joetheperformer

Hey, I am in a very very similar predicament, except I graduated on September 2019. My orientation is also being cut short and I am expected to be out and circulating by myself in 2-3 weeks (making my orientation 4 and 1/2 months total). I literally told them HELL NAW, at least give me another month and a week (5 weeks). With my orientation, I have been thrown around different cases, different surgeons, and different services even, which is NORMAL for OR orientation. However, only 4 and 1/2 months is not going to cut it for me. When you say that other new nurses are seeming alright and not stressing too hard, well that's only because they hide it well. In truth, I am just as terrified as you, and so is everyone else I know. People will come down to the locker room and talk like everything is going fine and brag about how well their case went, etc. etc. What they don't tell you is the fact that they were just yelled at by the surgeon/their preceptor. The truth is, sometimes people cope by ignoring the bad stuff that happens and only convey the good stuff to others, ESPECIALLY TO THEIR PEERS. For me, I just go to work, try to learn as much as possible, and hope everything goes smooth. If I get yelled at (which I have gotten many times), I just stand back up and try not to take it home. I am afraid I might make a mistake. THAT IS ENOUGH. If you seek to improve, you can't go wrong with the future. I hope that helped even just a little. Good luck! I'm sure you'll do fine. Also, definitely bring your concerns up to your managers. Cheers fellow orientee! - Bnz.