New Grad-What should I do?

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I graduated in May, pass the board on June 1st. started my unit orientation after 7/04. I am on surgical step down unit. It has been 4 weeks like hell.

During the these 4 weeks, I had 2 meetings with my manager and preceptors. the first time just manager and preceptor. My preceptor said that i didn't pay attention to the report, which is i wasn't familiar with the stuff they are talking about and they went too fast, everytime they gave report, i would try to find things they talked about on the shift report. Also there was one time, we went to help with another nurse who is relatively new too to put a NG tube in, i asked a stupid questions" what is the NG tube for?" I meant why is this patient need a NG tube since i didn't know about patient's condition. This stupid questions made her think that i didn't know my basic stuff. BTW, i am a foreigner came to US 5 years ago and finished nursing program in US.

Later on, I found i wasn't give clear instruction on what to do. After about 2 weeks with my first preceptor, I talked to my manager and changed my preceptor to a tough but a good one. She would watch over my shoulder and really teach me how to do things the right way. I wish i started my orientation with her at the begining instead of waste so much time with the first one. Even with the good preceptor, i still make mistakes almost every day. Such as when i had all 6 patients last Wed, and so much went on at the same time, new admit, discharge, pt went down for surgery. My head went crazy that day. I could catch up with doc's orders, and had miscommunication with my care partner that made me didn't give insulin to one of the patients whose BS level was 377.

After that, i had my second meeting with the manager. This time, they brought the HR person there. They were saying that I wasn't safe enough to practice, i should be able to read doc's order without any problem without keep double checking with my preceptor about the orders, also they were hinting maybe i shouldn't con't practice there.

When i look back, i did see i have ups and downs, but i did try my best. i would always double check to make sure everything i did were correct. The biggest problem is sometimes i get into something, doc ordered some stat meds, i didn't notice, and gave them like 2 hours later.

I asked manager to give me some more time, she goes, "before you get in, we say orientation is going to be 6-8 weeks. In reality after 4 weeks, we do extend orientation 1 or more weeks to certain nurses if we feel they gonna be successful here." They were expecting me to start on my own on this busy floor after 4 weeks of orientation and make money for them.

I am thinking about resign and restart somewhere else. Reason is i believe i can become a good nurse, but they don't give me the opportunity to grow in my own pace. They are not happy i am there, and i am not happy to be there.

Sorry that i typed a lot. Any suggestion would really be appreciated.

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first off, i think it is great that you were always asking questions, most times people are usually to afraid of asking questions for fear of feeling dumb. Is this the unit that you want to work at, or maybe you may want to try a different unit if you are not comfortable. I cant believe your job is cutting your orientation so short! Good luck, and dont give up!

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Specializes in Telemetry & Obs.
I graduated in May, pass the board on June 1st. started my unit orientation after 7/04. I am on surgical step down unit. It has been 4 weeks like hell.

During the these 4 weeks, I had 2 meetings with my manager and preceptors. the first time just manager and preceptor. My preceptor said that i didn't pay attention to the report, which is i wasn't familiar with the stuff they are talking about and they went too fast, everytime they gave report, i would try to find things they talked about on the shift report. Also there was one time, we went to help with another nurse who is relatively new too to put a NG tube in, i asked a stupid questions" what is the NG tube for?" I meant why is this patient need a NG tube since i didn't know about patient's condition. This stupid questions made her think that i didn't know my basic stuff. BTW, i am a foreigner came to US 5 years ago and finished nursing program in US.

Later on, I found i wasn't give clear instruction on what to do. After about 2 weeks with my first preceptor, I talked to my manager and changed my preceptor to a tough but a good one. She would watch over my shoulder and really teach me how to do things the right way. I wish i started my orientation with her at the begining instead of waste so much time with the first one. Even with the good preceptor, i still make mistakes almost every day. Such as when i had all 6 patients last Wed, and so much went on at the same time, new admit, discharge, pt went down for surgery. My head went crazy that day. I could catch up with doc's orders, and had miscommunication with my care partner that made me didn't give insulin to one of the patients whose BS level was 377.

After that, i had my second meeting with the manager. This time, they brought the HR person there. They were saying that I wasn't safe enough to practice, i should be able to read doc's order without any problem without keep double checking with my preceptor about the orders, also they were hinting maybe i shouldn't con't practice there.

When i look back, i did see i have ups and downs, but i did try my best. i would always double check to make sure everything i did were correct. The biggest problem is sometimes i get into something, doc ordered some stat meds, i didn't notice, and gave them like 2 hours later.

I asked manager to give me some more time, she goes, "before you get in, we say orientation is going to be 6-8 weeks. In reality after 4 weeks, we do extend orientation 1 or more weeks to certain nurses if we feel they gonna be successful here." They were expecting me to start on my own on this busy floor after 4 weeks of orientation and make money for them.

