Nursesuzi

Help! I'm a fairly new grad. Been out of school about 18 months. this is my second job. First was right out of ADN program to L&D. Was working nights and long story short I couldn't hack it (combined with divorce, death of a parent, single mom). So a friend recommended me for my current job in a outpatient PACU. With virtually no med/surg or PACU experience, I was shocked but elated when they offered me the job. No nights, weekends or holidays. GREat pay. Been there about 9 months. I work .6 making the same salary as I did full time in L&D/nights. Seems dreamy, huh? Well here's the deal. I am the only new grad in the group of 13 nurses. Every one works .6 or less. Plus many per diems. Most have at least 10 years ICU, CC or ER experience. Most of my fellow nurses are very friendly; some actually mentoring, but most are very resentful that I am there due to my inexperience (I didn't do my time on a MS unit or work CC like they did). I had my review yesterday (a written, peer review by all 13 nurses; standard in this facility) and most said they were frustrated regarding my lack of knowledge and questions regarding basic nursing skills (IV's, irrigating a foley, EKG's). They didn't understand why my mgr. hired me when there are tons of experienced nurses avail. One even said she didn't feel safe closing with me. OK, I know I'm new, but I am not incompetant. I do everything I can do to learn new skills, ask tons of questions (it probably frustrates them). I"m not one of those "know it all newbies". I'm 40 years old, I have some common sense. Another nurse said I'm not helpful to other RNs. If you knew me, you'd know this was untrue. I'm the new kid on the block, I am always offering my self to the other nurses. I know how to play the game, believe me. Short of ***-kissing, I do what I can to prove myself. That's just some of the negative comments. I knew my review would be poor reflecting my inexperience but the hostility and resentment conveyed by my manager (of my fellow nurses) was really shocking to me. Basically, they want me out. I might want to add that the last two hires (despite their 20+ years experience) also got hazed for other reasons. Both left crying after their reviews. Two previous employees were actually harrassed by two RNs who didn't like them and quit. Can you say hostile work environment? My mgr. suggested I prove myself by asking everyone to let me care for their patients if it's a new case I'm unfamiliar with, taking some CE courses where ever I could, etc. Do what ever I can to up my skill level and prove to them I'm more experienced. And basicially kiss up. It's as if it's a strict sorority I have to be hazed thru to enter. So, some of you may say leave this place. I just can't. The pay and hrs. are too good and I feel on principle I can't leave. Any tips on survival in this situation? Please don't say go work on a MS floor. I can't (due to childcare limitations).

I'm a new nurse (a little over a year) who has a rough start out of the new nursing gates. Hired directly out of school into an L&D unit working nights, I dealt with finalizing a divorce (with 80% custody) and nursing my dying parent. I loved L&D, but the combination of life stress, working nights, and new grad stress, drove me to quit after 10 months. I wasn't able to give it my all and was really struggling. I was lucky enough to be offered a PACU job (via recommendation of a friend who knew the medical director) in an ambulatory surgical center working days with no weekends and holidays. The pay was good enough I could scale back to .6. I have counted my blessings, believe me. I am the only nurse in this setting without at least 10 years critical care experience. Yes, many of the other nurses do recent me being there due to my inexperience; but that's a small price to pay. This is a sweet job. My issue now is that I feel I'm going to regret not gathering my basic nursing skills that I would have gotten from working med surg or in a critical care setting. For the most part I feel safe/OK in this job as it is an outpatient environment with prescreened patients, but I am lacking basic knowledge that can only be learned from being in the trenches. I'm enjoying the hours and lack of stress of this job and how it affords me sleep and time with my kids. Will it be too late to move on later and gain my valuable basic nursing skills? I feel like I've skipped a step. I've thought about applying per diem somewhere, but wonder if that is a death wish because I am basically still a new grad. Any advice?

