New RN

[Studentnurse143]

Hi everyone...I became an RN in the spring of this year. I have been on my own for about a month working in the hospital as a staff nurse on rotating shifts. I love nursing and helping the patients but I feel that I never have the time that I need to care for the patients the way I want to. I feel like I'm being pulled in 50 different directions and am so worried about doing something wrong or missing something important. I know that I have to give this time but am thinking that in the future I would love to find a job where I can spend more time with my patients and still be in the hospital setting with an associates degree(other than staff nurse). I am going to try to stick with my current position for a while to get some experience under my belt but would love anyones help with nursing jobs in the hospital where I could still have patient contact but would be able to help them without so much stress. (if that sort of job even exists?).. This is also my first job working holidays and weekends and am having a rough time getting used to working the holidays when everyone else has off. Maybe this gets easier but we don't even have kids yet so I am sure this will only get harder when we do have kids.

Any advice or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

your feelings are normal regarding the holidays and nursing in general as a new nurse. i think you need to give nursing more time and you will see that you have more control over your nursing environment as well as your life.

also, if you are interested in other aspects of nursing with an adn i think you need to talk to your floor admin about joining committees where you can participate in other activities as they relate to patient care (e.g. wound care/wound documentation... chart audits, etc). i do not know if you can pull off a full-time job doing those activities with only an associate's degree but i cannot say that it is impossible. gl!

[Michelle123]

From my perspectives as a NG, it is that at the moment it takes me a little longer each time I perform a task, and I am also not as adept at time management. I can get a little frazzled during the day as I feel pulled in different directions.

But as you become more experienced, you will be able to streamline your practice, you will be able to plan ahead better and will be more familiar with ward routines and procedures.

And it will be the small amounts of time that you have saved throughout the day that will lead to a longer time spent at the bedside.

Have you read any of the articles on Total care at the bedside (TCAB)? Maybe your hospital/ward is open to some suggestions on improving bedside times?

Can you think of more creative ways to get the work done and make your bedside contact meaningful?

I'm finding it difficult to, but I believe that it will get better.

How much time do the more experienced RN's get with their patients?

Oh and as for weekends/holidays, I find that with kids it is sometimes good to work these days, as my hubby works Mon-Fri 9-5 with public holidays off, and it allows me to get paid penalty rates, plus I get added time to my annual leave (Which means I end up with extra time to spend with my babies), and we don't have to pay a babysitter.

I try to look on the bright side of it. Plus I just remember how much I hated the 9-5 mon-fri office job that I had before.

[MedSurgeMess]

Have you read any of the articles on Total care at the bedside (TCAB)? Maybe your hospital/ward is open to some suggestions on improving bedside times?

Transforming care at the bedside (TCAB) is wonderful, and has changed how many hospitals work their med/surg units. If you need info on this process, go to this website http://www.rwjf.org/ or to the magazine American Journal of Nursing where you can see actual case studies. There are other similar programs out there, and they all are based on improving care and outcomes.

[RedhairedNurse, BSN, RN]

Work nights. You can have so much more time to spend with patients and it's a better environment for learning. Night shift has it's own problems but it's much less stressful than days, IMO.