gardengirl08

Great thread. Very inspiring. You are very passionate about what you do and I wish more nurses new and old represented that. Thx.

I think that automatic vital machines are alright. The thing is you have to also take in your patients appearance, complaints (if any), and reason for being in the the shape they are in whether it is a hospital, clinic, longterm facility, etc. Though you are using a machine to take v/s rather than manually you need to still use all your senses and think about what is going on. Gardengirl08:nurse:

I am a nurse that lives in the Wichita Kansas area. I am new to the site so I do not know how to PM. I also do not check this every day. More like once a week when I have a chance to browse the site. I would like to help you out if I could. Gardengirl08

Thank You all for your input. It has helped me confront some issues that I am dealing with. They have given me a couple of extra days to work on my orientation. I feel this has helped me. I am uncomfortable preparing a few of the medications but many of the nurses have told me to just ask and they would be willing to help me out. The staff has assured me that they will not let me sink or swim. They all seem to be pretty tight around the E.R. I am also very familiar with the inner workings of the E.R. and the hospital so that is not as much of a problem. The nursing director has been very cooperative and willing to give me more time if I need it. Again THANK YOU all very much for your time on this forum and your input. I very much appreciate all of your help and support. GardenGirl08

I am a new nurse. I have been a paramedic for 9 years and I am starting a new job as a nurse part time at a local emergency department. The kicker is I have worked there for the last 5 years as a paramedic/patient care tech. On my 4th day of orientation I was told my my precptor that I know what is going on and to start taking patients and ask questions if I need help. I have had one other orientation day with a seasoned nurse and two other orientations with nurses that have been there 6 months. I feel my knowledge of this unit is being taken advantage of because I know where things are, who goes where, the other nurses and staff, how things run, and problems they have encountered in the past. I feel very uncomfortable and feel like I have been left to the wolves. I do not feel comfortable being on my own yet. That 4th day I hell for me... I had two critical patients that both ended up in the ICU. I recieved most of my help from a new nurse and my preceptor was off taking other patients and chiming on mine when she felt like it. I am confident that I know when a patient is going south or needs attentioon quickly but I do not feel ready to be on my own. My fear is they will be taking me off of orientation by day 6 or 7. Most new nurses get 6 weeks of orientation. Can someone help me or have any suggestions on what I should do? In need of help and STRESSED OUT!