Believe me, before I started nights I researched sleep conditions (I slept in my walk in closet which is pitch black on a twin bed with a temperpedic type mattress topper, with ear plugs, fan, upplugged the phone, took ambien, valerian, benedryl, melatonin, you name it. I was so determined to make nights work- I am a new nurse who was previously home w/my kids for 10 years. Nights was the perfect job to not effect my kids lives. Boy was I wrong. I was irritable, short tempered and talk about forgetful. I lapsed entire conversations I had with people. Learning a new job like L&D where you have alot of autonomy and responsiblity (and little memory of things you've learned) was like being in a mind warp. Before nursing I was a total morning bird. God up at 5am to work out, read whatever. I think what I've learned is that you cannot change your body sometimes, despite what you want in your heart/mind. And it's not worth risking your health and being a martyr if you have choices. To those of you who thrive on nights- I'm jealous. I love my night crew and once I'm on night shift it's awesome. I'll miss that. But not my crazy, b-chy personality the rest of the time! :rotfl:

Well, it's been 6 months in the job of my dreams; first nursing job out of school in L&D. Sounds great, doesn't it. The only draw back is it is night shift. I'm still not sleeping and have realized I must quit or my health (especially my mental health..can you say IRRITABLE?) will really suffer. Anybody ever been in the same boat in regards to trying nights?

I've heard ambian is quite addictive. I am bummed, because i really thought my extreme love of my children and desire to be there for them after school would be enuf to get me to adapt. I tried ambien; one day I slept great. that was it. I even tried 1.5 pills. nada. If it works for you great, but you may want to slowly wean yourself. Usually docs will write you 1 script w/refill and that's it.

What makes us age more rapidly. I believe it's a combination of your circadian clock being off (the reality is, even if you say you can sleep anywhere, anytime, studies show daytime sleep is not as good in quality), the eating habits maybe...and who knows, I think there is something about the ventilation at night. My face, nares, everything is so darn dry. Another common thread I see among night shifters is fat, many are overweight. If they arn't overweight they usually smoke. When I see articles about the detrimental effects of night shift I try to not even read it. Right now it's a necessity. If I start dwelling too much I'll quit. It's my worry wart nature.:uhoh21:

Where I work there are no 12 hour shift options or baylor shifts. And Labor and Delivery is unique in that family, lab people, md's are all there whether it's day or night; well not necessarily the md's, unless they have a couple of laboring patients. My sleeping situation (don't laugh, I know you will)= I sleep in my walk in closet. It's pitch black. I have a twin bed in there. It's big, a architectural mistake of sorts. I have a fan. I take occasional ambien, benedryl, valerian, melatonin, you name it, i've tried it. I stop drinking caffeine after midnight. I stop drinking liquids by 4am. I am asleep and in bed by 830 or 9am (getting kids to school, work until 730a) and then have to up by 230p to retrieve kids. I first wake up at 11 then 12, then 1, etc. The one time I slept for 3 hours was when I came home and had a cup of chardonney before bed, but I don't want to become an alcholic for sake of this job, thank you very much. I find my sleep is especially bad the week before my period. I wake up every hour. I'm seeing my doctor next week, maybe there is a connection, I'm desperate at this point. And, to answer one of your comments, yes, long term night shift work is horrible for your health. It ages you, big time. I was shocked to hear 2 ladies I worked with (10 year night shift veterans) were the same age as I was; they look at least 15 years older than me. I am not exaggerating or being boastful, really. But hey, you do what you have to do. Especially when you are a single mom. How many of you in specialities, where day shifts are scarce, switched to a general medical floor to get a day shift?

Any nurses out there working nights for the sake of your kids and having a hard time?. I'm a new RN (9 months out) who took a 4/5 night shift position because I wanted to be there for the sake of my school aged kids. There were no day shifts available, only PMs. I'm a single Mom, so PM's were out of the question as my kids would never see me if I worked PM's. I have someone stay with the kids at night. I was lucky to be one of the few chosed for this new grad L&D training program, so at the time it seemed like a good move. I figured I'd get used to nights- Not happening. I cannot sleep longer than 2 hours at a time. I'm feeling crummy and grumpy. I could get a day shift position in Med-Surg, however I'm terrified to work Med-Surg. Sure is nice to work with only 1-2 patients in L&D:uhoh3: ! Anyone else in a similar position?

I went straight from nursing school to L&D after a 6 week senior preceptorship there, I got hired. I have often wished I had a strong med/surg foundation; even a med-surg preceptorship would of gotten my feet wet. You do need med-surg principals. I can really tell the difference in quality of care in the nurses on my unit who worked in med surg before L&D. You are a more thinking nurse and have a more "macro view" of your patients, I believe. Straight from school w/no nursing experience, you rarely have the knowledge base to know when someone is going downhill; the critical signs. Especially if you work in a low risk unit like I do. It's a use it or lose phenomenon (after nursing school and boards much of what you learned goes out the window if you don't use it!) I often think I'm missing out not having more general experience. I always thought L&D/Maternal health was my calling, but now that I'm a nurse I see it's a big world out there with lots of interesting specialities. And by the way, the young are eaten everywhere, not just med surg. Enter nursing with a thick skin and know who is you can go to for questions and who to stear clear of. There are lots of tough old broad L&D nurses who have been there forever; too long to go somewhere else (nor do they want to). They are burnt out and have no patience for us clueless newbies. To reduce their annoyance, be helpful to your other nurses. L&D often has down time between deliveries or during latent stage. Don't just sit at the front desk and read a magazine if you have a lull in patients. Team nurse.

