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I finished up my orientation this weekend, and tonight will be my first night on my own. I am so nervous to not have that reference person right there to ask questions. I know I can approach any other nurse on my floor, but it is still makes me nervo...

Absolutely is there a nursing shortage. Unfortunately it is being resolved as hospitals are forcing larger workloads on the staff they already have. Eventually, they will see it does not work as even more nurses than before begin to leave the profess...

I never apologize for calling a physician. It's BOTH of our jobs to care for the patient whether it be 10AM or 2AM. I will clearly state that A) I am concerned about a change in the patient's status, B) I have a direct order to notify the physician i...

Working nights and going to school full time together is really, really hard. I did it myself and had a really hard time. I think you need to grab a schedule book, time out blocks of when you're in school or when you're working and pretty much just s...

The first year is tough, from what I heard, and I definitely have had my fair share of near nervous breakdowns in my 6 months so far. I think that is contributing to how you feel, but your job does not sound safe. I would run. And run fast.

I agree with ordering bariatric equiptment for your patients. Also, for females on a bedpan, have them bend/spread their legs as much as they can and place a pad between their legs. Any urine that doesn't make it into the bedpan will be absorbed by t...

Where I work, we have a fantastic tool that allows us to report incidents such as these. The physician receives a warning and is tracked for further incidents. Many nurses I work with have even received apologies from these same reported physicians. ...

Lexapro

Nights can be really rough. If I didn't absolutely love the people I work with on nights, I would definitely be wanting a Day/Evening position. Evenso, many times I wish I lived a more normal life. I also think that being a new grad more than likely ...

I myself am anxious for my first code. I've seen a few in progress, but have never actually been in on the action. Most of the time, the residents take over with compressions, respiratory already has the airway covered and the nurses are all drawing ...

I always ask for Bipap and Vent settings and am always, always amazed at the responses I receive... mostly "I don't know. Respiratory deals with that down here." I don't understand how a nurse can feel safe not knowing what settings their patients ar...

For me, 10 weeks of orientation (8 weeks on days, 2 weeks on nights) 1 on 1 with a preceptor plus 2 weeks of classroom orientation. I was hired for FT nights. I was anxious about being on my own, but felt prepared.

I work on an ICU stepdown floor. Vitals are every 4 hours and I&Os every 8 hours.

I am so sorry you are having to deal with this. I am even more sorry because I know exactly how you feel. I found myself in an eerily similar situation over a year ago when I was a tech. I was bullied on by a nurse for a very, very long time. She tot...

:chuckle I don't even know what I would do with myself!

I wish somebody had told me that nursing school is not even close to real-life nursing.

Real-life nursing is nothing like clinical-nursing. You will see. I agree with the above poster - there is a light at the end of the tunnel! If you can get through nursing school, you can get through anything. Hang in there! The real fun begins after...

Honestly, my biggest piece of advice is to ask questions. No question is ever too stupid or too silly to ask. It's when you don't ask questions that you'll find yourself and your patients in unfavorable situations. Be eager, don't be afraid of new ex...

Hi everyone, I'm just curious if anyone else is seeing this where they work. The healthcare system for which I work for has instituted new guidelines related to patient falls. According to the higher-ups, there has been an intolerable number of patie...

I am sorry you are having such a tough time. It is possible that being out on the floor or a stepdown floor may be much better for you. I hear all of these horror stories about new grads having awful preceptors. It makes me wonder how they select who...

In an inpatient setting, the last thing we worry about subconsciously is a patient's privacy in a code situation. That gown is off in seconds so that compressions can be given, pulses adequately assessed, and central access can be obtained. While rol...

Absolutely not. I'm only 5 months in to my career and have already seen several patients on my floor due to complications experienced in a nursing home. I received a patient this week from a nursing home - was getting Heparin 5000 units every day, As...

Yes, I see this where I work, too. Another popular place is the surrounding area of where we swipe in and out. I don't pay much attention to the stuff in the bathroom. Occasionally I'll look at the stuff around the Kronos machine.

I second the above mentioned book. Tons and tons of practice questions - you will master the ability to prioritize with that book.

I agree - tell her exactly what you just told us. It is obvious that she likes you, sees your potential and wants to work with you. You have 2 weeks of orientation left - she may be able to set you up with a more nurturing preceptor for your last 2 w...