Overwhelmed new RN

[bearmouth]

Hi, this is probably going to be a bit rant-y but I really need to vent/ask for advice.

I passed my NCLEX in August of this year and have been working for a little less than 2 months. I work on a sub-acute rehab unit with 40 beds in a LTC facility where the majority of my patients are geriatric. It's not at all what I'm interested in (my passions are psych, pediatrics, and OB) but I know I have to start somewhere and couldn't get a job in med-surg first like I know I'm "supposed" to.

Anyway, I've been feeling extremely overwhelmed and I can't tell if it's because I'm so new or because of understaffing. My preceptor, NM, and other nurses on the floor have been very supportive of me. I know that I'm not expected to know how to do everything right away. But I still don't feel like I'm providing safe care to my patients. The unit has 40 beds and is split between 4-5 CNAs and 2-3 nurses. Typically, we have 4 CNAs and 2 nurses, which means each nurse takes 20 beds and 2 med carts. I honestly feel that 20 patients is WAY too many for an acute care floor. I know I don't have experience in hospitals aside from my clinical training but my unit seems similar to a hospital to me; high turnover, acutely ill patients, daily admits and discharges... It just doesn't seem safe to me, at all. Today, I was so frazzled with my heavy pt load that I accidentally left a pt's bed elevated and took a glucometer home with me (I accept full responsibility of both mistakes and realize there is no good excuse, but typically I am very diligent and triple-check things like that).

I can't tell if I'm just overwhelmed because of all the new information/experiences or if this is actually an unsafe patient load. Can anyone weigh in? I'm considering looking for a new job because I really feel like this situation is a med error, or possibly something worse, waiting to happen. Am I just being whiny or is it actually unrealistic to ask somebody to take on 20 patients in an acute care setting? I love nursing, it's what I've wanted to do since I was a toddler, but this job is making me feel like I'm not cut out for it.

[sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN]

That is about normal staffing ratio....it will seem more manageable in

time

[ArtClassRN, ADN, RN]

Anyone would be overwhelmed there at first. Do the best you can and start looking for other jobs right away. Take anything that looks better.

[guest358111]

That seems like a normal ratio for that kind of unit. It can be very overwhelming especially for the first few months. I suggest trying a few different methods to organize your time and see what works for you. Don't forget that it's not the only nursing job out there, and you will be all the more stronger for learning how to give that many medications to that many people! Also, leaving the bed up is a simple mistake, if the patient didn't fall, no one was hurt, learn from it and don't beat yourself up. And, you caught that you took the gluccometer home. And brought it back so all is well. I accidentally threw out a whole ring of supervisor keys once! Took hours to find them, but I survived it! Keep it up and I think you will get through this a stronger nurse! And if after enough time has passed to help your resume and you still feel unsafe there, you can look elsewhere!