Ciale

I’ve met some of the most miserable people in my new OR job. They seem bitter, resentful, and just plain hateful. I almost quit but then I decided to be the light in that department that it so desperately needs. Maybe I can help boost morale and let others see they don’t have to be assholes

I've been an ED nurse for 10 years and am stepping out of my comfort zone and applied for an OR gig. I have an interview and all of a sudden am feeling very nervous! I have just a few questions: 1. How long did it take you to feel like you knew what you were doing? 2. How often do you code a patient? And how does that work exactly in a sterile environment? 3. Who exactly is in the room with you during the surgery? 4. What equipment will you be expected to operate? 5. Do you always feel like you have no idea what the surgeon is actually doing? 6. Despite my ED experience, but personality is very laid back and I dislike confrontation. Do you think thats a suitable personality for an OR?

Just a followup... I'm a charge nurse in a level I trauma center now. Passed NCLEX first time with 75 questions. BOOM. Put my ears back and went after it. Don't give up on your dreams, kids

Thanks, guys. I really needed to read all this and know that I wasn't being "wimpy" or overly dramatic. You all kind of legitimized my feelings of insecurity. You're absolutely right about all the resources. I would drown without them. I've asked if they could extend my orientation a little bit longer and they were really supportive and understanding about it. I'm gonna keep plugging along. At the very least, I'll get some good experience here and maybe have the confidence to know if I can manage this job, I could probably go anywhere in nursing (except pediatric trauma that takes something I don't got!) :)

I've been an RN for almost one year and I started in ER. I'm still in ER but just took a new job at a level one in a new city (came from a level 3). I am freaking stressed OUT. I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing and I'm just "winging it". Is this a normal feeling? When will I start feeling comfortable? I feel like everyone moves so fast and I'm always 5 steps behind. At the very least, I consider myself a safe nurse and would never do anything I wasn't sure about but i'm not sure about A LOT of stuff so it slows me down. I guess what I'm asking is, how long did it take you all to feel comfortable in ER? This new job is making me want to quit nursing all together.

I thought it had less to do with blowing a vein than it did the speed at which they have to push the dye in order to get a quality picture. Like, they can use a 22 but its not gonna be a great quality CT?! And, that would be really unfortunate for the patient and kind of a waste of money for an expensive scan. ??

Thank you guys SO much for all the info. That really helps me. I guess patience is my best bet right now. Looks like I'm headed back to school!

I want to start my career in the Navy NOW but I only have my RN (associate's degree). Does anyone know if they'd be willing to take me and help pay/train me to get my BSN while serving? I don't mind working as a nursing assistant if that's what it takes... Also, and I dunno if it matters, I have 3 years in trauma/er experience. Ugh. If I knew then what I know now, I would have gone into a BSN program.

I had this patient 3 times last shift. Absolutely ridiculous. I tried to make them understand why this was a stupid reason to come in and the doctor was totally nice and coddled them. UGH! Don't they know they're just encouraging them?!

Thank you! The oncoming nurse asked if I got one when the pt arrived, I said no, and she rolled her eyes and ran to get a trop cartridge. Psh...dummy!

So maybe that's why the doc didn't order a POC Trop on my unresponsive pt the other day...they had already shocked him 6 times in the field so seems like a POC trop would be irrelevant?

I have good bedside manner and have gotten pretty dang good with IV's but that's about it right now. I'm a brand new nurse. I'm still pretty clueless with the crash cart/life pack and thank gawd there are people to help me when I need it. I feel like if I could just get some confidence, I could be pretty awesome but that's hard to do when you feel like you suck each day. I have so much respect for the experienced nurses I work with.

We get sandwiches. Oh and they put up a giant expensive looking sign in the department that says "HAPPY ER NURSES WEEK" I wish they'd just pay us a critical care differential instead. That would be nice. Really feel like I earned it today. But I'm not bitter. NOPE!!!! Ilovemyjobilovemyjobilovemyjob....

