Nurse vs New Grad

[Jenny12]

I am all set to go into ICU, but just today i found out that 2 ICU nurses don't like the idea that me a new grad coming into ICU. My friend who is in her 3rd year told me that her preceptor (one of the ICU nurses and her best friend). Keep talking about me and the other person who is also being orientated into ICU, and keep saying were young, inexperienced, and etc to other nurses and that we should work on med/surg for a year. I have not worked with these 2 nurses nor do they know me, i feel like i am already having issues with my future co-workers. I also found out that they are the type that talk behind every nurses back and don't realize that students are listening to them and they also criticize other ICU nurses' work. I am a type of person who can be very shy, but i take all of my work seriously and always give a 100%, but for them to judge me and talk about me is not fair. As i said before there are ICU nurses that have watched me during preceptorship and undergrad and have encourged me to join their team, and are ready to take me in. But these 2 ICU nurses have other things on thier minds. Did i mention that there are only 6 ICU nurses working in this hospital. I don't want to come home each day upset, but at the same time i want to work in ICU.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Huh? The OP said she's shy, not Daytonite. And yes, worrying about stuff a "friend" told her is thin-skinned. Some friend.

[jjjoy, LPN]

My point is that there are many professionally successful physicians, nurse colleagues, politicians, spouses etc who still have vital emotional, interpersonal life lessons to learn. Thus when someone airs a concern like the OP did, it doesn't necessarily reflect that that person will be professionally incompetent. How does one "develop a thick skin" anyway? If you're not born with one, you've got to start somewhere.

[BoonersmomRN]

I know you're a nervous wreck already getting ready to start your 1rst job ( who wouldn't be??)and now you have compounded that with allowing your friends " gossip" to get to you. Easily done since your already anxious. Take a deep breath and take it one day at a time. You proved to your externsip preceptors that you are worthy of a position on this floor- you can prove it again. .

GOOD LUCK

[nursenpnk, RN]

I can related to this situation completely. I started off in an ICU fresh out of nursing school, I have only been a nurse for a year. I think the most important thing to look at when entering into an ICU is the fact that they have an organized orientation process. That is really key to new nurses being successful in the ICU OR if you have a fantabulous preceptor! In order to prepare for my experience in the ICU i took multiple clases provided by the hospital in their fellowship program. I also did two short three week rotations on two different floors before going to the unit to get a better understanding of the envinment and type of nursing that many of my patients will get before coming to the unit or when leaving. Welcome to nursing, we are a profession that is predominantly female and this can be frustrating at times due to harsh remarks ect. Just remember your basics, always ask if you are unsure and avoid the gossip and all will be well for you!

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

that's exactly what i meant. if you don't think the world isn't harsh you are in for a rude awakening because there's people way meaner than me in the workplace and i don't think i'm mean. i'm direct and blunt in order to make sure i'm not misunderstood. of course we can't be totally immune to interpersonal conflict, but we ought to be able to recognize it when it is occurring (which would be an assessment) even if we don't know exactly how to deal with it (which would be interventions). the nursing process has very real world use. but applying it involves the ability to think and apply it to a situation. i can't explain how it is that someone with such a thin skin didn't get weeded out of nursing school. i wasn't there. i can't answer for instructors that are in a position of evaluating students; particularly at the op's school. however, the op did say, "i am a type of person who can be very shy", which might be a clue. what do you suppose was meant by "shy"? i'm not criticizing her concern over what she was told, but how she is dealing with that information. she said "for them to judge me and talk about me is not fair" and "these 2 icu nurses have other things on thier minds". these conclusions are based upon the statements that came from her "friend" and it sounds to me as if she has taken it as the gospel truth when the information was clearly subjective in nature. when you are learning about assessment in school, isn't the difference between subjective and objective data explained early on? isn't the weight you give to subjective data explained to you when you put it up against objective data? this is what makes nursing a science. this is why i said i was wondering if the op had learned anything at all while in nursing school.

most know that i answer care plan questions. i know the nursing process. assessment is the foundation a care plan is built upon. if the assessment isn't as complete as it could be, or faulty in some way, the remainder of the care is affected. there is a domino effect. it's much like the leaning tower of pisa. it essentially looks like a good building if you tilt your head a bit. however, there's something wrong with the foundation that it sits on. you have to strive to make your assessments (and foundations) as solid as possible because you ultimately make decisions based upon analysis of that information. otherwise,

garbage in; garbage out.

i think the gist of the op's post is she's scared and she's feeling wrongly judged - imho she's completely correct in her assessment of them when she says that to talk about her and judge her is unfair - in fact, it's completely immature, unprofessional, and a host of other adjectives that i just don't have the time to list here. i think the op is young and nervous and scared to death and she only came here looking for some emotional support.

sometimes we're not nursing students; sometimes we're just people with all the foibles that people possess. and of course, at all times, we're only human.

[smk1, LPN]

You were hired for a reason. Take pride in that and prove that it was a good decision and pave the way for more new nurses to have that chance. Get mad about it and put on your game face. Don't be caught unprepared, utilize every resource to make this work. Some people are just mean and unhappy, others are just gossips, and others are jealous that the road they took seemed longer and possibly harder than the one you took to get into the ICU. THat isn't your problem. As a student, I have worked with some nurses who take pleasure complaining about the students and new grads and calling them burdens etc... Some won't speak to you, won't make eye contact to allow you to ask a question when they aren't busy, some will talk crap about you to others, they will blow any knowledge deficit that you have into a major safety issue in front of everyone, (oh my god you don't know how to take a weight with the patient in bed?!!!) but then want to "teach" you things that are so far from correct that it is truly scary (example "rectal stumulation accesses the vagus nerve causing a sympathetic fight or flight response that will increase the heart rate", "What is a loop diuretic?" etc...) Everbody should still be learning anyway and lording ___ number of years of nursing experience over the newbies does nothing but cause irritation and hinder the team environment. Some new grads DON'T belong in the ICU, and the learning curve would have to be higher in a lot of ways, but the hiring manager must have some confidence in your skills and knowldege otherwise you wouldn't be given this opportunity.

