RachelRN2B

You know your a neuro nurse when: you start doing neuro checks to your grandmother at the drop of a hat. you walk to the room slowly when someone yells, "pt in __ is seizing" learn to juggle IV lines and precarious sheaths with pressure bags instead of balls.

I haven't read all of the replies so I appologize in advance for repeating anything already said... 1st off, I understand where you are coming from too. I've been at my current job for 8 months and I hate it. Especially the lack of commradity(sp?) and lack of team work in general. One night in particular, one of the on-coming nurses refused to receive report from me. She didn't refuse the patients, she just didn't want report from "ME". I had been giving her report very often the previous 3 weeks and having to stand up to myself to her bullying and condescending remarks all week. So that night when she pulled this stunt I went straight to management to find out what the policy was on this particular situation. The manager went straight the source and ended up all 3 of us in an empty room listening to the other nurses make multiple allegations against me. I could have gotten hot headed myself and started responding to everything she had to throw but thought it would be more professional to let her have her say and then let the manager give me the opportunity to defend myself. The manager said we needed to have a "sit down" too, it never happened...BUT I think bc I didn't just sit by and let the girl walk over me like a door matt I somehow earned some kind of respect bc I haven't had a problem since. AND I haven't made some dramatic change to my end of shift report either. Of course bc I'm a new nurse there are things I'm learning EVERY day. Her main problem was that I wasn't willing to stay late each shift to do certain things that others let themselves get bullied into doing. (just a side note, before this happened I spoke with my team leader about certain situations at the end of shift to find out what they expected from us). In other words, I think the "sit-down" your manager wants or thinks they need to do is a MUST from your side. It shows you want to better the work place by coming at it head first. Whether or not anything comes from it, management will know you were willing to do what it took to make a hostile situation less hostile. Stand up for yourself in the most professional manner you can is the best response. It's hard, but it's worth it. Remember you're not there to make friends, you're there to take care of people (including yourself).

I would put either "presently employed" or just "personal"

This could be my post as well. The job market when I finished school was so scarce that unstead of seeking a position in a unit or 2 that I feel in love with during clinicals, I was forced to apply for a position in the one unit I loathed during school (I was on this unit for 2 clinical semesters and did my practicum in it) I knew what I was getting into but didn't have a choice. Now I'm suffering from depression bc I hate my job. I don't "hate" nursing, I just don't enjoy juggling 6 complicated and sometimes more unstable than you'd think patients. It's such a hard balance every day and not a whole lot of teamwork on the floor bc we're all SOOOO busy with our own slew of patients. I've got 6 months under my belt and have decided to start looking elsewhere for another position. If I find something GREAT...but if I don't I'll continue to suck it up where I'm at.

Thank you all for your replies. About the tuition policy...we verbally agreed (that is the group of students in that first scholarship program) to work 3 years, but nothing was signed. That being said, I am against NOT paying them back just because it's not on paper. About transfering early---not a chance where I'm at, even the seasoned nurses on my floor are currently trying to transfer and they've worked more than their year and are having a very difficult time moving to another unit/floor. I also agree that this telemetry floor isn't for me and something different is my best bet at maintaining my sanity. I'll be applying for my "other" license this week and getting a temp one in that state until all the paper work is done. All I can do is apply for other positions at other hospitals and hope for the best. If I don't get a different job, then I'll continue duking it out where I'm at. One thing I forgot to mention is that when I started on this floor it was very well known to everyone I spoke with that if you can make it on this floor, you can make it ANYWHERE! Luckily I can make it there, I just don't WANT to make it there anymore. Thanks again.

I'm having a problem with my first job as well and am thankful to hear someone else so that one's own mental/emotional/physical well being is more important than the employer, who wouldn't think twice about letting you go when making cuts.

For documentation and legal issues, blood return is a must, especially if given a viscious fluid/medication. I'm a new nurse, but on my floor we do IV's daily so I've done over 50 already and finally have my rhythm and technique down, but that doesn't mean I get them everytime.

I hope this won't get long, but I have a feeling it might..... I finished nursing school and recieved my license in May of 2010. I was on a scholarship to a local hospital and in return I agreed to work for said hospital for 3 yrs. First of all, what we were told about how we would obtain a job was a lie. We were told we'd be bumped to the top of the list in applications but that wasn't the case. I filled out 10 applications and nothing, then I applied for a position on the same floor I did clinicals and praticum (this was a last resort bc I already knew I didn't want to work on that floor). I did get that job and am very thankful for a job in this economy. That said, I've been working since June and I hate it. I enjoy MOST of the people I work with during the day shift, but there is major problems between the day and night shift report off. That's just one thing that really stinks bc you start your day off bad and you end badly as well. The orientation to the floor was crap. I never got ANY feedback as to how I was progressing, even when I asked. I was always and still am being told that at 6 months I'll get an eval. Well, as a new nurse I needed evals weekly in order to feel I am becoming more proficient. I need positive reinforcement. What we do is very trying, stressful, hard, and not always rewarding. The only comments we (and I am talking about the entire staff on this floor) get are the one we get when we do something wrong or just not quite right. My patients seem VERY happy with me. Never had any complaints in that department, but our work load is such that I can't even spend enough time with said patients. It's a telemetry floor and a VERY VERY busy one at that. Every night I come home I feel like crying bc I feel I'm trapped. At this hospital you can't transfer for 1 yr. So I kept telling myself that I just have to suck it up for ___ months. The other night I had enough. I'm emotionall and mentally beaten down daily and my family and sanity is suffering. I've decided to get a license in a nearby state and start apply at other hospitals in departments I already knew I wanted to work in. I am going to agree to pay the hospital back for the scholarship. My sanity is worth more than $7,000. The management on the floor also doesn't accomodate education. They actually told me an interview that they do not work with school schedules that if I plan on continuing to get my BSN, it would be best if I only did it online. This isn't a very nuturing environment and as a new nurse I think that's important...... Any comments, critisisms, or suggestions?????????????????