Aneri J.

Oh dear. I started to keep track of my eating habits since last month, and I noticed that I only eat max twice a day! I'm aiming for 3-5 meals daily, so this is a bit worrying for me. On most days after work I get too tired to eat and just sleep. Any advice?

Hi! I'm a novice RN in the hospital. This month, I have handled two patients undergoing blood transfusions (my first time... and both patients needed packed RBCs) and at both instances I wasn't able to successfully transfuse 1 whole unit of PRBCs (the first patient got half of the blood in the bag, the other got I know that blood products should be transfused within 4-6 hours. What are the things that I could do when a blood transfusion slows down (so slow that the whole bag may not be transfused within the 4-hour time frame)? I tried to raise the level of the blood bag and PNSS (we transfuse PRBCs with normal saline ran at KVO), and reposition the client's arm, but none of those measures worked. I don't want to waste any blood products again. I look forward to your replies. Thank you very much!

I always ask questions to my senior RNs, but sometimes I felt like I'm asking so many that I'm annoying them. Reading this thread made me feel less anxious about approaching my seniors/preceptors. Thanks a lot!

It's been almost a month since I started. I'm currently handling 5-7 patients and, as mentioned, the norm here in our country/facility/ward is 1:15--I feel like all the senior RNs are getting impatient and would want to give me 15 patients already.

That seems to be the normal N-P ratio here. Manpower issues. When you started your nursing career, as novices did you feel inadequate, burdensome, or too slow? Will these ideas go away in the long run?

I'm currently on my first job as a nurse (I underwent a ___-year hiatus after getting my RN license). It's been a long while since I last stepped in a healthcare facility as a staff not as a client! I am assigned in a med-surg ward, and as in most hospitals here, the normal nurse-patient ratio is 1:15 (minimum). I really admire all the RNs in my area as they were able to work with a N-P ratio like that, and I hope I can adapt to that norm as well they did. I was all hopes before I started this job, but a few weeks into it I feel inadequate, too slow, and burdensome. The senior RNs I am working with are so at ease with the job and they work so fast that I felt like a burden to them--in a 6-2 shift, they can finish all the AM due medications of all 15 patients before 09:00, while here I was struggling with the medications of 5 patients (there were times when I gave meds behind schedule). The senior RNs with 15 patients are done with everything and ready to go home by 14:30; here I am with 5 patients, finished all my work at around 16:00. I think the senior RNs have noticed my pace. Everyday, a senior RN would be assigned to oversee my work. I kept on asking questions to the senior RN and I felt that by doing so I was hindering that RN's job. Is it normal to have these feelings when starting on a nursing job?

I am choosing between buying pocket handbooks (e.g. RNotes, Med Surg Notes) and making my own pocket handbook. What do these pocket handbooks have in common, anyway? Should I buy one or it is wise to just make a few notes on my own? Thanks! =D