orientation and not feeling prepared

Sour Lemon · Sep 10, 2017

I really want to quit this job - I can't take this place anymore. As from my previous posts, I am on a medsurg unit with a ratio of 1 nurse to 8 patients (6 IF WE ARE LUCKY). I'm getting anxiety while I am off from work. The other day, I had several admissions in the unit (I never did an admission before) and preceptor gave me no guidance. I was asking my preceptor to please check my notes and documentation and she would keep telling me that she doesn't have time or she will check it later. I am almost done with orientation (5 weeks) and I have a full patient load already (I took on my preceptor's patients) I have been thrown around from preceptor to preceptor and each one tells me a different thing. Others don't even scan the wristbands because they have no time. I notice also that other nurses talk bad about me behind my back like I am a stupid new grad and I just ignore them because I don't come to work to please them. One nurse told my preceptor right in front of me to take a tylenol if she wants since she will be teaching me today. They obviously do not want to teach since they are so busy with their own patients and are not welcoming at all. I don't expect for them to hold my hand during orientation but at least help me out when I have a question and not roll their eyeballs. How can I be a good and confident nurse when they do not want to teach? and I am taking care of THEIR patients, in which last week my preceptor never even bothered to assess the patients and depended on me for everything. If I have an incomplete documentation report, wouldn't that be on their license? since I am supposed to be working under a preceptor and not independently... It is so frustrating!!! Advice needed please.

Your mistakes will be your mistakes. I feel for you and your preceptor. No matter what you do, scan your patients and their meds. If you have a better work option, take it.

I always prioritized patient care and safety above documentation (ex: care plans, fall risk assessment, various repetitive forms). I know people say if you don't chart it, you didn't do it ...but sometimes you have to chose between taking care of the patient and taking care of the computer.

JKL33 · Sep 10, 2017

This sounds little like orientation and more like "letting new person share the workload." Unfortunate/unacceptable. This is why I am not a fan of the basic idea that new grads should have the majority of their initial orientation period with an RN who is carrying a full workload. It's not the fault of the staff RN that, literally, there is not time to show everything/teach everything and to let you do things according to a manner in which you will actually learn.

I know you think the staff RN doesn't have a good attitude (and maybe s/he doesn't) but to think about it from their perspective - - I mean no offense, but rarely is it a net "help" to have an orientee do some patient work. Or, I should say, the help they provide, although appreciated, is often off-set by the extra things they require. In order to see it from their perspective you must realize that they are already at their wits end trying to keep up with patient care, and then are told to actually teach while they are trying to do everything else.

I guess I'm just venting about something I think is disappointing. I hate to see newer nurses AND staff nurses put into this situation. It really benefits no one, including the patients.