SALLYSMG

Hello, Well, I have been having a difficult time with my job as a tele nurse, I have been a nurse for 7 months, and have not felt like not wanting to go to work until recently. I just need to vent, thank God for this place> The other night i got to my night shift and before i even had the time to clock in the ER is on the line to give me report on my new patient (happens all the time.) I also at the same time have four other patients that i havent even gotten report on. I tell them to call back later and that i need some time to get report on my current patients first. They say o.k., but the evening nurse picks up the phone and calls the ER and takes the report. Well by the time im in the middle of report, the patient is up and there is no bed in the room he is going into. I am by now getting very upset, since my resource nurse in in her report. The ER nurse is mad and says that he has to go, what should he do leave the patient in the hallway? Im like, wait we have to find a bed. I stop what i am doing to find a bed, and find the aide to take initial vitals, ect. Well I neglect my current patients to care for this new patient, and then once i get him settled in and give him any meds that he needs now, im told that my patient on 1a thats not on tele will have to be moved upstairs to a surgical floor, since we will need to take my patient female out of her private room and put her in the three bedroom, and have a room available for a male patient, (postcath). Moving at the same time is being done on the other side. Now I am down to 4 patients and guess what, i am getting a new admit from the er. Everyone else has five patients. Well by now i am just super stressed, my resource tries her best, but its still frustrating. In addition, i have to prep my female patient for her morning cardiac cath, and guess what i did, i shaved her and marked her pulses, wrapped the supplies that i used in a towel to discard, and i forget them in the room, for the morning nurse to find, with the shaver (with the pub hairs on them still) I felt so bad, i just went to the breakroom and cried, because i dont usually do things like this. I care about my patients so much, but sometimes feel like i am in a position that can possible make room for serious error. I feel so overwhelmed right now. My floor seems like this more and more, and i feel for the evening shift that had some 6 discharges and 10 admits. Do you have any suggestions? p.s. the other day my nurse manager, whom i never here from called me at home because she asked my if i left my patient on 2 liters of o2 when her sats were 95 RA, documented, i didnt but maybe someone else did. Plus this patient was suppose to get weighed (CHF pt) and that i did forget to designate to our nurse aid. My fault. I guess, what happened was that she was suppose to be discharged that morning but because of the 02 and weight she had to stay another day. Help me please, what should i do because i am seriously dreading going to work.

i have a question regarding night shift assessments? I work the night shift and after getting report, I check my medicines to see if anyone is due a sleepy pill ect, (most of the time they have allready been given a sleepy pill) and i go to each room to get my assessments done, sometimes if im really busy i go say hi to each patient and make sure they are still alive and do whatever it may be that requires my immediate attention, for instance, a critical lab value, etc. My question is, sometimes when i go into the room, i frequently find my patient fast asleep, i wake them up as gently as possible and ask permission to turn on light, some of my patients get mad and say "not this again", I tell them that I have to assess them on my shift and that if i dont then i am not doing my job. Well, it may sound silly but do i have to assess right at the beginning of my shift or can i maybe wait, i notice that some of the more experienced nurses (im a new grad) are doing their MARS and other things. I know that eventually I will have to get assessments done and Im just confused as to what i should do? Is there any suggestions, I want to do the right thing. thanks

Thanks for the good advice, I will try to float with grace and hope all goes well. I must say when the nurses on the other floor find out that i am a tele nurse, they said that if i can handle telemetry, i can handle anything. I hope that's true, i must admit that during my shift as a float 2-3 of my patients asked me how long i had been nursing, whereas when im on my core floor, i dont get asked that anymore. Well I will try to have a good attitude when floating!!! Ill try real hard. Sally:angryfire p.s. thanks everyone for hearing me out.

not sure why all were in caps, i dont think that i can fix it!! just my luck, im not that great with computer.

Hello, This Is My First Post, I Am A New Nurse, And Am Working On Med-surg Telemetry, I Love My Position On The Night Shift And Enjoying My Coworkers. My Problem Is That Before I Hit Six Months On The Job, They Wanted To Float Me To Another Floor, I Wasnt Comfortable With That And Told Them That I Had Not Been Working For The Six Month's Required Before Floating Someone. They Looked Into It And Said Ok And Sent And Icu Nurse Upstairs, Who Was Not Happy, Because She Says That Its Not In Her Job Description, The Only Floors She Is Suppose To Float To Is Telemetry Or Pacu. Anyways She Went. When I Did Have Six Months, To The Day, I Was Sent To The 5th Floor, Med Surg Without Any Orientation To The Floor, I Went But Did Not Feel Comfortable And Told Management, . A Per-diem Was On My Floor And Should Have Been The One To Go, But She Said She Was Not Comfortable About It Either So I Had To Go I Was Sent, Even Though She Has Been A Nurse For Over 2 Years. Well , It Happened To Me Again Last Night, I Was Not On The Schedule When I Arrived For My Shift And Was Told That I Had To Float To 5th Floor, , So I Told My Manager That I Didnt Feel Comfortable With This And Was Not Happy Again About Having To Go Without Any Orientation To The Floor, But Of Course I Went, Had No Choice. I Got Up To The Floor And The Nurses On 5west Said That I Was Not On The Schedule For 5 West, And I Should Go To 5 East Ortho, I Went To 5 East And Was Told Again That I Was Not On The Schedule For 5 East, Go Back To 5 West, I Did Go Back But Called My Supervisor And Told Her The Situation, And Long Story Short I Ended Up On 5 East Ortho Unit. I Was Totally Upset By Now And It Was Around 11:,15 Shift Starts At 10;45, Nurses Were Chatting And I Sat Until 11:50 With Not Report, While At The Same Time Er Was On The Phone Wanting To Give Me Report On A New Admit That Was Going To Be My Patient. I Called My Supervisor Again And Told Her The Situation And That I Did Not Feel Comfortable About Getting Report On A New Admit Without Even Seeing My Patients, She Said Hang In There And That She Would Talk To The Resouce Nurse To Clear Up Matters, And To Take Report, Which I Did And Got Report On My New Patient, Then Report On My Other Patients, While The New Patient Was Allready Getting To The Floor. Anyways, Im Not Comfortable With This, And Felt Like I Was A Mess All Night, I Know That People Say Welcome To Nursing, And That This Is Just How It Is, But It Doesnt Seem Right. Is This Just How It Is? And Am I Just Being Paranoid, I Felt Like I Was A Real ***** On The Floor, Because I Was Not Happy, But Honestly I Felt Very Uncomfortable And Unsure Of My Self, Ortho Is Different Than Telemetry And I Just Felt Lost? Any Suggestions. Thanks, Selina 1st Post