transitionRN

It's hard. I was very intimidated when I began nursing. I learned very quick to stick to my guns (nicely) and assert myself for the sake of the patient. I think years later one person called me a bull in a china shop once, but you know, my patient was on the verge of crashing and the "wait, see, and it'll go away" game wasn't going to cut it for this patient. While my patient benefitted in the end, I did reflect on how to better communicate. I believe it's human nature for people to get desensitized or learn to be perhaps a bit aggressive in order to protect themselves. It's not personal...try to remember that. Sometimes it's just self preservation. We had residents that were so kind at first, became "difficult", and finally, after finishing residency, they were kind again. Pressure. I think that's why communication has become so crucial in healthcare. It can be high pressure to meet goals, needs, deadlines, etc. I think part of why I've gone into education...to help better prepare new nurses for this environment. Good luck~

Hi all~ I wanted to know how nurses felt about the disparity between nursing education and real world floor nursing? I am transitioning into the education role but trying to keep a hand in staffing. I'm finding alot of disconnect as I try to "practice what is preached" with the changing climate of in-patient hospital nursing. The two worlds are clashing often. As everyone finds ways to conform to skin, falls, etc for reimbursement sake, are more significant things getting missed? It's always been a priority for nurses to want to keep patients from falling or getting skin breakdown, but now that the pocketbook is getting hit, it's become #1 with administration. T's are crossed and I's are dotted with huddles, hourly rounding, all the microscopic charting. While not a bad thing, I've noticed that other important things are being overlooked in the crunch to give patient care. For example, safety orders for the approved use of central lines and feeding tubes are missing...frequently. Labs are "lost". Charting times are inaccurate which can sometimes cause chaos. Throw that in with some squeezing staffing and nurses trying to orient new nurses and it ends up feeling like a hodge podge mess. It reminds of how "stat" stopped being stat because it was so abused. Nurses are trying to prioritize, but with such pressure to focus on completing a mobility assessment, only so much work can be done. Corners get cut and sometimes it's dangerous. I love nursing which is why I'm veering to education, but I feel like a hypocrite. I"m disappointed in the priorities of management, however I do completely understand why it must be that way from their standpoint. It's a business too. This ethical dilemma really has me torn. Anyone else feel this dilemma?