Bairkr

I've been there for a little over 2 months now and it was a lot to take in at first. As a new nurse I was put in a position where I have to make important decisions but thankfully I have a lot of support. I found it hard to be a very young new nurse that is in charge of staff that is much older and much more experienced. Mostly the nurse's aides give me a hard time, not the LPN's, but from what I hear that happens everywhere. The most important thing is to cover your butt and document everything! There's a book charting made incredibly easy that's helpful. I made friends with another RN supervisor that works my shift so I can phone-a-friend when I need some advice, which happens at least twice a day. Also, I now think that long term care nurse's don't get the respect they need. When I got the job I was happy to get a job because a lot of my friends were having a hard time finding something. I didn't like the idea of working in a nursing home, which is petty on my part. I like working there now. I like seeing the same people everyday and I truly care about their health because I'm going to have to care for them today, tomorrow and the next day. It's not like a med/surg floor where your likely not going to have many patients for multiple days in a row. And i think it's good experience. I address labs and other test results, perform procedures and handle emergencies. The exciting things just don't happen as frequently as they do in the hospital. I think this is a great position for a new nurse if they're ready to work hard and have a lot of patience. Congratulations!

I start on August 23rd, so far they have given me IV certification and I have an orientation to attend tomorrow. Ill let you all know how it pans out!

I completely agree with you about the LPNs. They have been there for 20+ years and are going to be a great asset! When I found out they had so much experience I felt a little better about the whole situation. They are very knowledgable.

And I passed NCLEX first try May 2010. I definately believe Kaplan helped!

I took the Kaplan classroom course and it was good but looking back I would rather have taken it online since you can go through the questions at your own pace. In the classroom there wasn't much time to think about the answer choices where as you can pause the video at home and think about it all you'd like.

Thank you for all the information! It is very helpful, I guess I just needed to hear that is has been done and I'm not going to crash and burn.

SunshineRN, I recieved your message but unfortunately I cannot message you back until I have made 15 posts! I'm new on allnurses.com and thats the rules. I'm going to work on making some more posts but if you'd like to message me your personal e-mail we can communicate that way.

Thank you so much for the information! The job is located on Long Island in NY. I haven't had my first day yet (it's tomorrow) but I will let you know more about what the job actually entails. I know that I won't be doing the med pass regularly (only if someone calls in or if the staff needs help). From what I've learned about the position so far I will be responsible for admissions, discharges, wound care, PICC line care, IVs, weekly assessments, and a whole lot of paperwork. I'm sure they're are many more responsibilities and I will find that information out tomorrow.

I am a new grad BSN RN and I was just hired as a charge nurse in a nursing home. This is my first job as an RN and I will be supervising 2 lpns and 6 cnas on a 60-bed unit. I took the job because it has taken me 3 months of searching to even get an interview and when they offered me the position how could I turn it down?! At first I was excited but now am scared. I believe I can do it but I'm most afraid of what emergencies I will run into most often and what skills I should brush up on, any ideas? Is it silly of me to think I will be able to sucessfully hold this position as a new graduate? Is it normal for a new grad to be hired into this position?

I am a new grad BSN RN and I was just hired as a charge nurse in a nursing home. This is my first job as an RN and i will be supervising 2 lpns and 6 cnas on a 60-bed unit. I took the job because it has taken me 3 months of searching to even get an interview and when they offered me the position how could i turn it down?! At first I was excited but now am scared. I believe I can do it but i'm most afraid about what emergencies I will run into most often and what skills i should brush up on, any ideas? Is it silly of me to think I will be able to sucessfully hold this position as a new graduate?