lilywater

Honestly, they are playing some low down typical toxic work environment games on you. Get out as fast as you can. It is not worth staying at a toxic environment for all of this and it sounds like they are looking for reasons to terminate you. Quit and just move on to something else that is more safe and supportive...you never know what they may try to do...

It sounds like you are in an extremely toxic environment and that you are being bullied by someone who is either threatened by you or just enjoys taking her own frustrations with work and life in general out on you. She may perceive you as vulnerable, possibly due to the fact that you are new. What type of facility only gives two days of orientation? Anyhow I suggest that you take this issue with her first without being accusatory. If it continues it is then time to go up the chain of command. I was in a situation similar to yours for a very long time and always wish I had left sooner than later...and there was more than one nurse bullying me. I have been through horizontal violence from preceptors/coworkers and bullying from so called leadership. The people you work with can make or break your days at work. Also it may be to your benefit to be employed in a facility where you have an extensive orientation that attends to the needs of a new nurse. Learning or doing a skill in lab is simply not enough these days.

I agree with the above poster. If you put in an application online and don't follow up with HR it can be overlooked or not ever looked at. The best thing to do is apply to positions specifically for new graduates and call the HR dept of those hospitals and ask for the status of your application. Some places have it where you can view the status of your application online. But making that first contact with someone in HR may be the key to getting an interview.

You went to nursing school and the foundation is there. You have the ability to pass this exam. You should look into your particular state board of nursing to find out specifically how many times in a year you can take the nclex. Many state BONs have it where you can take it every 45 or 90 days but I have not seen limits on times in a year. Either way that doesn't stop you from taking the nclex outside of your state and then endorsing it through to where you want to practice. Evaluate the way you studied both times and see if you can come up with a different plan this time. Kaplan and the nscbn both have very good and extensive review programs. If you are anxious during the test try to find a way to relieve yourself of that because nerves can play a large factor in preventing you from being focused. Best of luck to you. I hope the third time's the charm.

The same thing happened to me when I first took the NCLEX the first time and failed after 265 questions. I was devastated. It does not mean you are a bad nurse or in any way dictate how you will practice in the future. The best thing to do is to study differently from how you studied the first time and take a review course. There are several courses out there and you need to pick out which one is best. I have to say Kaplan is probably the best. Take some time however before you retake the test and also to regain confidence. All these things helped me to pass the second time around with only a little bit over 100 questions. Failing the NCLEX the first time can be such a blow to your self esteem and can really make you question your competence. Anxiety over the test will keep you from doing what you are capable of. Best of luck to you.

The first thing I see in everything you have written, is that this orientee is not putting patient safety first. Someone who is not allowing a designated preceptor who knows the unit and the patients to help her is not thinking in terms of what is best for the patients. For her to actually think that her BSN gives her any type of one up on a seasoned nurse is audacious. What really matters in floor nursing is your license, not your degree. Without that license, you can have your BSN from the very best and would not be designated as safe per the state boards to practice. This nurse needs to be re mediated. I think as soon as she made the comment about her not needing your help because she has her BSN should have been documented and taken to management. That is out of line professionally, and is not a safe attitude to have when you are a nurse with lives in your hands. In my honest opinion she sounds a little bit like someone who has borderline or narcissistic personality disorder, and those types of personalities are not compatible with the real world of nursing. I honestly believe that this needs to go to management because it sounds as though this orientee to your unit has stepped out of her boundaries multiple times.

Tape reporting is actually not the safest way to give report and part of your nervousness may come from the fact that you are afraid you will miss something that may have not been missed if you were to give a live report and another nurse could ask you questions that may help remind you. Also, if you have a report sheet that would help A LOT. Maybe during the day you can keep a separate sheet with you for things that absolutely need to be reported for patient safety reasons and add these on to your report sheet at the end of your shift if you think you may not be able to recall them from memory. Good luck~

First off, congrats on how far you've come. I think one of the most important thing to do is to be conscientious of how you instruct and give criticism because GNs and new nurses can easily internalize what is said to them. Your daily attitude toward an orientee and how you give feed back can really make or break their orientation. Also patience is up there on important things to. Us newer nurses are not going to be as quick on things and most of us know that a preceptor's day is somewhat slowed down because of all the explaining, demonstrating, etc. A mistake I have seen preceptors make is showing their frustration and even comparing them to the other new grads as my horrible preceptor from a previous position I had did to me. Above all be honest with your criticisms and deliver them in a way that respects boundaries and is still acceptable for another person. I'm not necessarily saying to baby someone, but as a preceptor the way you deliver criticism can really impact a new nurse's perception of their competence. I had awful preceptors in the job I last came from. Someone being a good nurse does not make them a good preceptor. They talked down to me, were not patient, belittled me infront of patients and management and so on. I had an awful experience and with the job I have now it is completely opposite. Good luck and I hope you can instill all the best into your orientee.

