New job not what I expected

Nursing Students Technicians

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Hi everyone,

So I am about a month in my new student nurse job in the float pool and I am very grateful for having to have gotten my foot in the door somewhere. I was really excited to have the opportunity go to different floors, care for patients and see maybe what kind of floor I might want to go into once I graduate. However, since I have started I have only gotten to work once as a tech and the rest I have been put as a patient sitter. Though the money is nice and easy, the hours are long and boring and it is not what I had anticipated on doing when accepting this job offer. I feel as though I was omitted information about this and it was not really emphasized. Is it too soon to talk to my manager or someone about how I am feeling or about switching departments? I graduate in May so I am not sure if I should just wait it out. Thanks for reading and I would just like some advice on how to deal with this!

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Stick it out. Slap a smile on your face, take your assignment with grace and enthusiasm and never forget that this student position is just one big, long interview.

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Thank you for your input. That is kind of what I was thinking but sometimes it can be hard to stay positive. It will be worth it in the long haul =)

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You don't want to put forth any negativity about yourself to preclude decisions to take on another worker with a pleasant demeanor when the time comes for that sought-after nursing position.

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Hi, here is my best most honest advice! So being float pool your the bottom of the totem pole. your the first to get flexed, your the first to be sitting on a 1:1 and your the first to be shipped off the another unit half way through your shift if the 1:1 gets D/C. That's not good news if your trying to make a great impression or become a nurse for the hospital you are working for.

My question: Are you with an agency or are you an actual employee of the hospital?

This is very important because if you are not an actual employee of the hospital you are not going to be on anyone's radar to advance into a nursing role. If you have a different badge than everyone else on the floor you are automatically looked at as an outside help that means nobody is looking at your performance with the anticipation that you will someday work as a nurse with them (Sorry this is the honest truth from my experience). Furthermore, as a sitter you are not going to get the exposure of a full time staffed PCT on the floor. This greatly hinders your chances of getting hired because guess what, I'm a full time PCT on the floor and i'm networking my booty off everyday like crazy fighting for that same nursing spot, and I know the manager, the director and all the charge nurses, and I have a great reputation (figuratively). So my chances of knowing when and who to talk to about a open position are much higher by default.

So my suggestion would be get a full time spot ASAP on one particualr unit. Its okay to be a float pool first or second semester of nursing school but as you inch closer to graduation you should be looking for a permanent floor position because that is how you will build a reputation of being a Rock star hard working nursing student, that's how you know who to talk to, when positions are opening and that's how you get a transfer form filled and ready for the day you pass your NCLEX to transition seamlessly into a new grad role.

Oftentimes it takes 6 months or a 90 day probationary period or something similar before you are able to internally transfer. If this is the case try to get in there asap.

Let me know what you think of what I said!

Best of luck to you!

ND

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When I was a PCT, I was always THRILLED to get a sitter assignment - I would pray it was for 12 hours and not just 4 or 8 because... more time to study!!

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Most of the float pool techs do get the sitter assignments. I work on a specific floor and it's rare we have to sit. I love being pulled to sit on another floor because so far I've only been pulled two nights (in a row to the same room) to sit, but the nurse and charge nurse and NP noticed me and even wrote my charge nurse to say how they appreciated me.

Don't just be the sitter that sits. Do stuff for the patient. Assist them to the bathroom or onto the bedpan. Don't make the tech or nurse give the patient a bath alone. Show them that you don't mind getting down and dirty. Also, asking questions specific to the floor you end up on can show an interest and they'll take note of you.

At the end of the day (or night), it'll depend on your attitude whether or not they notice you. Same applies to clinical in nursing school. STAND OUT!

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