klcrn~
What a terrible thing for someone to say to you! That was so inappropriate of that nurse! Your obviously very experienced and very knowledgeble! 21 years! omg!
Ive been in the ER for 3 months now. I came from surgery (did almost 4 yrs there)...and everyday I say to myself..omg. What has helped me, is when I get a pt with something Im not to sure about whats going on I ask many many questions to the other nurses and the docs. Then when I go home, I look it up, and try to get that..ohhhh..thats what that is, or why we did that factor going. That seems to help me a lot, because Im ready the next time I get that type of pt. I google, look in my nursing books, acls book etc etc until I understand the rationale behind it all. I also carry a pocket calculator and a drug book on me, there are sooo many meds Im not familiar with. I also have my standing orders cheat sheet in my pocket, like what to do when u get this pt. That will help in starting things off, like do they need an IV, labs, neb tx, asa, ekg, monitor stuff like that b4 the docs see em.
Im at a small hospital as well, and we have 2 docs that dont seem to know what their doing, or what to order. One doc only orders a cardiac panel on every pt that comes in. (our policy is cardiac panel includes all cardiac enzymes, ekg, pcxr, monitor, pulse ox, bp both arms, and our cp protocol sheet) yeah he orders it even on our gyne pts. Go figure.
You are soooo right, there is sooo much to learn! I learn at least one new thing a day! Hang in there, and take advantage of opportunities that come in. If you havent done something or seen something, ask if you can help! Not only will that nurse appreciate your offer of helping her, but its a chance to learn something new. I ask a lot. Sometimes the ER makes me feel like I dont know anything at all. Sometimes I feel like I know a little more than what I did yesterday. I'm not comfortable, in fact I get nervous and worried about what do to and how to do it and how fast to move. I guess all that takes time. I try to absorb everything like a sponge, take it in and remember what we did and why we did it.
We're in the same boat, if you ever need to vent or chat again..do it, I'll listen!