My paramedic co-worker once found a whole starburst candy underneath shamu...er..a lady's breast while doing an ekg. Pt's response was "Huh. I don't even eat those things!"

I guess I should have clarified...this nurse always hates me whether she's in triage or not. I can't figure it out. I get along with everyone. So weird. She actually kind of gives me the willies. One day she slammed the phone down on lab and said "they're all worthless" like stone-cold she meant it! Who says that!?! She looks like she'd be a featured news story on 20/20 for cutting her husband's member off and then setting their house on fire or something. She probably kicks puppies too. *shiver*

Nope. Love it.

Ok, pre-nursing student. Now run along and study your anatomy book because you have absolutely NO ground to stand on with that comment. SMH. You will learn that nurses have to decompress and confide in one another ESPECIALLY after a hard day in the ER where the smallest action/decision that a nurse/doctor makes dictates the outcome of human life. Yeah, kind of intense sometimes. It's ok to be frustrated with your patients. It doesn't mean that you're a bad person or that you're in the "wrong field". It means that you love people SO much that you wish they'd take better care of themselves and that they wouldn't abuse the ER driving up healthcare costs for everyone. It means that you're frustrated with a system that has failed to educate people to help them obtain the tools necessary to be productive and contributive member of society thereby facilitating said abuse of ER services. You will learn. Until then, shhhh.

That about sums up my day today. This is a rant post. Please add on if your day was also dumb. 1. 90% of my patients were morbidly obese and smelled of fumunda because they can't reach all their nooks and cranies when they bathe (if they bathe) 2. Gravida 13, Para 6, 7 spontaneous abortions with pelvic pain who left a tampon in her kooka for 2 weeks causing me to skip lunch. The smell is burned into my memory 3. The triage nurse who hates me for some reason.

I've never taken an employment aptitude test before just a dosage calculation. If I were to take a guess, I'd say there will be prioritization type questions (i.e. which patient will you see first?) ?!?! But I dunno. Just be confident, I'm sure it's all basic stuff you know.

That's illegal.

"Dead soul" ? Those are strong words and a bit over-dramatic if you ask me. I don't think I'm totally dead inside nor would I consider myself a "wimp" for driving on past an MVC. I'd call 911 for sure but like the others have said, if you respond to an emergency and you are neither trained to do so, nor carrying proper supplies with you, you are at a huge risk for becoming a part of the problem. In other words, medics will be tending to you instead of devoting 100% to the person in the accident (ESPECIALLY if they find out you're a nurse!).

Meh. I would have just assessed LOC and held c-spine while making small talk until medics showed up. That's IF I would have stopped. I know that sounds terrible, but I know of too many nurses that were injured or killed while tending to traffic accidents. Future reference: walking, drinking and taking aspirin would all be contraindicated in the event you just described. Why did he crash? I feel no compassion for this guy...only irritation that he could have hurt someone. Does that mean I'm already a jaded er nurse?

Right?!?!? Thank you!

I could not have explained this better than Esme12. KimRN, I am so incredibly sorry you had to go through that. You were definitely there for him, fighting for him. Often our training flies out the window when it comes to caring for our loved ones but it sounds like you were able to maintain your composure in order to give your husband the best chance at surviving. That takes incredible courage and strength. I cannot speak to the actions of the medics on-scene because I was not there of course. I recently lost my father very suddenly and traumatically and was left with many questions for the paramedics, hospital and for my non-medical family that was there. I was able to speak to the supervisor of the ambulance crew and received a copy of their report, also contacted the M.E. for a full tox report and obtained the ER report from his recent visits to the ER. It took a lot of time and energy but I felt it was the only way I could get closure. It was/is very difficult to deal with but personally, I did take comfort in having my questions answered. I wish you could have been part of their resuscitation efforts. I have always been in support of family presence. Again, so very sorry for your loss. No words.