stayingoutoftrouble

I am 29 and last night I had a pt. tell me I look 19. I'd say it happens to me at least 2 -3 times a week, someone asking me how old I am. I tell them, "I swear, I am qualified to take care of you." One time I was getting a pt. back from surgery and the recovery nurse room brought the patient up and I was in the room to help the pt. transfer from cart to bed. Anyway, I go out to the nursing station and my fellow co wokers said to me, "you were in the room that whole time, right?" Yes, I was and why. they told me that the recovery nurse room came out of the room and said, "whoever the nurse is for this patient, he has arrived." I know during that brief time that we transferred the patient I hadn't announced who I was yet. The recovery room nurse took one look at me and didn't think i was a nurse either.

I just wonder when its going to get easier. I've got about8 months under my belt but some days the anxiety I feel is too much to handle. Even on my days off I find myself worrying about my job. I can't relax and feel on edge all the time. I know, I know, I should go talk to someone. Well, I am sure I will have to but in the meantime I just want to know if that gets better with more experience. I just had a really though weekend with a lot of things I had no experience with. Its great for learning but its tough when you're not on orientation anymore and don't have the 1:1 support. I just feel so drained and feel very inadequete. I hate that feeling.

I cannot write as nicely as the OP but it does remind me of my interview from hell. First interview as new grad, EXCITED because I really wanted to work on that floor, got all dressed up in my interview clothes, prepared answers to some questions in my head, lost sleep the night before, etc. Show up and the nurse manager is nowhere to be found, I am sitting down in the HR office for at least 20 minutes. When she finally decides to show up, go to her office and she says, "sorry nobody called you to tell you not to come. I actually filled my last position yesterday". Then she says, " we can do a mock interview if you'd like". I did it, sent her a thank you note, the whole deal even though I wanted to tell her I thought it was super inconsiderate.

I won't go into the details because I would be writing forever. Basically, the MD lied to the patient and he lied to me. If I ever lied to a MD I would be in deep doo doo, but its okay if he lies to me? He can just get away with it... I just wanted to scream. Do I tell my manager, I don't know what you do in situations like this?

Went to SL an IV, pt. taking in fluids ok. etc, after sugery. instead of just locking it, I took the entrie thing out. DUH, still had doses of IV abx, if I remember correctly.

This is an interesting thread for me to read because as a new nurse, on a ortho unit, I am continully trying to better myself in terms of managing pain. Pain control is HUGE on our unit and we also get a lot of chronic back pain pt.'s, etc. through the ER. One of my worst nights ever was a chroinc back pain patient who had a knee replacements that day. OMG, horrible pain, 10 out of 10. He was on a Dilaudid PCA but of course it was less than what they normally give pt.'s and this was a big fellow. Then, medical comes to see him, realizes he is in pain and DC's his PCA and orders 2MG Dilaudid boluses q 1-2 hours, or something like that, I can't remember exactly. Well, that isn't doing it either...10 out of 10. I just want to say to these DOCS you come take care of these patients then if you are going to make these kind of decisions. THen, had to call medical back to get SOMETHING worked out. PCA was started back up, pharmacy to dose. So, called pharmacy, told him the order, asked specifically for a continous dose since he was denied that with his first PCA. I mean, the first settings on the PCA were less than what we'd give anyone! Hello, he had knee surgery today!!!! SERIOUSLY, i just want people to know that sometimes as nurses our hands are tied. Everyone is right when they say Dr's are so conservative with their pain management techniques with these chronic pain patients. I can say that and I have only been a nurse a short time, that's how obvious it has become to me. I do everything i can and I take peoples word for it. It is a challenge, no doubt.

