New Nurse

Lev, MSN, RN, NP · Jul 16, 2015

How would you have liked it to be structured?

Mel1991 · Jul 16, 2015

More of a plan. The precepting has been more like whos ever on the schedule, and each preceptor has different ways they want things done. Theres no written plan or idea of how its done

RNJenn47201 · Jul 16, 2015

Maybe you could ask someone in charge of scheduling if they could schedule you with the same preceptor?

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jul 18, 2015

Hi Everyone,
So I am a brand new nurse and I am currently working with a preceptor. The only thing that my preceptor has said is that I need to ask more questions. I feel that I am asking quite a bit of questions. I am generally a more quiet person. My training/precepting isnt as structured as I would have liked. I am really not sure what types of questions to ask unless we are in that specific situation.
Any questions or ideas of things that I could be asking?

I'm not sure where you're working, but every specialty has it's frequently used medications, procedures, tests and protocols. Make sure you understand what your specialty entails. Working in CCU where you see a lot of MIs? Make sure you understand your chest pain protocol, the medications you give most frequently, the labs you send most often and what the results mean. Working in OB? How does labor usually progress, what meds are given, what assessments do you make and how often to you make them?

Make sure you understand your resources. Ask your preceptor where the policies and procedures are located -- and then make sure you access them as needed. If you pull up the procedure on placing a Foley, and read through it, I'm pretty sure that you'll come up with some questions that need asking.

Ask where the frequently used phone numbers can be found.

Ask who is the whiz at starting IVs or troubleshooting pacemakers or talking down a dementia patient and then ask that person for tips.

Make sure you're getting your hands dirty. I am pretty sure you'll think of more questions to ask if you're actually trying to do things yourself rather than observe how they are done.

Ask for tips on time management, the best way to position your patient to prevent DTIs and what's the best take-out joint around. (Not kidding about that last one. It's a real conversation starter, and it sounds as though you need help starting conversations.) Let us know how you do.