Precepting

[Tweety]

I've done a lot of precepting over the years, but for the most part I've been a charge nurse. Last year I returned to floor nursing and started precepting more.

This is the first time I've actually had a new grad assigned to me for a full 12 weeks. He's a new grad and a bit eccentric, which I find interesting. We're in week 9 and in three weeks he's on his own. We're not there yet, but almost.

But some of my coworkers true colors are coming out. They are getting a bit nit picky "he left a patient full of tube feeding". Well the tube feeding must have become disconnected when the family turned him, which they do. Plus there was myself and a CNA in the room, don't blame the new guy. "Well two IVs were bad". So sorry about that, don't make me go tit for tat on what a pleasure it is to follow you.

"I don't want to give report to him, let me give report to you and you give it to him. He asks too many questions". Umm....sorry, no can do.

People think "because there's two of you" it's easy. Coworkers "you're not doing anything, he's doing all you're work, you have it so easy".

"We're not giving you a CNA today because there's two of you."

Charge nurse to me "how many patients do you have". Me: I have seven, it's written on the board on the assignment that you made. Charge: No, I'm asking how many do you and have how many does he have. Me: We're together, and I have a full assignment and so does he, we have a full assignment together. Charge: You're getting an admission because there's two of you.

The last time I precepted I had a women the last four weeks of her orientation, it was the same thing. "We're short a nurse, so you get seven patients and your orientee gets seven patients. You can handle it."

[SmilingBluEyes]

and they wonder why nurse burn-out is a problem?

[rehab nurse]

Hey hon,

I have my BSN and all that means is that I chose to get my 4 year degree at the same time I went to nursing school. Here are a few of my "required classes" to get my BSN: "statistics"," American Studies" ( I had to take an elective), "algebra" ( another elective), and a "cinema" class( another required elective). I can also tell you that I've worked with some fantastic LPN's over the years that I didn't know they were LPN's for a long time. It's on their badge but I'm not constantly looking at badges for their title and it's not like they are walking around with a sign on their heads saying "I'm an LPN". Many years ago they did a "reduction in force" at my hospital and the LPN's were gone. How stupid it seems today. They are back and I'm glad to have them. Sometimes the only way I know a nurse is an LPN is when she comes up to me and asks me to give pain medicine IV push for her. People need to get a grip. Your ADON needs to worry about good nurses taking care of the patients not whether or not they have a BSN behind their name.

i work with some agency nurses as well, who i've worked with for 4 years, and they just now figured out i'm an lpn cause i have been talking about school and such. they couldn't believe i wasn't an RN. that made me feel good.i know i am a good nurse. now, i am not saying i know it all, i certainly don't. i believe the nursing classes i just completed have definitely taught me a ton of things i didn't know/didn't understand before. i just wish i didn't have to hear the garbage from my ADON about BSN's being the best thing to ever exist. i know a lot of good nurses from my work, some are LPNs, some are RNs, and some are RN, BSNs. i know some bad ones with all three titles as well. i just wish this ADON wasn't so hung up on titles. all i care about at work is having a good nurse to work with, who is a team player and is willing to help out to get through the shift. whether that nurse is a BSN, LPN, RN...whatever. and i sure couldn't do my job without some of the wonderful CNA's either.

my best friend works with me, has her BSN, but she was told by same ADON that she was "nothing till she gets away from the bedside". can you believe it?! if all people with BSN's moved away from the bedside, we'd be in sorry shape! and the ADON just told us in the meeting that she wanted an all BSN staff to work the floor! my head spins every time i hear her voice say something like that.

i read tweety's post this morning and i've heard all the same things at work lately. it just burns me up that some of my co-workers are so nit-picky about minor things. i wish we could all just work together in peace! and not constantly have the "well, you have an extra nurse with you tonight, so you can do X and Y, cause i don't have the time", and "why didn't you get this done? you had and EXTRA nurse with you!"

[rehab nurse]

Stick to your guns Tweety. I've been on both sides of the fence as an orientee and preceptor.

As a new orientee, I had a preceptor who literally sat at the desk. After 5 months I was asked to orientate a new employee with previous experience as an RN, we managed to muddle through. :angryfire

It seems like some of the people you work with have forgotten what it is like to be a new employee or a new grad. There is a reason why your orientee is not counted as staff, they are not ready to function fully as staff. Unfortunately there will always be some who will count them as if they are staff.

It's frustrating when the situation is taken advantage of, "Oh but there's two of you therefore you don't need a CNA".

Whether your an experienced nurse or a new grad, the orientation process is designed to help a new employee acclimate to their working environment. There are always going to be some that will not understand this.

Don't you find the worst complainers about what was missed, what was wrong, etc., are the worst offenders?

:yeahthat: exactly what i had in my mind, but not good enough with words to say it myself!

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Perhaps, if you can find the right time and place, you could initiate similar discussions on your unit, Tweety. As someone with a lot of Charge Nurse experience, you may be in a good position to initiate some positive change. People would know that you understood the Charge Nurse's perspective as well as the preceptor's perspective.

Good luck,

llg

Can you believe it's only been recently that they stopped counting the new grads an a nurse on the unit in productivity. When I was doing charge on this unit they counted as a "1" and we had to somehow cut back somewhere to accommodate a new person. After much uproar (after I left the unit they stopped that).

There are good charge nurses that negotiate with me. While I didn't get a CNA again yesterday the charge nurse asked if I could handle an admission, rather than saying "you're getting an admission because there are two of you." I said yes, because it was a horribly easy group for a change.

My main beef is I don't appreciate the presumption of having it easy, and would appreciate some respect, consideration and negotiation. Nor do I appreciate the presumption that I'm not doing anything. We are at the point where I'm expecting more and more, and I'm letting go. I do help others and pick up some of the slack on the floor during these "letting go times.

Of course, as a former charge nurse sometimes you do have to make an unpopular decision "who do I dump on, when everyone's busy....perhaps the one with the orientee would handle it the best, especially if it's in the middle or end of their orientation and you're past those awkward first few weeks." That I understand.

I appreciate everyone's input and allowing me to vent.

[SmilingBluEyes]

Tweety you are an excellent nurse and I am sure, preceptor. I wish I had had someone like YOU to nurture and help me learn when I was a new nurse. I was in a real dog-eat-dog environment that almost made me quit nursing before I even got started. You just keep on doing what you know is right....you are the best.