Orientee Horror Stories?

Published

We always hear from student or new hires who had hellish experiences with the preceptors...I was curious to hear from preceptors who had awful students or orientees? What did you do about it?

Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
That is horrifying.

I'm a new nurse, but there was a girl in my intern class who had her BSN degree and complained about her preceptor (an ADN) because she 'needed someone who was on her education level.' She failed her NCLEX. Twice. And was ticked the hospital reduced her to PCT pay. She was very condescending of ADN nurses, apparently not realizing that 90+% of our group was ADN and she was the only one who failed. She ended up working for the hospital down the street.

And I by no way am saying anything bad about people who have to take boards more than once, but she was so arrogant when she started.

I precepted an ADN grad when I worked in the ED. She asked me where I'd gone to school, and I told her I'd gone to a diploma program, then I said that it had closed a few years ago. She said, "That's good it closed. Diploma programs give inferior education." Now, this particular program had the reputation of being the best one in the state, and it rivaled the BSN programs, to boot.

We never got along very well while I worked there, and when I worked with her at another facility it wasn't much better.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.
I precepted an ADN grad when I worked in the ED. She asked me where I'd gone to school, and I told her I'd gone to a diploma program, then I said that it had closed a few years ago. She said, "That's good it closed. Diploma programs give inferior education." Now, this particular program had the reputation of being the best one in the state, and it rivaled the BSN programs, to boot.

We never got along very well while I worked there, and when I worked with her at another facility it wasn't much better.

I wish ALL nursing programs had as much of a clinical component as the diploma schools did. Orientation would be a lot less painful for all involved.

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Specializes in Thoracic Cardiovasc ICU Med-Surg.

In the last year I have oriented about 6 new hires to our TCV stepdown unit. (3 new grads, 3 RNs with about 1yr each) All were wonderful, thank goodness.

This story is about my friends oriented. While attending a class on mock codes she asked the CPR instructor "If the patient is on the floor, can you do CPR with your feet?"

*Cue awkward silence* "Um, no, that's not recommended." This woman was a PCT on my unit for 2 months before getting hired as an RN, and she was just as bad a tech as she was a nurse. She ended up being transferred to a med-surg unit and proceeded to bad mouth my unit all over the hospital. Makes me wonder what her med-surg preceptor thought of her. She can't have changed that much!

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Specializes in retired LTC.
I wish ALL nursing programs had as much of a clinical component as the diploma schools did. Orientation would be a lot less painful for all involved.
And I'd bet it'd be a whole lot shorter!!!!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Another thought (altho off the track) came to me re thumb-pulses ------ anyone else ever be taking a HR, apical or radial, and your wristwatch stops mid-pulse??? Takes your brain a couple of seconds to realize that the pt DID NOT DIE while you were doing VS and it was only your watch?!?!? You stand there like really stupidly...

Flight of ideas, sorry!

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This story is about my friends oriented. While attending a class on mock codes she asked the CPR instructor "If the patient is on the floor, can you do CPR with your feet?"

Creative idea, I'll give her that!

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Specializes in Gerontology.

Well, there was this new grad who stated she just couldn't work Xmas because her parents would be upset. Or Boxing Day, cause that is when they went to see the Grandparents. Or New Years, because you know she had plans. And weekends might be a problem too. Yeah, she didn't last long.

The there was the new hire just before SARS hit us. Held a hot pack to her ear and kept taking her temp with the tympanic thermometer. Because if your temp was above a certain set temp, you were sent home. Yeah, she didn't last long either.

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Specializes in Going to Peds!.

The there was the new hire just before SARS hit us. Held a hot pack to her ear and kept taking her temp with the tympanic thermometer. Because if your temp was above a certain set temp, you were sent home. Yeah, she didn't last long either.

I give her credit for creativity & ingenuity!

Sent from my HTC One X using allnurses.com

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
In the last year I have oriented about 6 new hires to our TCV stepdown unit. (3 new grads, 3 RNs with about 1yr each) All were wonderful, thank goodness.

This story is about my friends oriented. While attending a class on mock codes she asked the CPR instructor "If the patient is on the floor, can you do CPR with your feet?"

*Cue awkward silence* "Um, no, that's not recommended." This woman was a PCT on my unit for 2 months before getting hired as an RN, and she was just as bad a tech as she was a nurse. She ended up being transferred to a med-surg unit and proceeded to bad mouth my unit all over the hospital. Makes me wonder what her med-surg preceptor thought of her. She can't have changed that much!

My mind immediately flashed to the episode of the "Lucy" show, when she and Ethel were stomping grapes.

Some people make you wonder how they manage to get themselves together to get out of the door in the morning.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
And I'd bet it'd be a whole lot shorter!!!!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Another thought (altho off the track) came to me re thumb-pulses ------ anyone else ever be taking a HR, apical or radial, and your wristwatch stops mid-pulse??? Takes your brain a couple of seconds to realize that the pt DID NOT DIE while you were doing VS and it was only your watch?!?!? You stand there like really stupidly...

Flight of ideas, sorry!

Uh...no.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
I'll never forget this orientee:

Orientee (brandishing a filled syringe): "We don't have any long-acting insulin. Can I give him 80 of Humalog instead?"

Sadly, I've been a nurse for almost 8 years and I wouldn't even know there's anything wrong with that statement.

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Specializes in Going to Peds!.

Sadly, I've been a nurse for almost 8 years and I wouldn't even know there's anything wrong with that statement.

Do you no longer work in direct patient care? Or not routinely give insulin?

Sent from my HTC One X using allnurses.com

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

I think I've given insulin twice in my nursing career.

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