sleeplessinseattle

Hi all, made the switch from med surg to critical care. Need some advice on communicating effectively to fit in or if maybe this isn’t the role for me and I should move on. I’ve been on this unit for a few months 8 week orientation and struggled with my preceptor. She told me though I had a experience that I would be treated like a new grad and need to learn all over again. Same words from management. They asked what I needed from orientation I told them support, switching to a critical mindset and other unit specific advice, that I was confident in my assessment and other nursing skills. They took this as me saying I already knew everything. They told me I need to let charge know everything I’m doing, which I can understand updating them after each q4 assessments, but it’s fast paced and I don’t always have time. I do always go to them if I’m unsure or have other questions. But for example I had a patient with a low BP and went to assess them. While retaking their BP I was assessing, asking the pt questions and messaging the MD. They were asymptomatic and the MD arrived quickly, but charge was upset I didn’t tell them first. Another incident I had two patients admitted back to back, the first one had specific post op meds. While I was administering the second patient arrived. A nurse came to tell me, I told her I would be in as soon as I finished with the meds as they were already crushed and in the syringe. She got upset. 5 minutes later I was in the second patients room with the same nurse telling me I needed to message the MD about a list of things that she let the charge nurse know. I thanked her for letting the charge nurse know, but that I would like to assess the patient myself too, that I had already messaged the MD after getting report about things they wanted me to watch over night. I let the charge nurse know and they acted like they didn’t believe me and called the MD again. The other nurse and charge said this unit wasn’t for everyone and people didn’t understand how much work it was. Another incident I had a patient with an open wound the MD wanted left open, they said there would be bloody drainage, it was normal they redid the dressing for me. The drainage was under control, but the pt needed a new gown and sheets. Another patient began c/o of chest pain and had a change in rhythm. I never got a chance to let the aide know that I would be back to clean up the last patient as this one became my priority. I got a call from the charge minutes later asking if I had even assessed the other patient, that they were a mess and now she and the aide were going to have to clean them up. I told her the current situation and she told me it wasn’t OK. Sorry this turned into a venting sesh, just need advice on how to better handle situations like these or if maybe this isn’t for me.

I felt exactly the same way as you 6 months into nursing and stuck it out for the whole year from advice that it would be hard to find a job otherwise. Two things I learned from this was I’m so glad I stuck it out, because with all that stress and time I became more confident and increased critical thinking and time management skills. The second thing I learned was while gaining all that I had, was the stress worth it? I sometimes wish I had applied to other jobs to at least see what was out there instead of listening to people say you won’t find anything with only 6 months of experience. There’s no harm in applying and you don’t have to take the job, but who’s to say you won’t find your “dream job.” Teaching hospitals (at least near me) are notorious for hiring no matter your experience. No job is worth your mental health. 10/10 recommend following wholelifenurse on insta. She just spoke to this topic today and always seems to be there with the right advice when it’s needed. good luck!

Wealth of information, thank you!

Hey all! I was wanting to make the move from med surg to critical care when I was offered a role in a surgical progressive care unit and another offer at an OR training program, then full time position following with mainly transplant surgeries. I’d never thought to go into the OR, honestly because I never knew what a day entailed. The work like balance really appeals to me though. I’m wanting somewhere to stay for a few years and want to make sure it’s the right fit. I will get to shadow prior in the OR to make sure it’s a good fit in two weeks. But any thoughts from current OR nurses on likes/dislikes and what a typical day looks like would be appreciated!

This month is my one year of being a nurse, the beginning was definitely a roller coaster ride, I’ve finally found my place, become more confident and trust my decisions. The thing is I’m miserable at my job, I’ve been trying to stick out the one year of med surg and have been applying like crazy the past week. I guess my first question is are all hospitals this short staffed? At the beginning I was told I’d only have 5 patients a night but have always had 7, a lot of time total care, because we do not have enough aides either. There’s no evaluations so I have no idea what I need to improve on, in my interview I was told there was tuition reimbursement then upon being hired told they didn’t have the budget for that. Enter COVID-19 I’ve been working on our hospital’s designated COVID floor since March, last weekend we only had four patients the rest were ICU level, I was total care and told we didn’t have any aides. It was a complete mess, two of the patients were total care on their own and the day shift nurse had given them both sorbitol, an enema and suppository before they left. Another had a heparin drip for a PE and DVT that had been a problem during the day and I was on the phone with pharmacy constantly about it. The unit manager called me on my way home in the morning to apologize and tell me it’s a safety issue that no one should be the only person on a unit. When I came back that night the day shift nurse told me I was being moved to another unit, that I was a new nurse who just couldn’t handle the patient load and the charge nurse said I “***ed” to management to be moved. I never asked to be moved I just said I could have really used an aide and that it was a rough night, when the unit manager called me. I pride myself on not complaining and trying to have a positive attitude at work, so it was really disappointing that the one time I speak up, I’m immediately put down. There’s no real question here, I guess just any advice would be appreciated.