Peds New Grad

[Gracieboo]

I graduated school in December. So I haven't been a nurse for long. I finished orientation in April. So I've been on my own for almost 3 months. I love my job. The kids are so sweet. The staff is great. But this morning was awful. I was coming off from a crazy busy night. I was behind most of the night which doesn't usually happen. So my report wasn't as great as usual. The nurse I was giving report to was so hateful. She called me out on every little thing. She also had a new grad who was precepting with her & there were students there as well. I just felt really belittled and embarrassed in front of the new grads and the students. It was like she was showing out infront of them. If I do something wrong I definitely want to know about it. But I thought the way she handled it was unprofessional and belittling. Like take me to the side in private and tell me what I can fix instead of making me feel like an idiot in front of everyone. Like she really made me feel like a terrible nurse. I went home bawling my eyes out. Any advice on how to deal with nurses like this?? She really brought down my confidence.

[Sour Lemon]

I find it helpful to focus on what's being said, not the way it's being said. If you were wrong, you were wrong. You'll get it right next time.

"Mean" nurse has made errors, herself ...I assure you of that.

[TruvyNurse]

Take it with a grain of salt. Some nurses are just nasty. Use it as a learning experience. You're going to make mistakes in ten years too! Dont sweat the small stuff.

[Qing]

As TruvyNurse said, take it with a grain of salt. Some people are just going to be nasty and you will learn how to deal with different personalities. There was this fellow nurse I worked with and it was never pleasant to deal with person. Always putting you down and not willing to help anybody at all. This nurse when you ask if you could help or anything needed to be done... well you got excuses. I later found out from another nurse that the person lied and always tried to make it look like they were super nurse. The reality was this nurse went back after and did whatever you just asked if they needed help with. At the same time, this nurse was always critical of little things not done. You are not going to be perfect and we all make mistakes. Your best defense with this nurse is to provide her with the essential information for report and leave it at that. Also, build a thick face and stay calm under their critique of things you did. Do not respond to the critical comments and just provide information that is related to the patient care. You will get better and more confident in yourself as you get more experience. Guess what? I am sure that nurse has days/nights that they cannot keep up and are behind the whole time.... so don't be so hard on yourself.