helpnewnurse

I've only been a nurse for about 5 weeks (and I'm still currently in orientation). Apparently my manager complained that I am too shy and that I've been in orienting in days for way too long (I'm supposed to be working night shift). I feel like my preceptor has been saying negative things about me behind my back because my manager always pulls me into her office and gives me a talk. And whenever I pass her in the hallway she always looks down and avoids eye contact with me. I just wanted to ask for your opinion about this... Anyway,... (this was the first day I met my preceptor) before I clocked in, I came in early to write down all of her patients names and what time I should pass out meds. Then all of a sudden my preceptor comes in and yells at me "that's a waste of time! Are you taking care of all those patients? No, you're only taking care of 2 of my patients. You have to wait until I give you your assignment!" So after that, I always wait for her but she tends to come in late so I never have the time to look up info on my patients... Another time she told me to empty a patient's Foley bag. I never worked as a tech before so I didn't know how to empty it. So I kind of had to figure it out and the urine accidentally got on my pants and I looked behind me and I saw her laughing. One last thing.. my hospital has certain protocols for high-alert medication. There's this one medication that has a specific calculation depending on the patient's weight and labs. My preceptor got the calculations wrong and told my manager that it was my fault that I didn't understand the protocol. But it was my first time learning about the calculation and the protocol and yet I was blamed for the mistake. I just want to know if I should talk to my manager about this... I've just been holding everything in because I don't want to create tension between me and my precepror... and I'm not sure if I can ask my manager for another preceptor.. Also, how long is orientation supposed to be? I feel really bad because I'm supposed to be orienting for nights already.. Like I mentioned before.. I'm already 5 weeks in and yet I feel like I'm probably going to need another 2-3 more weeks before switching to night shift..

Thanks for your response! I really wanted to get into this residency program specifically because I wanted to work for a certain hospital (the hospital I volunteered for). But unfortunately the hospital policies changed since they ended up being bought by a bigger Healthcare System--so the competition is even fiercer. But I did end up getting a job offer from another hospital and I'm starting orientation soon! And yeah, it probably isn't a good idea to ask HR why I wasn't chosen as a candidate. But I'm just curious about why my application/resume didn't stand out from other applicants. I guess it's probably better if I get in contact with my university's Nursing Career Advisor again to review my resume. You're right about that! I definitely don't want to get burned-out when I'm only beginning my career. And I'm not going to work two RN jobs right away but I was hoping to get a second job in the near future since I have a lot of student loans to pay off and my family isn't in the best financial situation. Thank you again for your advice! Very much appreciated!

Thank you for responding! I really appreciate it! Do you think it would be a good idea to reply to the email and ask them specifically why I wasn't considered for a position and what kinds of qualifications do they look for in candidates? Also, for my 2nd question.. I was just wondering because when I was in undergrad, one of my professors told me that she had to give up one of her jobs because they were going to be placed under the same healthcare system. I just wanted to know if it's true.

I graduated in May '17 and I applied for a nursing residency program in December. It is now February and I got an email back from them. Unfortunately, they said they are unable to give me a position. So what I want to know is.. what kinds of qualifications do they look for when applying for a nurse residency program? A little background on myself.. I graduated from a 4 year BSN program. I didn't work as a CNA/tech back in undergrad. I only worked for 2 years as a cashier in a fast food place and worked for about 1 year in Sales. I was Treasurer of a cultural club for about 2 years and I was just a regular member of the Student Nurses Association throughout my entire nursing school career. I also volunteered at the hospital for about a year. I also have another question.. I'm not sure if anyone in allnurses has asked this already but are we allowed to have 2 nursing jobs under one healthcare system? For example, can I get an RN position in Hospital A and Hospital B if both hospitals are both under (e.g.) Mount Sinai Healthcare System?