YooperNurse

My very first day was horrible, I just about quit. I worked where there was absolutely no solidarity, no teamwork, it was every man for himself. It was stressful, it was overwhelming and I was so lost. I stuck it out for a while, but when I began to see what the score really was (it was a lot of unhappy people) I switched jobs, my new one was phenomenal, I got to learn from great people what nursing was really all about and I have to say, it's helped make me what I am today. To this day I always remember what it's like to be the new nurse, and I act accordingly.

Try and go and do a groin shave prep on your former nurse manager. Now there's a fun task.

Bless all of you who work nights! I tried it for 31/2 years and couldn't do it long term, so I want thank all of you that do it.

Your preceptor should have been dealing with this one to show you what you need to do, and the supervisor definitely should have been involved. I can deal with snotty attitiudes, I think we all do, but I can be just as tough (I am never mean, I am just very direct and to the point because I want to get my job done and done right and there's no room in there for me for attitudes) right back where it concerns my patient. It is very uncomfortable to be put in a such a position, and you should have been directed on how to deal with it, being a new nurse. Please discuss this with your manager if only to find out exactly what route you would have needed to go in case it should crop up when you are on your own without a preceptor.

Make sure you eat healthy, and exercise, it really really does help. I find I have more energy and get through the whole shift better if I'm sticking to my walking/biking regimen.

Okay, here's mine. I was working med/surg on the 3-11 shift. It was a Sunday. We were short staffed, 2 on a team of 12. We had a respiratory isolation patient who was 500 plus pounds. At 6 pm I found an order written by a resident for a soap suds enema!!! The order of course had been written at 10 a.m. and day shift conveniently "forgot" to tell us about it. THAT was the worst day of my career, I think.

It is protocol for us to do hourly rounds, works great when we can do it! As for walking reports, we quit doing them quite a number of years ago and I was very glad to see it go. What a breach of confidentiality to be discussing a patient in front of them, a roommate or out in the hall! I think it was very uncomfortable for the patient for the most part also for that reason.

The smell of all kinds of things can make me sick to my stomach, so it is possible.

You just have to find your niche. There are SO many variables, from your coworkers, to the type of work you are going to be doing, to what the management is like etc etc, there's many things. I personally love working with head injuries myself, don't know why, just like it and am very good at it. I can work anywhere however, where there is a good team of nurses that will help each other out. Don't be too quick to rule out med-surg. On a good medical unit you run across everything under the sun, it's quite interesting. All units have their ups and downs.

We had a dr that came onto the unit with his roller blades on once, and on another occasion, big huge ski boots. Go figure, makes you wonder, doesn't it?

I have to agree with the cape cod mermaid. I would never ever not go by the book, especially as a new nurse, nor would I ever recommend it. It is one thing for a very experienced nurse to take a shortcut here and there, they know the exact timing of things and have a pretty good guess of how things will fly, but to start out taking shortcuts? Not a good move for your career. You gotta learn the ropes, and sometimes it is damn hard, you may have to move on to the next job to find easier ones, but everyone knows that nursing is a learning by doing experience.

If she can't afford it, wouldn't she be eligible for a medicare paid bed in an extended care facility? I work in rehab, and we send people frequently who are private pay to facilities, I know our social worker arranges for them to apply for medicare or whatever is needed. I just can't accept that you are told that you have to take your mom home, bye bye and that's it! Aren't they looking at patient safety after discharge, which brings up another question, do we need to be looking at safety at anytime immediately after discharge or is it out the door then out of mind?

Don't take it personally, it's just business.

Yes, the sitter should be in the room at all times unless otherwise told by her/his charge nurse. Since there was nothing that could be done, I would have just told her, well, let this be a lesson, I'm sorry for your loss (if there was a loss) of money, but never bring valuables to work. Why would she have to point out she was crying? Was she being melodramatic? I also would have had her discuss it with the nursing supervisor instead of me so I could get my work done.

If I was not able to take a parent home, I would just say that is not an option. Period. Are you responsible for all of her medical bills? Are you her DPA? If you can't do it you can't do it. I've seen people attempt it, fail, and then bring their parent back in the system through the ED, where placement that should have been looked at in the first place is then done.

Get that social worker on the ball to find other options for you!! That's what they are supposed to do! You absolutely cannot, and I repeat cannot take your mother into a situation where you are both set up to fail. That SW should see that and be looking into some type of extended care where your mom's needs can be fully met while she continues to recover. If taking her home is not an option, you can just go ahead and say that. Don't feel guilty, I know there's a whole bunch of emotional issues tied to that one, but you have to look at what is best for both of you overall right now.

I found that while I was working nights I would never sleep more than 4 hours after going to bed when I got home at 8am. I found what worked best was to go back to bed in the evening and get a few hours before I went in.

My! What a lot of --well, to be nice--- hoo haa. Are they going to try to teach student nurses at the get go to work short staffed and like it? Is that what this is about? Until everyone realizes that all you need is adequate staffing levels for what your acuity is, it's all going to be smoke and mirrors to save money.

I think you are confusing an NG (Naso-gastric) with a PEG tube or a J-Tube (jujenostomy tube). There is no way to check placement on a peg or J, it is a tube that is inserted and sewn in, so you don't need to worry about placement, and if the stitches ever come apart the tube pops out, I've had it happen!! The only thing you need to check with these is by doing an aspiration every 4 hours or so (this is usually ordered per MD, but some places may have a protocol) to see if the patient is tolerating the rate of constant feeding that is being delivered. An NG is the tube that goes into the nose, this is the one that you check with air because yes, they can come out or move around and possible end up in a lung if not advanced properly.

You were told to check a PEG placement with water? That is called a flush before you give a med, which is usual procedure. You check an NG placement with air, but not a PEG or a J-Tube. I would do some serious talking with the DON at this place, sounds like your preceptors need a bit of orientating here.

No interview is a waste of time, it's for them to find out about you but also for you to find out about them and see if it's a good fit for you both. You won't know the details to make a decision with until you go interview and find out. Different places may have different requirements.

Definitely start shopping for a stethescope that YOU can hear out of. I never go anywhere without mine, half the ones we have hanging around the unit I cannot hear well out of, but I know I can hear anything with mine.

Bad management, too much management, being treated like I'm just another expense to the hospital when we are all supposed to be promoting a caring environment.

Actually, for certain areas it's sonimeters. "sonimeters" or "sontimeters" is actually "centimeters" with an accent.

Don't get your underwear in a bundle! You are just causing yourself a bunch of stress you don't need! You asked, and were told it was ok to sit outside. This is common many times when family is there. The patient would have fallen anyway, it isn't your fault he did, he just did. Just take it as a learning experience and welcome to the wonderful world of nusing where anyithing can and will happen. Here is something to take away from this---don't diagnose. Don't say "he had a seizure". You can say "it looked like a seizure" or he had "what looked like seizure activity". Important when charting, also.