Our facility give new grads 16 weeks of training and experienced nurses from other specialities 12. L&D is a speciality that takes time. Especially cervical checks. And then even experienced nurse can be off once in a while. There is too much at stake to be "winging it". Be assertive and demand that she places you w/another preceptor or mentor. Not noticing a negative fhr pattern could mean a crash situation. Especially on a busy unit where other nurses arn't team nursing. One that could endanger mom, baby and your license!:uhoh21:

I'm a new RN working night shift. I've only done a week so far after completing 4 months on days. I am a day person, but am commited to working nights for a year at least. I'm a single mom and nights fits my kids needs right now. question: will I sleep longer during the day as I get used to it. Right now, I feel like I never really fully fall asleep and can only stay in bed 3-4 hrs. Please tell me I'll get used to it. I'd be happy with 4 hours after shift then another hour before shift. I'm a 5 hour sleeper on normal schedule. Any other day shifters who have dealt with this adaption to nights?

I took my A and P at West Valley in Saratoga. They offer it in semester form, which means, unlike De Anza which offers in 3 sep. classes, you won't risk not getting into the next section. I love West Valley. I took pre reqs at Mission, Wst. Valley, De Anza and San Jose State. If you wait until summer, you can take Statistics at State in 4 weeks, it was very easy! And I am terrible at Math. Good luck.

I agree with the others, but I think it's unusual for an experienced nurse transfering to LD from what most hospitals consider a "related area" (which NICU is according to my manager), to get 12 weeks. At my hospital, which is in a big metropolitan area and has a great reputation for retaining employees and happy patients, only new grads get 12 weeks then are considered a "half person for another 4 to 6 wks. Most experienced nurses get a month or two and then have a mentor to help them. I would insist on that at the very least. Now, as far as being alone in the delivery room during recovery. I think recessing a baby alone and having to watch mom simutaneously is dangerous. However, my hospital, which strictly adhers to AWWON guidelines expects that of us. I need to check that out, as do you. I oriented on days and as a new grad, towards the end, I was expected to do that myself. Scarier than you know what. Now that I'm going to night shift, thank god, you have a slew of RN's in the room with you at the beginning of a recovery. If you decide to take this position, I would definitely check out why the other RN's left. L&D is very different in pace than NICU from what I heard. In the most supportive unit it can be an adrenaline rush. If you are unsupported it could not only double your stress but endanger your license. Do your homework and stick up for your self. Worst case scenario at least you have your NICU exp. to fall back on. Good luck:chair: S

:imbar :imbar

I can't imagine working, going to school and having 3 kids. I'll stop feeling sorry for myself now. School is a whole other type of stress. I hope you have a good support system. These boards are great for giving us ideas on coping. Good luck to you.

My kids are 6 and 11. I have 89% custoday. I am just started my nursing career and after 2 years of extreme stress, full time kids, taking care of elderly parents, I decided to use some of my divorce settment and order up an aupair for one year. A gift for my career and my sanity. I have her 45 hours/week. However, on the weeks I work, that time includes watching the kids at night when I work. She just got here. I think it will be a big help, but her time does not include maid service or cooking, it's pretty regulated by the government. She will do laundrey though! yipee! Thanks for the advice on meals, sounds like you've been doing this for a while. My concerns are mainly getting sleep and organizing my time. My sleep during the past year has been bad to begin with. My dad passed last thursday. Mom is legally blind, so I am now responsible for helping organize her finances, etc. I usually only can stay asleep 5 hours. I function OK. However, I am not a napper and am afraid I will not sleep at all during the day. Any tricks here? I don't want to during into a zombie and win the crankie mom award from this job. S I'm

Any pearls of wisdom? Hi guys, I am starting my first night shift on Sunday. I am a single mom and am nervous about juggling responsibilites and living w/lack of sleep. I do have some help as I have a person living w/me to help w/the kids. However, I'm just nervous about the transition of working strange hours, 4 nights/week. To complicate things I'm just coming off a 2 week LOA due to my father's death, so I'm feeling disoriented. I oriented for 4 months on days (L&D). :uhoh21:

