New grad RN in cardiac medsurg

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Specializes in Intensive Care Unit.

Hello everyone!!

I am a new grad RN working on a cardiac telemetry medsurg floor. I do have some cardiac and ICU experience through working as an LNA and through externships, but I was wondering if there was any advice anyone had for me starting out. Anythin you wish someone had told you?

Thank you!!

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Specializes in Telemetry.

I'm on the same type of floor, same experiences, just 10 months ahead of you-

my advice- write down all those little details that you learn and save em. Then you won't have to ask the same question twice. And as you do things over and over and over, you will be able to throw those little post-its away one at a time.

example- before a cath- hold lovenox and heparin, give plavix and ASA. stuff like that is one tiny detail among many! or that IV tubing expires after 96 hrs etc. after flipping through my binder whenever I needed the info, it eventually stuck. good luck!

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Specializes in Intensive Care Unit.

Thank you so much!!! Do you suggest any books or study tools to keep handy?

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Specializes in Telemetry.

you will be learning so much, your own post-its/ notes will be your study guide. you learned a lot in school- your new study materials should be the policies and procedures. i had a lot of chest tubes etc, so i printed that policy and read it at home, kept it with me all highlighted so i knew what was required to chart, and how often. same w/ hanging blood. any useful policies are good to review. sorry i dont have any quick reference pamphlets to recommend, but you'll be surprised- the flow is so fast, you just hang on and complete all your tasks. a good nurse told me- "you dont have to understand everything that's going on- as long as you recognize a change." and it's true! you'll begin to understand it over time, but at first just worry about detecting changes and your preceptor will point out the details like "hey they should be on a blood thinner, they have a-fib." im excited to find somebody else in my shoes lol :D g/l

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Specializes in cardiac.

Always remember that it is okay to ask questions and ask for help.

There is a new grad on our floor who may not make it out of orientation because she wants to look like she knows everything and they are thinking about letting her go. I feel bad b/c I am new too and I would be so hurt if I was hired and fired during orientation in this economy.

Best of luck, you are asking for advice which shows you have a desire to be a good nurse.

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