hahah, ok, I am kidding. I DO still want to be a nurse but last night was BY FAR my worst night ever. about 3 weeks off orientation now, had 4 pts on 3 -11 shift, two of them new surgical patients, one MRSA patient who requires a lift to get up, one other patient who had to go down for ultrasound and the ultrasound dept. was calling every 5 seconds. I cried right there of the floor, for the first time because I got an order wrong and I was frustrated with myself and with everything. Had to walk off the floor and go into the bathroom for a few moments. I am doing the best I can and I suppose that's all I can do. I just wonder when it'll get better. I would say 50% of my shifts are good ones but then that other 50 %, when they are bad are really bad. Got out of there last night at 1:30AM. FUN, FUN. I work tonight too and I was hoping they would call me for an on call shift today but of course I couldn't be so lucky. They called me yesterday but I didn't take it...I should have but of course you can't see into the future. I feel sick going into work today. Well, I have to get going. Thanks for anyone reading my rant and listening to me vent.

Probably a stupid question here but I still have trouble understanding contact precautions. So, when I have a pt. on contact precautions obviously I gown/glove with all contacts with the pt. However, what about items coming in and out of the room. I had to use a carpujet with a pt. the other day and I thoughoully washed it before bringing it out of the room. Then it hit me, what about their food tray. Those go out of the room multiple times a day...i wonder how those are handled. I am a new nurse, can you tell? Then, it was found that the MRSA was contained only in her wound. What does that mean? Does that mean you would be okay to not use contact precaution unless dealing with the wound? Thanks for any imput.

I go about 30 miles. I think that is my limit too. I work staring 3 - 11:30 shift so at least I am not driving when its trafficky. There are 2 other hospitals within the system closer to my house. I may look at oppurtunites there in the future.

I am on orientation right now. I got a calander that told me what days I was working an the name of the preceptor I would be working with that day. So far, none of the days I have worked I have been paired with the person listed on my calander. It is so annoying and frustrating. I feel pretty much bounced around while they scramble to find someone for me to be with that day. It is annoying too because the person I DO end up with isn't expecting me and may or may not be receptive to having an orientee. So, you aren't alone.

I always wonder about the background of the people who post here, have they been in the nursing profession their whole career or have they worked in other fields?? If you asked anyone in any profession (unless they are a CEO) they would probably say they wanted more money, better working conitions, more respect, etc. And to say that nurses aren't really looked at as "professional" I can't really agree with. I look at myself as a professional and feel that most others (patients, family, doctors) do as well. OF COURSE, there are going to be some people that treat you like crap but that happens in any job. That is the nature of some people. If you believe you deserve more than there isn't anything wrong with asking for it (going thru the proper channels) but to say that nurses are pathetic or not professionals seems a bit much.

I just recently graduated and am now working at my frist job. There are always going to be nurses who are mean to other people because that's just the way they are. There is one girl on my unit now that will not look at me, will not talk to me, the body language I get from her makes me know well aware of the fact that she does not want me around. Its funny too because I think I have said about two words to her. I really don't know how to handle it exactly either because I am the new kid on the block and she has worked there a couple years. That means everyone knows her, is friends with her and when we are in the break room, etc. I want to be apart of the group conversations but she makes me feel not wanted even though everyone else is nice. Basically I just try to pretend that it isn't going on and hopefully once she gets to know me she will open up to me. If she doesn't I am certainly not going to let her ruin my job for me. It just isn't worth letting one or two people get you down.

I hate working with people who are just in it for the paycheck because you can tell exactly who they are. If it is that bad and you hate it that much then get out. Just a thought.

I previously recieved a BS in another field but decided in my mid twenties to go back to nursing school. I was making ok money but was truly BORED out of my mind. I needed more and nursing was it for me. Who knows what the future holds for me in terms of how I'll feel at my job but right now I know it was a good decision. Some people make the switch into nursing because they are unhappy with their careers and they want to enjoy their work. For those who are THAT unhappy with their bedside nursing careers then they should make a career switch out.

Graduated Dec 16, took the boards on Jan 8 and passed.