[RN28MD]

Sorry Daytonite, I totally read the post wrong. I edited so it doesn't sound like I was in a different world. Having a crazy day:uhoh3:

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

Sorry Daytonite, I totally read the post wrong. I edited so it doesn't sound like I was in a different world. Having a crazy day:uhoh3:

Yes, you certainly did. I saw what you originally posted because it came through on my e-mail and I was preparing a response for you. I have dial up service which was taking forever to pull up this thread. You really would want me as a preceptor. Believe me, I'm not the mean person some of you think I am. I'm very nurturing and protective, but I will be honest and blunt when I think it's necessary. Don't misunderstand being clear and to the point (blunt) as being mean.

The little behavior and emotional games that people like to play with each other don't have a place in the busy world of the working nurse, believe me. Their intent is to take aim at the emotions. Gossip is one of them and it's very easy for us to get sucked into it. However, these little games can turn nasty and bad-intentioned and sometimes people on the receiving end aren't aware that this is the true intent. For this reason, it is just so much better to keep emotion and personality out of professional interactions as much as possible, particularly where it involves a job. Look at how this "friend" has ruined what should have been the most wonderful days of this OPs life. I'd like to get my hands on that little scallywag (the friend) because with that kind of rampant mouth and disregard for other's feelings, that's what it took to ruin her friend's day, she's going to leave a trail of upheaval and drama where ever she's been. As nurses, you'll have more than enough to do in taking care of the patients without having to put up with that kind of busybody.

[GratefulHeart]

"Look at how this "friend" has ruined what should have been the most wonderful days of this OPs life. I'd like to get my hands on that little scallywag (the friend) because with that kind of rampant mouth and disregard for other's feelings, that's what it took to ruin her friend's day, she's going to leave a trail of upheaval and drama where ever she's been. As nurses, you'll have more than enough to do in taking care of the patients without having to put up with that kind of busybody."

Very well said and I couldn't agree more!!!

[ginger58, ASN, RN]

Here you are just graduating from nursing school and I'm wondering if you learned anything at all while you were in school? One of the first things you should have been taught was to base your assessment of situations."

That's pretty cut and dried, judgmental and not a very supportive statement for a new grad.:trout:

[WDWpixieRN, RN]

To the OP, keep in mind that these nurses your "friend" told you about didn't hire you. They are not the bottom line, your employer is. Hopefully, if this facility has a program in place to hire new grads, they will be there to back them in a fair and reasonable manner. The only other place I have ever worked that had this kind of mentality was law enforcement which paralleled (at least back in the day) the military. "Mind games" were a big part of every new officer's orientation from the academy to the time they hit the streets as patrol officers. It was done for a reason -- to keep the new hires (read: "green" officers) on their toes -- for their safety, to some extent.

However I don't feel this translates well in to the nursing profession. It is not our lives we are trying to protect and serve; it is our patients. I am only 2 semesters in to my degree, but last semester I worked on a floor with some RNs who were obviously not happy to have to deal with SNs and a CI who was frazzled when she had to deal with more than one of us at a time. It was not an environment that was very conducive to learning and therefore I left there feeling extremely incompetent and wondering if I had what it took to be a RN.

This semester I worked in another facility where the nurses, techs, and clerks were a dream. My CI never showed a ruffled feather no matter what we were doing to her, lol. She has built up the confidence of 8 potential RNs and was able to do so without berating us or letting know how little we know or how incompetent we are at this point (we already know, believe me). Overall, it was a much more effective learning environment. She felt the reason the staff on the floor were so wonderful to us was MANAGEMENT'S direction. Whatever it was, it worked. Three of us in this group have gone on to get internships this summer. We WANT to be better at what we know and learn more for the upcoming semesters.

I think you should keep your eyes and ears open to what kind of management and support you will have from above and don't worry about these nurses where you will be going. I would not let them, nor the "information" your friend told you hold you back unless you find out it's just an unhealthy environment overall. We have enough insecurities as new nurses that you don't need anyone beating you up more than you will yourself. I hope that your personal preceptor and orientation program will allow you to build the confidence you will need to be a strong and positive asset to the nursing profession.

Best wishes!!:icon_hug:

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

That's pretty cut and dried, judgmental and not a very supportive statement for a new grad.:trout:

It's to the point (if you want to call it cut and dried, OK) and making an assessment based on the information provided (if you want to call it judgmental, OK, I call it assessment). My assessment of the situation was just different than yours, I guess. Why are you upset with me? The OP didn't ask for support. She titled her post "Nurse vs New Grad" and just posted what happened. Sounds to me like she left it wide open to interpretation as to what she wanted from the responding community. I just pulled it up and re-read it again to confirm that. When you delegate tasks or ask for feedback (which the OP didn't really do) one of the cardinal rules is to qualify and put some parameters on what kind of feedback you want back. I'm just stating my opinion. Go ahead and state yours--about the OP because that's what this thread is about. It's not about me.