RNroseshea

:redpinkhecongrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:redpinkhe

I would not worry about the techs/CNAs if I were you because you have a new position and you need to learn the important basics to protect your license during this transition. Help out when you can, but if you are busy, tell them so. Also, I did not accept the position as RN on the floor where I had worked as a student nurse associate because I figured that there would be future problems with the role transition. Some of the nurses/CNAs may have expected me to keep helping them in the way that I did as SNA. Good luck

I too think that this is an unfair way to schedule you. At my facility, staff has to work holidays according to their status of full-time, part-time, per diem, contingent, etc. For example, a full-time employee has to work 2 -3 days of each holiday group. The holiday groups are (1) Easter, Memorial, Independence Days and (2) Labor day Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve/Day, and New Year's Eve/day. Our job also gives us sheets so that people can sign the dates that they prefer to work, then they are staffed according to a first come, first serve basis from the list. I think that people should have some type of choice and not just be pushed around because they are the new guy on the block.

First off, I would like to say that I love nursing! I worked very hard to get where I am and I appreciate the skills that the nursing profession has taught me. However, as a new RN with a fresh license and working in a crazy environment..I do come to this board to complain, thank, give/get words of encouragement and so on. I think that this is an appropriate way to find good advice. My fiance is a RN as well and he works ER and he never deals with the type of issues that I have to deal with on a regular basis. It's good that there are nurses that love their job as I once did when I worked pediatrics but since I have made that change, my fire has grew dim while working in a busy, short-staffed, new and not so helpful environment. I just keep praying that one day I will find my happy spot again, but until then I will not keep inside the true stories of my nursing experience. It's comforting to know that there are others out there going through and/or have went through similar experiences as me but have found a way out and/or are looking for a way out.

Good job and I know you will get the job! I had two interviews this week and one just called back Friday and asked if I could come to meet the workers on the unit December 31. The other unit told me in so many words that I should hear something back from HR after christmas. Good luck!

congrats rn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!you did it!!! :balloons::balloons::balloons::balloons::balloons::balloons::balloons::balloons:

Brave to me is not working yourself out of your good health..that's insane. Most rational people know their limit and know when their body/mind is being screwed due to being overworked. Whatever happened to standing up for yourself? Where are the great preceptors that do not eat their young and try to push them out of nursing? We need nurses..and that will never change! However, as soon as a new nurse hits the floor, the experienced ones turn their noses up at the new nurse as if they have never endured the breaking in phase as a new RN. Being tough does not mean that you tolerate bs from the employer (who does not care anything about you but money) handing out theses insane patient loads that are unsafe for any new nurse. Believe me, no school/instructor in any country is going to let each of their clinical students have 8-12 patients because that is deemed "real world" because I am sure that their license would be in jeopardy! That is way to risky for any instructor/student. This would only further the shortage of nurse instructors of colleges even. Unfortunately, there are not enough nurses let alone nursing instructors. Remember, there are so many other hospitals that don't work you like a chicken with your head cut off (unsafe). There are even nurse jobs outside of the hospital especially correlating with the amount of education one has.

Yes the recruiter was a RN as most are in my area. She asked me questions like: "How did you go above and beyond to satisfy a very irate/disgruntled patient/family member?", "Give me an example of how you acted as a patient advocate?" (and I used the whole med is not working situation and contacting the doc for the patient to have the prn med scheduled closer q3h instead of q4h...and to first assess quality, location etc. of pain). The last question that she asked was "Can you describe a situation where you acted as a team player to get things done faster?" I hope this helps and good luck! I just went on an interview today and will be going on another one tomorrow because I can't stand the place where I work so wish me luck as well.

congrats you did it!!!!

I had a phone interview before for a big hospital system in my area. In my case, the recruiter questioned me as the first step in the application process. Afterwards, I was called in for an interview by several unit managers in the various RN positions that I had applied for days later. In fact, they are still calling me to interview to this day. The recruiter had placed the answers to the questions from the phone interview with my resume and application for managers to view and consider me for an interview.

Sadly, I do think that a lot of nurses who behave in negative ways are either burnt out and/or very unhappy outside of the workplace. It may seem like a far fetched idea, but I also believe that some of these hateful women may be victims of domestic violence. They may come to work and take out aggression and try to exert control at work because they have none at home. It is so bizarre for women to team up against other women out of insecurity, jealousy, or just plain cattiness. I deal with co-workers by keeping to myself and not allowing others to know my personal business. I also do not go out of my way to try to kiss up to these evil entities. If I have to listen to gossip, I just remain quiet and give no response when I am asked what do I think? If I am the target of gossip, I ignore that person because I know that they must be very unhappy inside to keep me on their mind. I have learned that you can't please people all of the time and everywhere that you go, gossip will prevail..even about you!

Congrats...now the big one...The NCLEX! Study tips: Kaplan online qbank trainer, Feuer nursing review (the cds and notes are great and are on nclex), & learningext.com (the makers of the real NCLEX). Good luck!

Why don't you start looking for a job as a LPN? You don't have to stay there..put in your two weeks once you find a job elsewhere (or there if LPN positions are offered).

I am curious to know how many times as an RN did you change jobs in order to ultimately find your niche in nursing? I ask this because I am now having regrets for starting as a RN in adult cardiology...I think I like it much better in pediatrics.

