Off orientation...check this out!

[FreshRN05]

Hi, all!

Starting this Tuesday, I will be on my own after 12 shifts of orientation on Med-Surg-Tele floor.....I'm really scared and anxious....During my orientation, there were days that I feel competent enough and there were days that I go home with a big question mark on my forehead (you know not exactly sure of how I did throughout my shift)...Anyhow, on Tuesday, I will be starting to work on my home unit which is a unit that is brand new to the hospital and as a matter of fact the opening is this tuesday also...So I guess I will be one of the staff there to officially welcome patients and tests all the equipments in the units ( scary!)...Well the unit is a 14-bed unit, no private rooms, beds with draw curtains only (kinda like an emergency room set up)..this is going to be a med-surg-tele unit...we will be taking patients that came from the ER either waiting to be transferred to a different floor depending on their conditon..or patients that came in with minor respiratory distress, chest pains (waiting for lab results or are scheduled for stress tests)...we will not be taking patients with GI bleeds (because we only have 2 bathrooms in the unit), patients that needs isolation, ventilated patients, and dialysis patients.....basically most of the equipments in the unit are portable ( such as oxygen, suction machines....)...The nurse-patient ration is 1:5 with a Nurse Tech that will be shared by all 14 patients....TPC that's what they call it ( Total patient care for RN's). To me, I find it interesting but when I mentioned it to the other nurses on the floor I was orienting at they give me this "oh, I hope you do good there or good luck to you" look....they think that having portable equipments and doing TPC and being new (new unit and me new RN) should not be placed to a (new) unit like this.....We will have a charge nurse on the floor, a secretary and a monitor/tele tech and maybe 3 RN's....What do yiu guys think of this? I decided to take this position because I feel like as a new grad/new RN (with no previous hospital experience) I would benefit from this type of setting because doing TPC will help me practice and apply the skills that I only get to practice on a dummy during nursing school...I know it's gonna be alot of work especially if I encounter a patient who's on multiple PO meds plus IV meds they get during hospitalization plus any treatments they need ( such a dressing change, NG/G-tube feedings.....)Oh, by the way patients can only stay in the unit maximum of 24 hours (either they go home or get transferred) so there will be alot of admission/transfer/discharge and teachings.....Your feedback is much appreciated!!!

[stn2003, RN]

We have a similar short stay unit at the hospital that I work at, and the new nurses who have chosen to work there really like it. While they say it is busy, with the admissions/discharges/transfers, generally the patients are not 'heavy' patients as they are really there for simple tests/ treatments/ observation, and anybody that needs a good deal of work is simply admitted or transferred. Good luck to you : )

[FreshRN05]

We have a similar short stay unit at the hospital that I work at, and the new nurses who have chosen to work there really like it. While they say it is busy, with the admissions/discharges/transfers, generally the patients are not 'heavy' patients as they are really there for simple tests/ treatments/ observation, and anybody that needs a good deal of work is simply admitted or transferred. Good luck to you : )

Thank you for the reply. It made me feel a little better... I'm pretty sure there will be ups and downs while working there as with any other units in the hospital. I just really hope that I did not made a big mistake and have put me and my license in jeopardy for picking this unit as my very frist job in the nursing world...Of course I have yet to see it for myself... I have made some good friends with some nurses (even LVN's and Nurse techs) at the hospital during my orientation and they told me that if ever I need help or have a question about certain things that I will be encountering (policies, skills) on my new unit to give them a call and they will be more than willing to help me ( I hope!)....I just don't want to expect too much from this and then get disappointed later........thanks again!