I am thinking about resign and restart somewhere else. Reason is i believe i can become a good nurse, but they don't give me the opportunity to grow in my own pace. They are not happy i am there, and i am not happy to be there.

Sorry that i typed a lot. Any suggestion would really be appreciated.

May I suggest that you start with taking responsibility for your mistakes?? My goodness...if I told my unit manager that a "miscommunication" MADE me not give insulin to a patient with a BG that high she would have my butt for lunch :(

Sorry for being so blunt, but honestly that's all I could think as I read your post..

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Specializes in Cardiac.

exairex-sounds like you need some more orientation/experience with a good preceptor. If you are unable to get it at this hospital, then you may need to move on. Beware, that once they have brought HR intot he room with you that they probably have already made up their minds about your future with them.

truern- How long have you been working on the floor taking care of patients? It hasn't been long for me either, but one thing stood out about your post. Maybe the miscommunication was that her tech didn't give her the right BS number, or that she misheard it. I'd get my a** chewed out for an untreated high blood sugar as well, but I don't think she needed that kind of advice here. She really needs our support. I only have 2 patients where I work, and it is incredible stressful. Imagine having 6 patients, struggling with English, struggling with your preceptors and managers, and all the other parts of nursing that are incredibly stressful. Give her some slack. Nursing is hard enough as it is.

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I graduated in May, pass the board on June 1st. started my unit orientation after 7/04. I am on surgical step down unit. It has been 4 weeks like hell.

During the these 4 weeks, I had 2 meetings with my manager and preceptors. the first time just manager and preceptor. My preceptor said that i didn't pay attention to the report, which is i wasn't familiar with the stuff they are talking about and they went too fast, everytime they gave report, i would try to find things they talked about on the shift report. Also there was one time, we went to help with another nurse who is relatively new too to put a NG tube in, i asked a stupid questions" what is the NG tube for?" I meant why is this patient need a NG tube since i didn't know about patient's condition. This stupid questions made her think that i didn't know my basic stuff. BTW, i am a foreigner came to US 5 years ago and finished nursing program in US.

Later on, I found i wasn't give clear instruction on what to do. After about 2 weeks with my first preceptor, I talked to my manager and changed my preceptor to a tough but a good one. She would watch over my shoulder and really teach me how to do things the right way. I wish i started my orientation with her at the begining instead of waste so much time with the first one. Even with the good preceptor, i still make mistakes almost every day. Such as when i had all 6 patients last Wed, and so much went on at the same time, new admit, discharge, pt went down for surgery. My head went crazy that day. I could catch up with doc's orders, and had miscommunication with my care partner that made me didn't give insulin to one of the patients whose BS level was 377.

After that, i had my second meeting with the manager. This time, they brought the HR person there. They were saying that I wasn't safe enough to practice, i should be able to read doc's order without any problem without keep double checking with my preceptor about the orders, also they were hinting maybe i shouldn't con't practice there.

When i look back, i did see i have ups and downs, but i did try my best. i would always double check to make sure everything i did were correct. The biggest problem is sometimes i get into something, doc ordered some stat meds, i didn't notice, and gave them like 2 hours later.

I asked manager to give me some more time, she goes, "before you get in, we say orientation is going to be 6-8 weeks. In reality after 4 weeks, we do extend orientation 1 or more weeks to certain nurses if we feel they gonna be successful here." They were expecting me to start on my own on this busy floor after 4 weeks of orientation and make money for them.

I am thinking about resign and restart somewhere else. Reason is i believe i can become a good nurse, but they don't give me the opportunity to grow in my own pace. They are not happy i am there, and i am not happy to be there.

Sorry that i typed a lot. Any suggestion would really be appreciated.

Hi, sorry for all these things going on....I would try and find out from the manager/preceptor (whoever you feel more comfortable with) about what they think you should do. You are actually asking for the outcome of the meeting but in a different way. Based on what they say, you can then see if you have to look for another place because it may not not be very good (record wise) for them to terminate you. If they say they are giving you more time, then hang in there and do your best. If the news you get sounds like they already made up their mind about letting you go, then look for another place ASAP and move on before they let you go. I'm also in med-surg and this is my 5th week but still attached to a preceptor. I take like 3 of her patients and take an extra admission patient later on in the day.I do understand what you are going thru. It's just unfortunate that some nurses/Mgrs. forget that they had gone thru the same thing. I feel so good and more relaxed when my director tells me how it took him about a year to actually get to know all the things necessary for him to function better. Anyhow, I wish you all the best in whatever you decide to do..((((hugs))))

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Specializes in Med/Surge.

Sorry to hear that you are having such a tough time. You spoke of the miscommunication about the BS of 377 can you elaborate on that? Was it a language problem?

