New RN having the worst time

Nursetaylor3 · Nov 23, 2016

My orientation was like a week. And I was on my own for a night of it because someone called out.

caliotter3 · Nov 23, 2016

Whoever told you that a nurse doesn't learn anything working in LTC is terribly wrong, as you have already found out. If you did not have anything to learn, then you would not be having the trouble that you perceive. Take the situations that you are encountering and give yourself homework. Write down procedure steps that you learn and other tidbits. Make yourself a little 'go to' binder and you will find that you have to ask the other nurses less as time goes on. Do you bring your smartphone to work? Look things up before going to another. Look things up at home. It does not have to be much. Look up one thing every couple of days or so, and you will see that you are learning things. And getting faster and more efficient. Keep at it.

caliotter3 · Nov 23, 2016

Here is an example of something I wrote down for myself when I was new at a LTC facility: there were five or six places or steps where a new order needed to be dealt with, paperwork wise (at that facility, at that time). I got that info and wrote it down on a piece of paper or in a notebook at the time and then I didn't have to ask again. Every time you make a cheat sheet for something that you run across, that is one more situation you can handle without inquiring first.

cleback · Nov 23, 2016

I would not be confident after a week of orientation either. That's kind of insane... although I understand that nursing homes do not have the money to train new staff like hospitals do. Please follow the other posters' advice. Don't feel stupid asking questions and seek out educational materials on your own as well.

allnurses Guide · Nov 23, 2016

A nursing home is, unfortunately, NOT a great place

to get started, because you don't get the amount of

orientation that you would on most (good or decent)

hospital units.

Having said that, sometimes the job market is such

that the nursing home job is all that is available.

So.......

Quit being so hard on yourself! :) You are a new

nurse, you are going to have tons of questions

about what to do, don't ever be afraid to ask the

other nurses. I've been a nurse for 13 years, and

sometimes I still don't know what to do is some

situations!

DTWriter · Nov 23, 2016

Hey Ruby Vee,

It is true that we rookies need to be careful with HOW we ask questions - but, there are even older nurses who do not even appreciate questions like "I have an order for a Foley for Mr. Pee. I've read through the procedure and I think I have everything I need, but I've never done this before, so could you talk through this with me before I go in to see the patient?" And, these older nurses may be, say, playing with their cell phones (definitely not doing something work-related, unless you want to argue that Candy Crush helps keep the mind stimulated at work) when they are asked the questions.

There are even older nurses out there who would disregard the fact that you tried to learn the procedure on your own before asking them for help :/ Heck, they would even fault you from trying to learn something on your own, saying something like "oh, new nurse spent time looking up x procedure instead of just asking one of us..."

I say: damn if you ask, damn if don't, do what is best for you.

Libby1987 · Nov 23, 2016

Hey Ruby Vee,
It is true that we rookies need to be careful with HOW we ask questions - but, there are even older nurses who do not even appreciate questions like "I have an order for a Foley for Mr. Pee. I've read through the procedure and I think I have everything I need, but I've never done this before, so could you talk through this with me before I go in to see the patient?" And, these older nurses may be, say, playing with their cell phones (definitely not doing something work-related, unless you want to argue that Candy Crush helps keep the mind stimulated at work) when they are asked the questions.
There are even older nurses out there who would disregard the fact that you tried to learn the procedure on your own before asking them for help :/ Heck, they would even fault you from trying to learn something on your own, saying something like "oh, new nurse spent time looking up x procedure instead of just asking one of us..."
I say: damn if you ask, damn if don't, do what is best for you.

Older nurses sitting around playing candy crush and criticizing green nurses no matter how they try to obtain information?

I have to call exxageration.

I have orecepted many nurses, both green and with experience, and there is a wide variation of how they learn, how much initiative they take to self learn, keep track of instructions, capacity for a large volume of information and their threshold for stress tolerance.

Anything other than learning style really sets some out in front of the others. Seasoned nurses may be responding to what they see as underachievement and/or unsuitable in a revolving door of new nurses they are tasked to teach.

I don't believe for a minute that seasoned nurses in general refuse to provide reasonable direction for appropriate questions.

DTWriter · Nov 23, 2016

^Seriously? Then, let me introduce you to "x" hospital.

I was not talking about seasoned nurses in general; I was referring to the exceptions.

Believe it - there are "seasoned" nurses out there who would make you go "what the hell?"

Not every new nurse is fortunate to have a preceptor like you.

Libby1987 · Nov 23, 2016

^Seriously? Then, let me introduce you to "x" hospital.
I was not talking about seasoned nurses in general; I was referring to the exceptions.
Believe it - there are "seasoned" nurses out there who would make you go "what the hell?"
Not every new nurse is fortunate to have a preceptor like you.

How many exceptions sitting about playing candy crush are you saying there are at hospital X?

DTWriter · Nov 23, 2016

^Even if I give a number, they are exceptions.

Once again, there are "wth" seasoned nurses.