babysteps25

I had to float on my 2nd week off orientation. I work on a medsurg floor and was floated to another medusrg floor so acuity was the same. I voiced my discomfort but was told that they keep record of when each person floated and it was my turn according to the rotation. I had assumed I wouldn't join the rotation for a while but it happened anyways. It actually wasn't bad since it was a very similar unit to my own in terms of acuity and assignment; and I got to meet some really cool people that I got along with much better than my own unit's staff.

Thanks so much for sharing this! I love seeing things from the history of nursing. I can't even figure out what some of those skills would entail... pharyngeal douche = gurgling w/ mouthwash?! And of course the turpentine lol

Where did you get your first nursing job? -- Med surg unit in a hospital How did you get the job? -- Just put out online or paper job applications everywhere, went to a couple career fairs, and finally got a call for an interview. No connections, no PCA experience, no clinicals there. Are you still working there?? -- Yes Do you like it ? Do you hate it ? Or just surviving and why. -- Just getting by. As a new grad I had really really wanted an OB job so I was disappointed to take a med surg position.. now I'm not really sure what I want and am exploring different options. Even if you don't work at a hospital you can get some great experience!

If you are currently working and you can remember, were you offered your job at the end of your interview or were you called later? If so how many days after the interview did you get the call? Just trying to figure out what is most common. Thanks =)

I run across this problem a lot and ts so irritating. Just yesterday I had a patient admitted with right leg swelling, went for a stat ultrasound to rule out dvt. The physician ordered a bilateral ultrasound. The ultrasound tech calls me and asks "why is it ordered bilateral, do I really need to do both legs? Why don't you call the doctor and find out then call me back". Ultrasound techs are allowed to get verbal orders from physicians, and they frequently do, so I explained that I was busy and told him to call the doc himself. Well instead of being productive and calling the doc, he called my manager and told her I gave him a 'that's not my job' line. I never said its not my job - I just said it was ALSO his job. Why doesn't he cut out the middle man (me) and call the physician himself!?! In the time it took him to complain he could have called to clarify the order. Grrr..

It happens. The fact that customer service is pushed so much makes it stressful. Once, the daughter of a patient complained about me within a few minutes of meeting me. I was admitting the patient, she weighed almost 400 lbs. I was one of four people that slid her into the bed. I did a skin assessment and put SCDs on her. The daughter complained I was being too rough. I apologized and said I was being as gentle as possible but it required a certain amount of force to move her extremities because of her weight. Then the daughter was offended that I mentioned her weight.

HouTx, you hit the nail on the head. She is pretty young (30's) and when she first started about 6 mos. ago she said this was her first "formal" management position. Not sure what kind of "informal" work she was doing... She fired a whole slew of people within her first couple of months, probably to show she shouldn't be taken lightly or something. She apparently does this to everyone. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't being crazy for thinking its crazy! I thought maybe there was a small chance that prodding around for a complaint was some sort of common technique managers use. I checked with a supervisor and we have no policy about time when you must arrive in a room after a patient calls. Thank goodness.

Has anyone else experienced something like this??? I work on a medsurg unit. My manager occasionally goes and checks on a random patient and asks about how their stay has been. I am sure that is a common practice. BUT.... Yesterday I overheard the questions my manager was asking one of my patients. She asked: "has your pain been controlled?". Patient says "yes it has been controlled" and he even said something about how he appreciates that we all seem very sympathetic to his pain. You would think my manager would be happy with this answer and move on. But instead she asks: "but is it always controlled? There hasn't been even a single time you have felt pain? The nurse always comes within 60 seconds of when you ask?". Then the patient was like "no I have had to wait longer than 60 seconds sometimes", then decides he is not satisfied with his pain management anymore. I don't even get where she is getting this whole "60 seconds" thing I have never heard it before and it is unreasonable, too. Of course later she calls me to her office and asks why my patient is in pain. Is that how a manager is supposed to be asking questions? I feel like it shouldn't be. The patient said he was satisfied and then she kept changing the question until he said he isn't satisfied. Why is she is trying to elicit complaints when she can't find any?! This isn't the first time I've noticed her doing stuff like that, either.

To the original poster, I commend your positive outlook and you sound like someone who is excellent at their job. If it were me I would be furious. I really do wonder if it is against labor laws how can you be expected to not sit down for 8 or 12 hours? Recently the temperature at my work has been really cold. I am sadly cynical enough to have thought its probably because my manager wants us to be more active and sit less to avoid freezing. Someone told me it probably happened because they were doing some work with the ventilation system....

I would have asked a lot more questions. I already did ask a lot but I also feared looking dumb so I held back quite a bit too; looking back I regret that, orientation is the time for tons of questions. I also would have asked for opportunities to do complicated wound care, practice IVs, etc. My orientation was really disorganized, a lot of the things they told me I would get to do I didn't. Others said they had to pester the manager during their orientation to get those opportunities.

Thanks for the input. There is a brief class, I think its just an informal discussion on the responsibilities that go with being in charge. I guess from what I am hearing it is reasonable that they are expecting me to become charge soon.. I just don't feel like I'm there yet though. =( I know I won't have answers to a lot of questions. And there is often a lot of arguing about assignments that goes on. I don't think I have the confidence yet to be stern with people who are fighting since I'd just be second guessing myself wondering if I really am being unfair etc...

Wow sorry to hear you were suddenly put in that position. I guess a lot of units are just as disorganized as mine!

I just surpassed my one year mark last week, so technically not my first year anymore but I still feel very much like a new grad so I hope I am welcome to keep posting here for a long time! I was just wondering how much experience someone usually has before becoming a charge nurse. I am on a medsurg unit and we rotate being charge rn. Unfortunately we have an extremely high turnover rate of staff. People keep quitting or getting fired. With only one year of experience I am somehow one of the more experienced people on my unit. Also my unit is considered toxic by the float pool - they apparently argued so much about having to come to my unit that they keep a record of when they do and its now mandatory for them to take their turn without complaining. There are still several on my unit with more experience, but a lot of the people I work with are even green-er than I am. It scared me like crazy one day when I realized I was the most experienced person there. Newer grads were coming to me with questions. Questions I sometimes didn't have answers to. My manager took the role of charge nurse that day but then was gone at a meeting almost all day so all problems were coming to me. The next day I was there again but with some experienced people from the float pool. They asked me why I don't just consider doing the brief charge nurse training and being in charge. They acknowledged it might be difficult with only a year of experience but that I could probably get by. Is it expected for people to start being in charge on medsurg units after only a year? Am I behind if I don't feel ready for it?

You are not alone in anxiety. I am almost at my 1 year mark, been working for 11 months. I stopped having meltdowns after 3 months but I still have A LOT of anxiety all the time. I keep being told things are supposed to snap into place after a year and it worries me that I am so close and still so anxious and unsure of myself all the time.

I know this is an old thread, but I was wondering what you do if an NG tube won't flush but there is no visible clog in the external part of the tubing, so the clog is in a part of the tube that is in the patient's body. Is there any way to fix that?