tango.in.paris

Crikey! You've just given me the laugh I was needing for the day ... hysterical .... thanks a bunch!!!

Im in Australia, and all my nursing studies to date, and still 2 more years to go, has/is being done to enable me to live and work in Europe ... along with appropriate language studies. Or if I am still with my american man, he wants to move back to New York or Seattle .... so once my studies are done, I sell my house and Im gone and I cant wait! I say go for it!

Crikey, talk about a rock and a hard place! Skittlebear, if you like your job and your co-workers, and the DON isnt going anywhere and you dont want to go anywhere (for now), then I guess you just have to cope. Be professional, stay out of his/her way, do your work as best as possible, ignore the gossip (hard because it hurts), and only deal with the DON if and when the need arises ..... and most importantly, be selective about what you share in the workplace! Chin up, it could be worse as lowski has said!!

Geez, thats a tough one but I can sympathize ...... Ive got a painful DON too - although I havent heard her gossip - her problem is she berates everyone publicly if they do something she doesnt approve of. Still crap behaviour. She is so firmly entrenched in my ward that fighting her will only turn out badly for the staff. Im not doing anything about her behaviour because Im so new and am still finding my footing, so my approach is to stay out of her way for now and I try to angle for PM or night shifts when shes not around. Maybe thats an option for you too. Good luck!

Hi CrystalClear75, As I'm sure you already know, the constant with all progress notes and incident reports is only to write what you know/what you've seen/what you've done/what you've experienced first hand. You don't need second hand words/fancy words/rambling. Just be legible, professional, accurate and as concise as possible while telling the complete story, and then you can't go wrong .... after all, we don't have to make anything up! PS I was also taught to be chronological within a lengthy note.

hello! firstly, i've started this thread in general nursing (as opposed to first year after nursing licensure) because i'm hoping to attract responses from seasoned nurses (but feel free to move). i've only been graduated for a year, and i have some friends coming out now. my mates are beside themselves with terror at the thought of finally going it solo, and even after a year down the track, i have more days than not when i second guess myself, doubt my ability, look daft, and generally get my stethoscope in a twist! so i thought it could be really heartening for my mates, myself and other relative newbies to hear from the more experienced amongst us about your first year/s - not specific stories per se - but rather how nervous you were; how long did it take you to feel settled; when did the confidence kick in; did swapping student threads for a uniform instil a certain sense of ability? etc. i know that nursing is a continuous learning curve, but at some point your general nursing actions must have become second nature, more free of stress and panic then full of it! i would love to read your experiences. cheers! :nuke:

Seems everyone has a similar story to tell. You call it a "massive clique" so I take it most staff are involved in this social group? Because it is natural to have smaller cliques and you just need some time to find yours! In my ward, the smaller cliques are all 20 years olds .... I dont want to be part of those groups anyway!!! Im thinking that if you are only quite new then its not terribly uncommon to be left out at this early stage, but if you have been there for a while, then their "pack" behaviour is unforgivable! I have a particular pet peeve about people being exclusive - I loathe it. Having said that, we are not obliged to invite every man and his dog to every event in our lives .... all Im saying is, just use some discretion when including/excluding people. This thread has provided lots of good advice (especially about finding a similar-minded buddy), but most importantly, do not let this fester in your mind .... you might find this issue has become something you cant jump over, and its just not worth it! Stay happy

Unfortunately I think you will find the mode of "I'm-doing-nothing-unless-i-get-paid-for-it" in all professions ... but maybe its a bit harder to swallow in nursing? I dont know what the solution is except to say that when Ive done my 10 or 20 years of hard time I hope I still have it in me to spread some joy to students and grads ...

Im reading you laynaER! Im assuming you are in the US? We have the exact same problem in Australia, no doubt the same problem anywhere where there are new and not-so-new nurses grouped together. But I fully understand where llg is coming from too, having seen her scenarios first hand where I work. Having said that, some of these same seasoned, experienced, knowledgeble nurses must surely also have the knack of sensing when a new grad is intelligent, with promise and empathy, and a worthy subject to nuture?

im only new there so do not want to rock the boat, but ive tactfully quizzed other longer standing nurses why some action hasnt taken place, and the bottom line is everyone is too scared to do anything ...... so staff leave. its really only the am staff who take the full brunt, so i guess the pm and night shift staff dont really want to make a rod for their backs when they dont suffer quite as much as the am staff. i think the general thought is that because she has been in charge since longer than time began, what chance do the staff have of shifting her out of her position because that is what is going to be needed to get a positive change in our ward, because her personality isnt going to metamorphose any time soon! her reputation has spread beyond our ward .... "sad" is the right word

Reading all of you debating about how to correct someone so there is a general level of peace all the way round makes me think of my DON who has no compunction about shouting out across the nurse's station or a patient's bed when anyone is doing anything she doesnt approve of ... not necessarily wrong .... just doesnt approve of ... absolutely frightening to think that someone who runs the show has no sense of timing and doesnt give a fig about the morale of the staff or the impression she is giving to patients .... consequently she is well loathed :stone

Hi there 1uvakindmom, I hope what Im about to say comes out the right way, but I am always so relieved to read and know that others are/were feeling the same distress/confusion/embarrassment/bewilderment etc that I felt at the beginning, and still do on plenty of days. Its so easy to think you are alone in this dark place but try to remember that you are not .... and it seems you have a good crew to work with and that makes a difference! So hang in there! I think what Suesquatch wrote is marvellous and worth remembering every day! Cheers! :kiss

Thanks Classicdame, We have the same in Australia: assistant in nursing; endorsed nurse, endorsed enrolled nurse, registered nurse, and so on up the ladder, and all of them defined by their differing scopes of practice. Thanks for your reply! Cheers!

Yes I agree with you, and their CNA sounds like our AIN! Cheers! :nuke:

Crikey! Im on my third career change .... first commerical art, then accountancy and now nursing. When I left school I opted between commercial art, teaching or nursing, and it was the money that drew me to commercial art. Not a smart move in hindsight because my interest didnt last, and then I sort of fell into accountancy, and though I was good at it, Im not a natural with numbers so it was real hard work. Finally decided to get my act together with nursing because I needed something that would see me through to the end of my workdays; something that would get me employed anywhere in the world (I have European and Australian citizenship); something that would allow me to work arvos/nites (I cant stand mornings); and something that would allow me to work in large or small environments, public or private ...... and this is going to sound corny, but being a nurse makes me feel warm and fuzzy and I like that .... good luck with your decision!