This unit secretary did something that was completely out of her range of practice and responsibility, and is totally unsafe to the patients. She is not formally educated on blood sugars, hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and would not know what to report back to the nurses. It's a scary thought that the nurses would tell her to do this rather than erring on the side of caution and doing their own blood sugars even if there were no cnas. Sounds to me like an incident report should be filled out. Management needs to know, because these nurses may need remedial education on delegation, and the unit secretary needs to know that accepting tasks related to pt. care is inappropriate.

This is actually something that I find to be unsanitary in some situations. Especially when done in the hospital with all the places and hands these charts have been in. In general it does kind of bother me because I don't think it is sanitary to lick one's finger and touch things. I don't do it myself.

I agree with the above replies that the discussion of the order should have been kept outside of the patient's room. That's with any one members of the interdisciplinary team. Discussing such matters infront of the patient will only make the patient uncomfortable. I also do believe however that the MD's response to questioning the rationale was over the top. I can see that this MD may have felt a bit slighted because the order was questioned infront of the patient but the whole "Im a doctor, your a nurse..." soap box was inappropriate and unprofessional. Just in case this doctor tries to write you up, if I were you I would document, document, document.

I understand what you are going through. In my previous nursing job I was very unhappy and knew in my gut that it wasn't the right place for me. The best thing to do is to move on from that situation. Leaving a position for a better lifestyle and greater job satisfaction will make you feel fulfilled in the end. I noticed you wrote that you have a BA in psychology, have you though about doing psych nursing? Or another option would be that if you are trying to switch specialties to apply for a nurse internship at a large healthcare facility if there is one in the area you live in. There are too many opportunities for personal and professional growth out there and nurses should not feel constricted in a unit that they are miserable in.When you find your niche you will be relieved. Hang in there and research your options. When you secure a position somewhere more optimal then you should leave your current workplace.

Passive aggressive nurses and staff members can make your work life very difficult for you if you allow them to. When you first sense that something is wrong that is the best time to try to nip the issue in the bud. It is much worse to wait until it gets very uncomfortable at work. The most effective way of handling this is to come to her politely and in a non judgmental way and present the issue you have noticed. I don't like to use the word confront because it has a negative connotation and if you go in your mind thinking it is a confrontation you will provoke a defensive response from this nurse. Start out by saying something like "have you been doing okay lately?" or some other polite introduction. Then present the issue from your point of view. Not by saying "you have treated me...." but by saying "I have noticed __________" or "I feel that______" The last thing you want is to make her defensive. Best of luck.

This is one of the most classic tactics of a bullying, dishonest manager that lacks integrity. First of all, compassion and caring is something that only your patient can evaluate since they are the one whom you owe this to. How can the manager possibly make this claim on you without consistently observing you at the bedside. Hearsay from another staff member just is not sufficient or reputable to make someone validly take disciplinary action on you. This manager is for whatever reason trying to find grounds to terminate you so she is starting the so-called documentation process. If I were you I would hit the road before they accuse you of somthing worse. These people have made up their mind that they want to remove you from the staff, it has nothing to do with you or your skills as a nurse. You deserve better and should probably start searching for another facility to work at where hopefully the management is professional. Best of luck to you.

I agree with the above posts that you are in a position where your job and your license are on the line. This is unsafe practice and it is a losing battle you would be fighting to continue to work for a unit that floats you where you do not have the training to practice safely and could possibly make a mistake that would be of negative consequence to the patient. Your manager sounds like a bully and this write up she is giving you for abadonement (which this is not, you did not receive report nor were you clocked in) is the formal process by which she is going by to terminate you. She is just trying to manipulate things to make it look like you are a problem employee and she needs something in writing that makes you look bad, negligent, etc prior to a termination. You should add an attachment to the write up and ensure it goes in your file with the write up. After that you should put in your notice for employment and if I were you I would report this to higher ups because it is unsafe practice and needs to be addressed by your facility or even JCAHO.