mulbc55653

Well, I am about to start on the night shift, fresh out of orientation on days. I am working at a LTAC with some pretty sick patients. I will have a mix of med/surg and telemetry pts. I am sooo nervous about not having the preceptor to fall back on. It is really starting to have an effect on me. My wife is a R.N. as well that just went into home health from a telemetry unit. She assures me that everybody goes through it and to ask questions when I am unsure. I have even gone so far as to get her to promise to answer the phone in the middle of the night if I call for advice. One of the things that troubles me is when to call a doctor especially at night. For example a pt. with a b/p of 86/54 that is sleeping in bed and states they feel ok when I awaken them to ask. Also if a pt. runs a temp at 3 am and I give the prn tylenol and it doesn't respond but I can give it q 4 does that warren a call to a Dr especially if the Dr on call is not the pt's Dr? Sometimes I feel like I have forgotten everything from school. I did fairly well in nursing school but feel like my nerves prevent me from applying it. Any tips for me are greatly appreciated. Thanks to all for letting me vent.