Overwhelmed at new job

[Calbrunette]

Been an RN for about 8 years. Recently changed jobs going from one major hospital system in my town to another major hospital system (tele/obs floor on both). Every single thing in the new hospital is different...the charting, the equipment, the physical environment, workflow, down to the medicine cups. I feel VERY underqualified for this position. They just do things so differently. The charting is 100x more detailed and complicated. I feel like a new RN rather than someone who is experienced. The turnover, pace, and patient load is more than I'm used to. They have a million protocols, pathways, and processes that I've never experienced. To say I feel stupid is an understatement. I feel like I'm utterly out of my league here. I have no idea what's going on with any of my patients because the pace is so great that once you get report, you are running non-stop for at least the first 8 hours and have no time to read or retain anything. On top of that I feel my orientation hasn't been managed properly, my main preceptor makes me feel dumb, and my stress and frustration is becoming evident which makes me look bad. At this point I have no idea how I will ever learn all this. I just don't think I'm good enough for this place.

[JBMmom, MSN, NP]

Take a deep breath, you're probably not giving yourself enough credit. I think that everyone feels like a fish out of water when starting a new position. Before things get out of hand, can you approach your unit educator or manager about getting more basic training? The charting and equipment need specific instruction, especially on a tele floor. But some of the stuff, like med cups, you're just going to have to adapt to. When you're feeling overwhelmed, small things can feel like bigger things, so try to focus on the big stuff and when you're more comfortable with that, everything will feel like it falls into place. It's possible that people are just expecting that you're swimming along fine because you're experienced. Has anyone given you feedback that you're not meeting their expectations? You might be doing just fine on the outside, so others are not aware you're having trouble.