Regarding drugs to know for NCLEX.. It is more important to know all drug categories and their major side effects and special things (like drug action, therapeutic level, interactions, etc.) as well as regognizing major names of drugs and connecting which category they represent. If you take Kaplan, take the book and it has listings of categories with drugs under that category in the back. I made notes to the side of the page on side effects. KISS (keep it simple, stupid) is the key. Also, I spent 15 minutes each morning with coffee in hand right when I woke up and then 15 minutes right before bed reviewing drugsm (two weeks before my test date). My friend who is an MD. Says that is the most effective way to get it to stick. Also, do the taylored pharm tests that Kaplan offers (if you take Kaplan) and really understand the rationale. Doing as many practice questions as you can will ensure your success, and help you start developing critical thinking skills, that at least MY nursing school did a poor job at helping us develop. And PS. most everything you study/learn for NCLEX will fly out of your head after you leave the test site. and

This is so true. I think of NCLEX like a puzzle. you figure out what the question is asking and then start eliminating. basically, it's less about content than it is critical thinking and problem solving. I passed w/75. my strategy was to review all my binders from school, then take Kaplan, then focus on my weeknesses which were pharm (most people's are). then I took every practice test Kaplan had to offer. not just the disk that comes with the course but I ordered extra tests on line (worth every penny). if you order when you are a member I think its about $100 more. then get good sleep, exercise before you study (o2 to the brain), take vitamins and pray. also, do not wait too long to take the NCLEX. take it no later than one month after you finish Kaplan. the people I know who failed, waited too long (3-6 months after graduation) to take the test. retention. and remember, you will feel like you failed after taking it. but, if you take it w/75 questions and you are not an esl person, you pretty much aced it.

I live blocks from this place, and work at the hospital down the street. Never heard anything bad about it. I'll ask around for you. Suzanne

Public Health Nurses in CA, what kinds of jobs do you have. What exactly does a public health RN do? Where in CA do you work. Do you have to get your BSN to get your public health certificate?

Thanks to everyone and the nice response to my post. My dad had lung CA for 10 months. Last month we discovered it metas. to his lumbar vertebrae. The pain he was in was immeasurable. I'm an only child and was with him when he passed. His nurse (who was a nursing school friend of mine) was awesome. She told me what to expect (breathing pattern before death, etc.). She held me when I cried. She sat with me after he went. I will never forget her honesty and compassion. Since my original post, my manager, who is excellent, told me to not worry about my job and make a decision about when to return to work after the memorial, which is this friday. I also believe, my dad, who was an angel on earth, will be looking down at me, guiding and protecting me. When my laboring moms have decels and it's the middle of the night (I start night shift when I go back), or when I have unexpected meconium, etc. he'll kick me into gear. I appreciate all of your kind words and support. I'll decide to go back after the funeral. And will go back when I'm ready to be there fully for my patients. Thanks, Suzanne

How much time would/does your manager give you for the death of a loved one?. I just lost my Dad. Everyone is telling me to take a couple of weeks. My manager is saying a week or so or whenever I'm ready to come back is OK. I'm a new grad and afraid if I take that much time off I'll lose "my edge". My Dad passed on the Veterans Day. I am definitely greiving but am usually able to hold it together. I don't want to be stressed because I've lost my learning curve from being gone too long....I know a weird question, but maybe one of you guys has been here..

Hi, I'm a new nurse too just coming off my orientation. My paperwork situation is easier than you b/c I'm in Labor and Delivery w/2 pts max. My problems are different and more in the way of critical thinking, that I think will come with more experience. However, I just spent a couple days in a med/surg unit w/an ill relative and picked the nurse's brain about how she manages 6 patients. (I think at some point I'll go to med surg) She said paperwork comes last. Carry a piece of scratch paper w/ section for each patient and make notes of meds given, times, etc. Then chart at the end of shift. Make a photo copy for the charge nurse for report if need be. Patients come first, charting second. Also, if it was me I'd look for the most organized nurse on my unit and ask her out to coffee and pick her brain on how she organizes herself. Good luck to you, I think Med/Surg nurses work extremly hard. My respect goes out to all of you!:balloons:

Anyone started in L&D and left for Maternity, or Nursery due to the stress level? Just curious.