HUN18

Yes, PBC.

I need everything LOL. Any and all advice is welcome! Nurses in my area got furloughed because Covid earlier this year. They are on a hiring frenzy because many nurses decided not to return and went to hospital positions. I asked for elementary but at the moment do not know exactly what I will be getting. And chances are I will be alone. On my own, as a new school nurse. They don’t have enough nurses at the moment to staff high schools with 2 RN’s. Pink on Wednesday’s! Noted! LOL. (I will know more info in 2 weeks and will repost!)

New School Nurse here! ?? Seeking any advice from fellow school nurses as I begin this new journey. I have been a RN for 2 years at a high risk OB unit. I did postpartum, level 1 nursery, and was a “baby catcher” in labor and delivery. I just accepted a FT position as a school nurse (12 months, not 10 months). I will be at the county hospital during the Summer most likely on their OB unit which is the specialty I’m coming from. I was looking for a change and was looking at either NICU (no jobs were available ??) or school nursing. I’ve always wanted to stay within the pediatric/baby realm. This opportunity came up very fast, they literally hired me within a week of applying. Luckily I did not take a pay cut, I actually got an increase from what I was making in the hospital. And the benefits are fantastic, better than the hospital surprisingly! I’m excited and nervous as this is a new specialty area I have never done. Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated! Any books or learning material you would suggest?

Hello fellow nurses, I'm looking for some helpful advice..... I recently started a new grad position on a high risk L&D unit. I am about 7 weeks into my orientation and signed a 2 year contract with the facility. I am slowly realizing that I am falling behind my fellow new graduate orientees. I am not up to speed so to say. I feel as though I am lagging behind compared to the other new grads around me who seem to be excelling. I have a wonderful preceptor. She is patient and works with me to understand things but sometimes I can't help but feel as though I am slow. Part of me is realizing while I am trying to focus on learning how to be a new nurse, to perform basic tasks and procedures I have the added pressure on learning how to be an L&D nurse on top of that. On my unit we never have "normal" births. We are a high risk facility and take high risk pregnancy transfers from different facilities from up to 4-5 different counties including our own. I've had to take several courses such as ACLS, EKG, NRP, etc. And have passed with no problem. I recently spoke to my OB clinical coordinator about my upcoming schedule and she told me I would do 2 weeks in OR, 1 week on antepartum, 2 weeks on postpartum and then 2 weeks on night shift and I would be on my own. This all within my "12 week" orientation, really 11 considering the 1st week I sat in a classroom learning about policies, etc. I told my preceptor today about my "upcoming" schedule and she said no and shook her head. She said she would speak to the OB coordinator and she said I was not ready to be on my own so soon. Which was a sigh of relief! Because out of these 7 weeks, a good chunk of work days I have been taking those classes at the hospital. A part of me is starting to feel like I'm just another nurse they're hoping to churn out after these 12 weeks. Ironically I had the manager come up to me and ask if she had "misinformed"'or "misled" me in anyway when explaining the position during my interview. Granted that was week 2 and I had barely seen just how chaotic it could get. Now that I've been on the floor for 7 weeks and have seen quite a lot. I understand the utmost importance on patient safety for both BABY AND MOM. Right now I don't feel as though I can provide such care because quite frankly I don't have the knowledge and seem to struggle. My preceptor (and other veteran nurses) on my floor told me they all got 6 months of training back in the day and that it's such a disservice to new graduates because 12 weeks is not enough time, especially on our unit. As much as I love L&D, I don't feel it would be responsible of me not to speak up or say something. My preceptor said she ultimately decides whether or not her new orientee will become an L&D nurse or perhaps be moved to post-partum or inevitably cut ties with the facility amicably. In the past she has only "failed" 2 people. She is highly respected from the higher ups and for good reason, she is one of the best L&D nurses on my floor. I really am lucky to have her. My question is.... do I wait to speak to my preceptor or manager about this or should I speak up immediately? I love L&D but I can certainly put my wants aside for patient safety. I never want to feel inadequate or unsafe in my care for my patients but I feel as though I'm just not where I should be, learning wise. I feel as though I am capable of patient harm once I'm on my own because I "didn't see it" or it "didn't occur to me". I do feel as though I have failed as a new grad, but I can't let that affect my decision to want to stay out of pride. When it should be about my ability to safely care for both mom and baby on my own. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! And so sorry for the LONG post but thank you to those who red it all!!