Hi everyone...Thanks for taking the time to read this
I am a new nurse working 5 weeks on a busy med surg floor...now let me say I am overwhelmed...I know this is normal for where Im at in the stage of the game. im not used to this level of responsibility, time management is lacking...im not sure how to manage my day or what things take priority and my confidence is lacking.
my orientation has been very hard. My first day I was given two patients and found myself pulling my hair out. my preceptor the next day asked if i was comfortable taking 3...when i said i wasnt she said that I need to build up to 10 patients by end of orientation. orientation is only 6 - 8 weeks. now im up to 5-6 patients. I was adament about my comfort level but it seems that I am being pushed to build up to this expected load. I am afraid by this for myself an my patients.
I found myself with 6 total care patients who were of heavy acuity and struggling to get my meds out on time. so when I asked for help in distributing the meds after I had checked all the orders, I was told "If i give out the meds to your patients then they wont be your patients" it wasnt until my manager came over and asked if I needed help did I recieve it.
I recieved an admited pt who was in respiratory distress with a very low bp and when I called the dr, I was told the pt should go to ICU. When I told my manager the situation, he asked if the pt had a DNR. I said yes he was 55 y/o and had a DNR. He looked at me as though I had done the wrong thing and asked why did I do that. Was that not the right thing to do. My confidence ha been low ever since.
My first week a patient fell off the bed because the bed locks failed. I find this on most of the beds as im performing pt care the beds move. The blood pressure cuffs are manual and some of them dont pump up and wait for realease....they release on their own so as you pump them off they fall right back down making you have to catch the beats in the middle. I am not sure when to fit in a physical assessment in my day and I havent seen my preceptor take L/S or B/S. so when I tried taking my assessment and putting it in my notes I was told I shouldnt write too much just write what I see.
Most of the patients are on prophalactic heparin and fragmin, even the ambulating ones and when I mentioned the H/H was in the 8-9 range with 26-23hct my preceptor tells me to give it and then call the Dr. I am also told if I have questions, to ask and am left on my own most of the times. Im too needy and dont trust myself enough....and ofcourse....to relax. I have also heard Im not aggressive enough. I hear alot of what Im doing wrong and not alot about what Im doing well with. I dont expect praise every 5 mn but some support would be appreciated I guess.
I know many of these things are in my control but I also feel that where I am is not safe either. I need an expert opinion, someone with more experiece than myself...which is all of you. What can I do different, is this kind of beginning normal? or should I be looking for another job...which is very hard to come by right now.
is this to be expected in the beginning f my career, or is this too much? not sure!!! just tell me what I can d to improve myself and my situation. My gut tells me to leave but I need the job but I dont want to quit without another job or if this kind of experiece is to be expected and I just need to handle it better. What Should I do. Your candid and blunt feedback is welcomed and appreciated.
Sincerely
a Nurse who wants to learn and do the right thing
