mentor

meownsmile, BSN, RN · May 17, 2005

Any suggestions can be directed to Brian or any allnurses moderator and they can contact the site admin. As for mentoring, there are so many people here that are willing to offer/share information, this site in itself is a mentor. Visit the chatroom see if there are people around to ask questions of now and then, or just post to the area of your choice. Youve started in the right place by posting here.

Just so you know though, i dont know that one particular person is willing to take on a mentoring situation one on one. Hence, post, ask or just vent, youll be sure to get somekind of response.

As far as being comfortable with your job, you will find that it takes a good year at least to actually feel comfortable with your skills. Even afterward you will have things that just arent quite in your comfort level yet, but thats where your experienced nurses that you work with come in. Just because you are off orientation doesnt mean you will be (or should be) left to flap in the wind so to speak. Use your resources there at work, ask questions when you are unsure. You will find there are fewer and fewer things you have to ask about as you get more experience. But, give it a while, noone expects you to just get it all by the time you get off orientation.

Good luck and visit allnurses often, you can search for threads on topics that may have been posted previously that may answer questions, or just post a new question.

RNPATL, DNP, RN · Jun 12, 2005

Hi,
I am a 41 year old novice nurse. I'm working my first nursing job in a small rural hospital in M/S. We are only an 18 bed facility, but we see it all - from peds to geriatrics. I've been in orientation for 2 months and wonder when I am going to "get it". It feels like I've been working a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces missing. There have been some good days that I wouldn't trade for the world.
I don't have a lot of experienced people to talk to about the first year of nursing - especially M/S nursing. My orientation doesn't feel terribly organized, but everyone says that I'm doing well. Is there a time when you finally feel like the light bulb goes onand you finally "get it"?
I am looking for a mentor. I am also thiniking that if I am looking for a mentor, there has to be other first year nurses out there looking for mentors. I'm not sure if there is a possibility of getting a mentoring program set up within the allnurses pages, but I would like to suggest it. But to who?
I'm looking forward to any reply.
Anna

Hi Anna - I like the idea of a mentoring page for new graduates. I think you are correct in that many new nurses wish they had some experienced nurses they could just bounce off ideas and receive correct information about their recent shift or illnesses they have dealth with.

Right now, you can post to the Student Forums of the graduate nurse forums .... in addition, posting to the Med-Surg forum is a great idea. Many strong, experienced med-surg nurses frequent this forum and can provide a great deal of information.

If you are looking for an online mentor ... please feel free to PM me and I will do my best to answer any questions you might have.

It takes the better part of the first year before you are able to really put it all together and get a global picture of nursing. Time management and first year survival seems to be one of the biggest issues for many new grads. This just takes time. In addition, every shift you work, you are building knowledge and skill about disease processes and the clinical interventions necessary to care for them. It will all click and you will know it when it happens. For me, it all came together one afternoon shift when I was taking report. I realized mid-way through report that I was not panicking about the patients I was assigned to care for ... almost like I knew what I was doing .... and you know what? I did know what I was doing. It was a very liberating experience and it felt wonderful to emerge from my clouded mind and feel like I could do the job of a Registered Nurse with confidence. Your time is coming and you will feel the same way.

Best of luck and send that PM if you want me to help.

Patrick

RNAnna · Jun 12, 2005

Thanks for the reply Patrick. I just may take you up on your PM offer. I've been trying to seek out different sources of time management methods. I've found that if I hear a lot of ideas, I can incorporate the parts that would work for me and discard the rest.

I keep hearing about that magical one year mark. I've been at this since March and there are times if I wonder if I'm going to make it to that one year mark. I've started looking at things a little bit differently in dealing with coworkers and charge nurses. Instead of having them come and ask me about what I may or may not have done that night, I go to them first and ask what if anything they might have done differently than I did. That way, they are participating in a positive process. Sometimes it is not what you ask, but how you ask it that changes the tone of the conversation. I want the tone to be positive rather than feeling like I am a horrible rotton absolutely terrible nurse and person. (I have the tendancy to take things a little personally and then blow them out of proportion. I'm getting better at that)

I know that I've felt very alone in discovering what nursing is like in the real world. And I know that if I feel that way, there must be others too. Once I become a bit more experienced, I know that I would like to help some other new first year nurse through that experience so that s/he doesn't have to feel the same way. I've always thought that mentoring with a person that is totally removed from the person's workplace would be the ideal situation. I also know that there are some people that either don't want to be a mentor, or really wouldn't make great mentors. I just thought that a first-year mentoring page would be the ideal thing.

I am so glad that I've discovered allnurses. It has been a haven for me. Although I've found that a lot of people don't use the chat site. I'd like to thank everyone who has responded to all of my posts. And Patrick, I will remember your PM offer. Thanks.

Anna

1017sharonrn2003 · Jul 1, 2005

Hi Anna, just wanted to comment on your situation. Don't be in a hurry, I know you want to feel like you've got it and that you "know" what you're doing, but relax, take a deep breath and enjoy the experiance. Nursing is great and there's a learning curve. Some people start feeling pretty sure of themselves after about 6mo, others may need about 2 years before they feel comfortable. It seems that most nurse I've talked to, feel that after about a year of full time nursing, they feel pretty comfortable in their practice. It will all come together. Ask lots of questions, subscribe to a nursing mag or read nursing books. I really like Nursing 2005 mag. It's all up to date and really has good articles. This web site and others like it are a real help too. You will always have questions or conserns and nursing is always changing. Even nurses who have been in the profession for many years ask for help somtimes. I wish much happiness and sucess in your Nursing adventure. Sharon :)

CardioTrans, BSN, RN · Jul 1, 2005

Hi Anna, welcome to the world of nursing.

This site is a wonderful way to talk, vent or share your experiences. All of us here have been where you are. Even those of us that have been nurses for what seems like a hundred years, have times when we are overwhelmed. Anytime in nursing when we decide to change areas, we feel like we are just graduating all over again. Thats what makes nursing so great, is that if we need a change, there are tons of opportunities to make nursing interesting again.

Just on a side note.......... I have a good friend who just graduated in May. She hasnt taken boards yet, but has been working on a temp license. She was at work the other night, an LPN came up to her and told her that a patient needed some IV pain med. Her comment was "Hang on, I will find the nurse". Of course the LPN was looking at her strange, and it dawned on her that she WAS the nurse. :)

The first 6mo to a yr is usually when you become comfortable in your role. Just remember, that even though you are a nurse now, you never stop learning, and never stop asking questions.

I hope that you continue to post here and keep us updated!! Good luck to you.