I graduated in May 2007 with an associate degree in nursing. I have already been researching RN-to-BSN programs as I now feel ready to go back to school this upcoming January. There are many nurses from my program who have already started on their BSN (this fall), after having graduated with me. My advice is to start when you feel ready again. I have been told by many that the RN-to-BSN courses do not have a clinical component and are not as stressful as it was for getting the ASN. Remember, the RN-to-BSN programs are designed for the working RN and you can go at your own pace.

Thanks for the advice. Thankfully my confidence has not gone down yet because I am really an optimistic person most of the time. Before I started here, I was so ready and willing to learn new things but when I started, my preceptor has zapped this away from me. When I go home, my energy is gone and I have never felt like this when I worked on another cardiac unit during my grad nurse exp (which had a high turnover of patients from the cath lab and the same activities as I am doing now). I feel like a drained zombie and for me that is not normal. I think I am going to follow my instinct and look elsewhere while sticking it out here in the meantime.

Since starting this thread, I have found a lot of the info very helpful so thanks!!! I have even had four other hospitals call me for an interview (because I have not stop applying for jobs and some are just now returning my calls). My off days next week will be spent interviewing the managers of these places well and even asking to shadow a nurse for a shift just to get a feel of what their units have to offer. Today, my preceptor was still controlling but not as much. I just want a smooth transition into my RN phase so that I won't be likely to make mistakes. I also feel that I need a job with less demands so that next year when I start my RN-to-BSN courses, there won't be any problems. I feel so drained from this unit where I am working and I know that it won't be easy to transition into a nurse. However, my preceptor has been teaching me how to become charge nurse so that after orientation I can take that role if needed..and believe me when I look at the schedule, they do. This is just too much for a new grad. Most new grads are not even allowed to float during their first year of being an RN so why would they think that I am ready to become a charge nurse?! Who knows..but this place is beginning to sound even more ridiculous. Wish me luck on my interviews because I need the right fit. More advice is welcome..thanks!

I agree, my fiance is an ER RN and he never really had much problems with preceptors..they all tended to kiss his tail and make life so easy for him. His job even tried to promote him within less than a year as a EMS/RN liaison but he declined due to his inexperience as a nurse. He even tells me that nurses that have been there longer than him asks him how to do stuff. Men just automatically get respect right when they walk into the door. I just get the sense that women seem very catty and jealous of each other and especially me, being that I look very young (18-22) even though I am 26. My patients are never the problem..it usually is the few unruly staff who just try to make things more difficult for me, being that I am new and do not know my way around this floor yet. The male nurses on the floor welcomed me well with no problem.

Well, I only have about 4 weeks of precepting left but the temp boss tells me of that 4, there will be my cardio/echo classes..so about 2 more weeks. My only concern is that my resume will look bad if I move around and that was the reason that I did go back to this hospital (not to the original floor due to no openings, but still another cardiac/telemetry/step-down unit). Turns out, this floor that I am on now is considered to be a hellish floor by many floaters...PCAs, SNAs, and RNs alike!

I agree with you as I am going through similar circumstances. However, the patients are not usually the problem in my case, it is the staff..or lack of staff. Hope things get better for you if you decide to stick it out.

I just started on a step-down cardiac unit two days ago and I hate it already. My preceptor is the clinical coordinator for the unit and the boss that we have manages 2 cardiac floors (since she is just taking over because the boss from the floor that I am on quit, along with another boss this same year). I did my GN position at this same hospital months ago on the other cardiac unit that my boss manages but took time off for nclex and saw no openings on that unit when I came back. I am on this step-down cardiac unit now and it is hell! Although I have experience computer charting from both my GN and SNA position with this hospital system for two years, my preceptor tells me how to arrow down the way she wants to on the computer, get my meds and bag them the way she wants, and etc then gives me attitude if I vary. She gives me really no room to breathe either. I just feel like I have made a bad choice by going to this unit because the patients acuity levels are high and one may get 8 or more depending on the mod that you are in. One may be in one mod with three and another with eight..this is crazy. I never felt this overwhelmed even during my 6 week orientation as a grad nurses this summer. Before hire, my boss told me that I was to get a 4-week orientation to piggyback off the GN experience from this August. Yesterday I found out that it will only be two weeks of floor work since the other two weeks will be spent on echo classes. With this preceptor she has a bad effect on me but I am scared to change her because ultimately she is usually the charge nurse too and may screw me with assignments. I see her talking about me to other co-workers as well and she often talks to me in a very condescending way. I just feel she does not let me develop my own style and never really tells me if I am doing things rights or wrong..very little feedback. My first day on the floor she just walked in and told me "You were not supposed to start unitil January, see people are saying one thing then another thing." She also told the case manager that I have to do my orientation on the floor and hold off on my 2-week echo classes because that messes up her schedule! The case manager and her seem to be pissed at me because they did not know when to schedule me because I was supposedly thought to be starting in January. My preceptor often tells me that she is playing boss too. She often asks me "can you handle these 12-hour shifts?" She even ignores me when she is talking about her personal business to other co-workers or if she is talking on the phone to her kids. I am not a quitter but I don't know what to do!

She sounds like a psycho from hell!!!..very close to some that I work with so try to ignore her although I know that it is hard.

:balloons:congrats to a new rn!!!!!!!!!:balloons:

congrats rn!!!!!!!!!!!!!:balloons:

I was a ladies shoe salesman at Macy's. Before Macy's I worked at Burger King, Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits then went to school for psychology one year then went to another university for technical communication for one year as well. I love nursing though so I stuck through the nursing program to become an RN!