The last little paragraph said it all-you are not happy to be there and you don't feel they are happy to have you there. That speaks volumes to me and if I were you, I think that I would start looking for either a different department or a different hospital all together. It sounds to me like it isn't a "good fit" for either of you.

Good luck and let us know more.

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The miscommunication about the BS was for BS that high, they usually do a blood culture. my care partner told me the BS and then said about the blood culture. She then said she was going to tell my preceptor. She came back later on told me i dont have to do it. But this time she skip the words blood culture. so i misunderstood the meaning and i made sure she told my preceptor, i thought my preceptor is going to take care of it.

i have been start taking all the patients most times 5-6 of them since my third week of orientation. When i first took it, my preceptor said they are not heavy, and i agree, that day i finished all the assignment without much problem. but since them, they just let me take them all no matter what the patients' condition are.

I do feel i don't get enough time to learn everything and i worry when i am in a rush i may make mistakes that is huge that i can lose my license that i work so hard for.

Thanks for all the support.

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Specializes in Day Surgery/Infusion/ED.
exairex-sounds like you need some more orientation/experience with a good preceptor. If you are unable to get it at this hospital, then you may need to move on. Beware, that once they have brought HR intot he room with you that they probably have already made up their minds about your future with them.

truern- How long have you been working on the floor taking care of patients? It hasn't been long for me either, but one thing stood out about your post. Maybe the miscommunication was that her tech didn't give her the right BS number, or that she misheard it. I'd get my a** chewed out for an untreated high blood sugar as well, but I don't think she needed that kind of advice here. She really needs our support. I only have 2 patients where I work, and it is incredible stressful. Imagine having 6 patients, struggling with English, struggling with your preceptors and managers, and all the other parts of nursing that are incredibly stressful. Give her some slack. Nursing is hard enough as it is.

The problem is, her struggles with the English language should not be comprosmising pt. care and adding an additional burden to her co-workers. You can see just from her post that English is not her primary language. I am not against foreign nurses, but I am against foreign nurses whose English skills are limited. There is just too much potential for error without that additional handicap.

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Specializes in Telemetry & Obs.

truern- How long have you been working on the floor taking care of patients? It hasn't been long for me either, but one thing stood out about your post. Maybe the miscommunication was that her tech didn't give her the right BS number, or that she misheard it. I'd get my a** chewed out for an untreated high blood sugar as well, but I don't think she needed that kind of advice here. She really needs our support. I only have 2 patients where I work, and it is incredible stressful. Imagine having 6 patients, struggling with English, struggling with your preceptors and managers, and all the other parts of nursing that are incredibly stressful. Give her some slack. Nursing is hard enough as it is.

Long enough to know that I'm responsible for my patients BG. If I have a patient getting fingersticks (done by the CNA) I *always* check to see what that BG was and if I need to provide coverage.

I think taking responsibility would have gone a LONG WAY with her manager and may have avoided having HR get involved. You have your definition of "support" and obviously I have mine. She's practically headed out the door at her facility and I'd like to help her turn around pronto. Mollycoddling wouldn't accomplish that, unfortunately.

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Specializes in Cardiac.
Long enough to know that I'm responsible for my patients BG. If I have a patient getting fingersticks (done by the CNA) I *always* check to see what that BG was and if I need to provide coverage.

I think taking responsibility would have gone a LONG WAY with her manager and may have avoided having HR get involved. You have your definition of "support" and obviously I have mine. She's practically headed out the door at her facility and I'd like to help her turn around pronto. Mollycoddling wouldn't accomplish that, unfortunately.

Neither will making her feel worse about the situation.

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Specializes in Trauma ICU, MICU/SICU.
May I suggest that you start with taking responsibility for your mistakes??

I think OP is taking responsibility. She is saying that she is overwhelmed and needs more time, before taking a full pt. load.

In addition, everyone makes mistakes. One day you may miss a blood sugar, and not cover a pt. that needs coverage. It can and probably WILL happen.

I agree with the other posters that we need to support the OP.

I cannot imagine having a language barrier and trying to learn nursing at the same time. She just needs a slower orientation. Mine was 3 months long and I'd been a tech on my unit prior. In addition, language is not a problem for me.

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Specializes in Trauma ICU, MICU/SICU.
The miscommunication about the BS was for BS that high, they usually do a blood culture.

Ex - a blood culture is a test for bacteria in the blood. A high blood sugar that is high on the glucometer is often verified with a blood draw and then sent to the lab for analysis.

Ex - I can see that language is a problem for you. I doubt that it is impossible to overcome though. You got through nursing school in a foreign language and that is an amazing accomplishment.

I agree with CardiacRN - this hospital does not sound like a good fit. Shop around, find out where the good preceptorships are. Talk to your fellow clasmates. Ask your former nursing instructors. Ask other nurses.

I wish you the best and hope you find a better place. Med-Surg orientation at my hospital is 12 weeks.

Good Luck!

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