Well, we are not alone and that is why I like coming here. I know there are others going through the exact same thing even though some days you feel so alone in what you are feeling. My hospital's new grad program consists of two weeks of full time training with one preceptor on a general medicine or surgical floor. After the two weeks is up you then go to the floor you were hired and depending on your needs have another 12 weeks orientation. After that they'll give you more training if you need it. I don't think the feelings I am having have to do with the hospital where I work. So far I am having a great experience there. I am guessing the days were I feel inadequate or slow would happen no matter where I was working.

I realized today that nursing school taught me about 1 /100000 of what I need to know to be the nurse that I want to be. I left feeling inadequate today. I know it'll take time but I sure wish I could be like the other nurses on the floor who make it all look so easy. I am still on orientation so I know I can't be that hard on myself. Today I still only took a fifteen minute break and left fifteen minutes late and that was only with two patients!!! Well, tomorrow I want to ask to only have one but I am not sure if that'll make me look bad. I just want to have one patient, maybe more acute but that I can actually think through everything I do to understand it. I feel like I am learning a lot skill wise but am having a hard time understanding everything from start to finish. Ahh, its so much fun!

This does make me very happy to read. I'm two weeks into my orientation and the days were going great until yesterday. My first truly bad day, I know there will be more. I find myself sitting here thinking about how I could have made yesterday go differently. Oh well, I have the weekend off and I don't want to relive yesterday all weekend. You just have to move on and I will start fresh on Monday! Thanks for the positive note, I look forward to when I am at that point!

For me, it was not so much about not WANTING to work as a CNA but I decided to not to work as a CNA in nursing school due to financial reasons. I was making good money at the job I was working in FT and going to school in the evening. I thought I couldn't afford to take that pay cut. That being said, in some ways I wish I would have done it and made it work financially. I am now a brand new RN and I am working on building up my CNA skills and my RN skills at the same time. I wish I had more abilities in those foundations skills because I am sure I would be a better RN if I did. I think you can still be a good nurse without working as a CNA but I know it'll just take me a little longer to be the kind of nurse that i want to be.

I am in the orientation period at the hospital where I work. It is a busy Med/Surg unit. So far everything has gone fairly well but I am very nervous about patients falling. When pts. go to shower or bathroom on their own I worry they are going to fall and I start fixating on that, even if their activity level is independant. I need more confidence in this area. I know I can just ask for help if I am unsure because everyone is so helpful but at the same time I don't want to look like I totally don't know what I am doing. How do I assess someones activity level and make sure they stay safe without totally being worried my entire shift?

The first time I had to approach a DR. in school clinical I had to give myself a little pep talk, "what do i do, what do I say" kept running through my head. It ended up being no big deal and now i am fine with it but it was difficult at first. Being assertive with patients is sometimes difficult too because I go into "customer service" mode where all you want to do is please them. Esp. as a student. I think my assertiveness skills will grow a ton at my first job. So, while I don't think I am 100% there, I feel a lot more comfortable. I was sort of forced to come out of my shell during my program. Wheter you do it intentionally or not, I think you will be less shy and become more assertive as you progress through your program.

When I met my boyfriend I was working fulltime and doing pre reqs at night. It was difficult to balance all of those things but we made it through. There were times we had to sacrifice. I remember a couple of years ago on his b-day we went out with a big group of friends. I went out for the dinner part of it but ended up leaving after that while everyone went bowling. I had to go home do pre clinical work for clinical the next day at 7 AM. I just graduated in Dec. from my ASN program and we are still together. We made it through and he was right there with me every step of the way. You just have to find someone who understands and wants you to suceed. Then, you'll be fine.

I took Kaplan but wouldn't swear by it. I think I would have been ok with Saunders (love that book) and maybe some of the other things that are out there. The reason I say that is because I was really excited about some of the strategies they taught me but when it came to taking the test I found I didn't use any of the strategies. The questions were way more difficult than that. But, that's just me. I passed the first time and so who knows if I would have had the same success had I not taken Kaplan. All I know is that I didn't apply the strategies I was taught by Kaplan during the test at all.