RNChris1

When I was in medic school, we had to go to the coast guard and preform all the inoculations and blood draws for the cadets before we could go on the rescues. One weekend of that, 3 fainting cadets, and a lot of reassurance/direction I felt kind of comfortable.... it took me at least a solid year on my own before I felt confident in my skills... practice and patience makes perfect 👌

That is completely true! I am a nurse and a paramedic, when I solely worked as an intercept paramedic, I only used a 20 or smaller for the difficult IV starts... I used an 18 for almost every patient and 16's or 14's for unstable patients or severe trauma... lol, now that I have been working for a while mostly as a RN I use an 18 for my unstable patients and 20's for everyone else 😜 Occasionally I still grab a 14 or 16, but that's not all that often!

You need to stand up for your needs. You are only going to be on orientation this one time and need to get the most out of it. I would suggest that you explain your needs and expectations to him. When I precept, I make that one of the first coversations I have... some people don't always mesh well for a mentoring relationship, that's ok too. It doesn't mean that either of the two nurses have anything wrong, they just have different expectations and personality... if I was you, talk to your preceptor and see if you can make both sides of the expectations known. I would also ask to occasionally have a sit down during orientation with both you and your preceptor with your manager or educator to ensure you are getting your needs met and progressing well. Good luck!

Tonight I was attempting to settle a patient into a stretcher from triage. This patient obviously had a bad experience at the hospital during a previous visit. While attempting to reassure the patient, she makes the breathtaking statement "that is only the nurse" to her visitor. You could have picked my chin up from the floor in that very moment! It took all I had not to stop what I was doing and walk out of that room. Instead, I continued to treat this patient to the best of my ability and show her that I was only a nurse and proud to be one! Of course, I did not have all that much time to reflect on that statement during my shift, but once I got home I couldn't quite shake the statement. It got me thinking.... that's only the nurse... this is is what I have to say about being "only a nurse" yes, I am only a nurse. I am only the nurse that holds your hand, wipes your tears, brushes your hair/teeth, wraps your wounds, calls your family, listens, answers your call light, brings you to the bathroom, helps you bathe, dresses you, cries with you... I am only the nurse that reminds the doctor to order tests, reminds them of your allergies, reminds them of your pain, reminds them of other comorbities, lets the doctor know when tests are done, completes the tests... I am only the nurse that askes clarifying questions when the doctors orders are incorrect, that advocates for your needs, all of your needs... I am only the nurse that gets yelled at when patients are sad/angry/frustrated with their care or conditions. I am only the nurse that holds your loved ones hands and lends a shoulder to cry on. I am only the nurse who coordinates your care with all disciplines to give you optimal results. I am only the nurse who answers your questions and when not able finds the answers for you. I am only the nurse... But because I am only the nurse, I can't quite tell you everything that I do for you (that list is way to long)... because I am only the nurse, I can promise you the safest and best care. Tonight, all things aside, i am proud to "only be a nurse".