Preceptor Friend or Foe??

[texaschick]

Does anyone feel like thier preceptor is trying to make you quit?

I have only been with my preceptor for a couple of weeks but it really seems like we don't click. She will ask me if i have done the skill before and I will tell her yes once about a year ago. Then she wants to witness each one which you would think she would be going to assist or guide me .... something of that nature.....NOT HAPPINING!!!...Instead she will wait until I have missed a step such as securing the Pt's NG tube or hooking it to suction... and will simply tell me you wont forget that step next time will ya?? Maybe its me but I don't feel like this is a very good way to learn from my mistakes especially when I cover myself and the Pt with their own stomach contents. It is not just with proceedures its with alot of things that I do. I feel like I don't know anything and that I am destined to fail. Anyone have any suggestions???? I am a new nurse in the ER and I love the area and the patients but i just don't feel like I can keep my head above water.

[PANurseRN1]

I really wanted to think maybe it was something else. I do think you are right it not a good fit. The problem is the RN's who precept new nurses get a $4000.00 bonus for precepting. I really think that if I ask for another preceptor that I will end up with the same problem that I already have. Someone to follow around and be thier punching bag while they collect a big fat bonus check for doing so. I think that if you like to teach then you should precept not because they are paying you that much extra. Thats just and opinion but my greatest respect now and hope it will always will be is for those experienced RN's to take us new grads under their wing and teach us the right way to fly.

Uh, no. Precepting is a trememdous responsibility, and preceptors should be compensated for being willing to take on that role.

[happytobehere]

i had the exact same experience, my preceptor taught by making fun of me when i made a mistake and said things like "well that will be the last time you do that" I am not an idiot i saw a change in her attitude towards me, and i stopped learning. So I asked to change preceptors, and my manager talked to her, it got worse!. So i went into her office and told her i was not lerning from her.... and the one thing that got her attention was when I said. I feel uncomfortable asking questions and that is dangerous. The first two weeks were uncomfortable but now I love my new preceptor, and I am doing well! It is HARD to stnd up for yourself, and especially when you are being bullied! You can do it I promise,,,,,,!!!!

[cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN]

i had the exact same experience, my preceptor taught by making fun of me when i made a mistake and said things like "well that will be the last time you do that" I am not an idiot i saw a change in her attitude towards me, and i stopped learning. So I asked to change preceptors, and my manager talked to her, it got worse!. So i went into her office and told her i was not lerning from her.... and the one thing that got her attention was when I said. I feel uncomfortable asking questions and that is dangerous. The first two weeks were uncomfortable but now I love my new preceptor, and I am doing well! It is HARD to stnd up for yourself, and especially when you are being bullied! You can do it I promise,,,,,,!!!!

I'm glad you put up that post. I, too, am starting to feel like I can't ask anymore questions. My answers are usually, "I told you that a million times already". So I end up asking others for help. Imagine that you only have one preceptor, and she's best friends with the manager. I'm stuck. I just can't imagine how uncomfortable it will be if I ask for a new preceptror. I mean, it's a small unit.

I'm actually thinking of cutting myself loose from orientation a few months early just to be rid of the situation. I'm basically on my own anyway....

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

My philosophy is that the only stupid question is the one you don't ask. When I preceptor, that's almost the first thing I tell my new friend. Not everyone is cut out to be a preceptor, and unfortunately managers and educators don't always know that about specific people. Being forthright about your reluctance to ask questions is a great idea. If nothing else it gives the preceptor a little nudge.

[crb613, BSN, RN]

I had a wonderful preceptor, and I was w/the same person the whole time. If there was a skill I did not know how to do...she would calmly talk me through it, and she always praised me for the things I did right. I was never left alone in the room until she was sure of my abilities....we would start on different ends of the floor doing our am assessments & then compare notes. I cannot say enough good things about her or the rest of the nurses......they were all behind me 100%. I was always being asked are you ok? Do you need any help? If any of them had an IV stick, foley, NG, blood to hang they would ask have you done this before? Do you want to do it? I feel like I had a whole shift of preceptors, and it was great! Just before my last shift on orientation they all got together & took me out for breakfast.....I am now on nights, and I dreaded it so bad.....but the nurses there are just as helpful as the ones I started out with.

Teamwork is the name of the game here. If any of them have easier pt's they don't go on break or sit around...they help who ever has the more difficult pt's. We all jump in on an admits, pass meds if some one is behind, do chart checks for each other, and I could go on & on! I work w/a great bunch of nurses!

[marygirl]

Well, sometimes you just don't communicate well with someone. One day during my orientation, my preceptor asked me to help her turn a patient. I had not gotten report on this patient because we had split the team and we have a written report. Later she called me on my voice-box and asked me to take that patient's blood pressure. I did, and voiced it back to her. She said, "okay, thanks" and that was it. I left the room and went back to working on my own patient care assignments. Later, she chastised me for leaving her patient alone when he was "getting ready to code". Well, if the expectation was for me to stay with the patient, why wouldn't she say so? His BP was normal and he didn't look any different to me than he did earlier when I helped her turn him. She then went to management and told them she just didn't feel that I was "getting it". I can see her point. I certainly had not figured out how to read her mind. I was assigned to another preceptor and finished my orientation without difficulty. I still do go to my original preceptor when I have questions and I like her personally and when we are on the same shift, we try to take breaks together. At first, I was bitter and angry about the situation, but you can't walk around full of bitter and anger, can you? Obviously, every interaction you have is not just a reflection of you, it is a reflection of the other person and the way the two of you communicate. She is still a great resource, although the first couple of times after the preceptor change, we were both a little uncomfortable. I had to put my big-girl pants on and be professional and by doing so, I realized that changing preceptors was something that was good for me.