New PCT, Help??

[PureHoney327, BSN, RN]

Hi everyone, I recently was hired at a hospital as a PCT. This is my first job I've ever had (I'm 18 by the way) and honestly I don't know what to expect. I was hired on the Acute Med/Surg floor of the hospital. Could any of y'all tell me your experiences on this type of floor? What are the patients like? Is it fast paced? Thanks!

[applewhitern, BSN, RN]

The most important thing is patient safety. Follow the protocols in your facility's "policy and procedure manual." A medical-surgical floor will have a vast variety of patients with things like pneumonia, congestive heart failure, or post-op. Learn to quickly assess the room: bed lock on? side rails up? call bell in reach? etc. Call for help with heavy patients as needed. Like I said, really the most important thing is patient safety, so let the nurse know when you think something is wrong. Good luck! Oh, I just noticed you asked if it is fast-paced. Yes, most med-surg units are fast-paced. It will take a little time to develop time-management skills. You will learn your "own way" of doing things, like baths.

[Davey Do]

Yeah- I saw from your other post that you had applied for this position. Congratulations, Connor!

This is exciting, you being an 18 year old CNA who's breaking into and going to be working on a med-surge floor!

Applewhitern gave some great info and advice. Remember if you come on a situation you're not sure how to handle, you are part of a team. You'll have PCTs, LPNs, and RNs on which to refer to for advice and guidance. You should recieive some orientation that will give you protocol and guidelines to follow in almost all situations in which you will be involved.

Good luck to you Connor, and keep us posted on your progress!

[EGspirit]

My guess is you will be taking routine vitals (BP, RR, HR, Temp, 02 sat). Be good at this. Use the equipment properly and get accurate results. Don't put the BP cuff over a shirt or sweatshirt with the mic turned around to the tricep. Be professional about taking vital signs. Be scientific about it and get accurate results.

I know this sounds like a small thing, but it's not. It really isn't.

Remember that so long as you have gloves on, you can touch anything. Dive in to patient care, and don't be squeamish or intimidated.

You will be busy. Expect to just move from room to room without doing a lot of sitting or wasting time (like most do in most jobs). You don't have to run, but just move from room to room and take care of that patient when you're with that patient.

Don't expect to "like" your job. Nursing at all its levels is more of a service, a vocation. There's a lot of negative things in nursing: patients are sick, they may need a great deal of care, staff can be bossy or terse, but at the end of the shift, can you say: "I did good things for my patients today." If that makes you feel good about yourself, then that's what you get out of the job. Again, it's no so much about liking it; it's about the satisfaction that comes from doing it right.

Try to adopt the attitude of "positive regard." That is the belief that everyone is doing the best they can with what they have at the time. If they had more, they would do more. In the future they may have more and do more. But at any given time, everyone is doing all they can and all they are able to do. You know that this is true about yourself, so believe that it is true about others. Even if it's not true, believe it anyway--that's called having an attitude of positive regard for others.

Be competent and confident. Be friendly and kind. Don't let negativity turn you into a negative person. Don't be arrogant or attitudinal. Act like what you do matters, because it matters more than you can imagine at this time. A good PCT is gold. Embrace the hard things and own them.

I don't know if you will go on to be a nurse or not, but if you do, believe me, you are not waiting for it. It starts now. The things you do and the skills you learn, the competence you expect of yourself, and the professionalism and attitudes you develop now as a PCT is the foundation of you as a registered nurse.

Your calling is a vocation that sets you in an entirely different class of people. You are in the nursing caste. And time will tell you, as it has me, that there is no higher caste of people than that. Good luck, my friend. Go forward and do good things.

[PureHoney327, BSN, RN]

Ya'll are absolutely amazing!!! Thank you for the advice, I'll carry it with me everywhere :) :)

[PureHoney327, BSN, RN]

Thank you so much. I still can't believe I got the job. I can't wait to start my nursing journey :)