jreynrn

I agree with everything you've all said, I do. When I posted this initially, I just felt so bad for her. I was not blaming or accusing seasoned nurses of being abusive, I'm a seasoned nurse myself. Nor was I trying to imply that the young nurse was a victim. And I didn't rush to lock the door because I felt she was going to be abused... I wrote get eaten alive for a lack of better words. I meant more be overwhelmed by people coming in and seeing her in a meltdown state and have everyone rushing over her with "what's wrong, why are you crying..." etc. I wanted to give her that one on one of just listening to her and let her get it off her chest, compose herself, stand back up and dust herself off and reassure her. We all deserve that once in a while, don't we? I believe I said, "some (not all)" experienced nurses can act this way toward the newer nurses. That's all. All I was trying to do here by making my post, was to vent a little, because I felt bad for her. I know remember how it felt in my first year of being a nurse and I remember feeling the way she did that afternoon a few times and its a horrible feeling. It was never my intention to offend any seasoned nurses. I was just venting. That's all...

I'm still stuck on a preceptor who has only been a nurse for 3 months themselves. Um, call me silly, but having only been a nurse for 3 months, shouldn't he/she still be precepted themselves???? And the whole idea of have a preceptor is to learn. You had 5 weeks of on the floor training, didn't they evaluate you weekly? Daily even? A preceptor with only 3 months being a nurse... You got short changed on your training... If it were me, I'd appeal that decision to let you go. But learn this term... "CYA", "cover your a--", if you didn't write it, you didn't do it. Plain and simple. Always document every single thing you do. Because when it comes down to situations like yours, its your words against theirs, unless you documented it, then you have proof. Good luck, I hope things work out for you!

I'm a float pool nurse at my hospital so I bounce around, a lot. Wherever they need me, I go. So I'm pretty well known around the hospital, favorably, thank goodness. The past few months, I was pretty regular on one unit and had the pleasure of working closely with a new grad. I really like her. She was eager to learn, asked a lot of questions, optimistic, enthusiastic... You know, in the new nurse phase. She was good, really, really good at her skills. I guess I kind of took her under my wing while I was working on that unit. I didn't mind answering her questions. I applauded her for asking questions. Better ask than try to go it alone when you aren't sure what/how to do something and injure a patient, right? Well, past few weeks I have been on another unit until this past weekend, I found myself back on her unit, only during the day shift. I was in the break room collecting my things at the end of my shift (happily I might add) when she walked in, looking both stressed to the gills yet a bit relieved at the same time. She immediately stated "OHHHH!!!!!! You're working here tonight!!!!!!!" And of course I was initially flattered that she was so happy that I might be working with her, but when I replied, "oh no, I'm leaving, I worked the day shift", her eyes immediately filled with tears and she just broke into sobs. Knowing that she would be eaten alive if anyone else seen this, I rushed to the breakroom door and locked it. I just wanted to give her that chance to get her cry out. The poor kid, went on to tell me that life had been hell on her unit. She felt like no one liked her, everyone got mad when she asked questions, and she felt thrown to the wolves. She was really hoping I was working because I had patience with her. She told me that she frequently heard the other nurses talking behind her back about how slow she is and that she doesn't take initiative to do anything on her own. Then she asked me the doomed question... "is it like this everywhere or just here?" and then she went on to say the statement so many new nurses say... "I HATE THIS JOB! I HATE BEING A NURSE!!!" and then she said, in a very defeated voice... "maybe I just wasn't meant to be a nurse, maybe I just suck at it". And my heart just broke. It broke wide open for her. All I could do was console her. Put my arm around her and let her cry it out then reassure her that NO, you don't hate being a nurse. And YES, you are a GREAT nurse because you recognize when you need help and you are trying to seek it out... what makes you great is because you are thinking of the patient first, whether you realize it or not, you are putting your patient first because you don't want to do the wrong thing or make a mistake! That, to me, makes a phenomenal nurse. How in the world is a new nurse supposed to learn how to take innitiave if the new nurse can't ask for the help she needs out of fear of being ripped apart for it. Yes, we all need to be autonomous, but, we have to learn... I know we are all busy and all stressed, but come on, we've all been new nurses... We've all been there, why do some (not all) nurses forget where they came from and how they started? I just had to get this out because my heart just broke for her. I hope I was able to console her enough and I pray she will not be one of the many new nurses that leave the profession after a year or so because of things like this... I just don't understand why we eat our young. Well, hopefully I helped and hopefully soon I'll be on her unit again. Hopefully she'll soon find her niche and she will prove to the world just how awesome of a nurse she is.

I was never an LPN, but I feel I can confidently say you experience the same things as an RN as well. I am per diem right now and so burned out with bedside nursing. Just the other day, I felt like I was on an island by myself. I was working with a bunch of nurses I had never met before but they normally all work together, thrown on a unit I had never worked before that has its own systems in place and do things their own way. Although I've been working at this hospital a while, I'd never been on this unit before. I felt as though I had just stepped into a foreign land. I was given the hardest, heaviest assignment (remember, I'm per diem... happens regularly) on a floor that was very unfamiliar to me. I got all the admissions that night. No one would help me. I didn't know where anything was. I didn't know how to enter in their "special" orders and things like that into the computer... I felt like I was lost. My night finished with me being yelled at by a supervisor in front of all my fellow nurses for something I had nothing to do with... which thankfully she came to realize but never apologized for yelling at me. My point is, LPN/RN, doesn't really matter. Nursing is nursing is nursing. The crapola hits the fan and you get treated like pooh a lot of times no matter what the initials are at the end of your name. The fact that you show empathy and care about your patients enough to help them to the bathroom and want to preserve their dignity says to me, you were cut out for this work. You just need to avoid the places like you described in your post and accept that even in your dream job, there are sucky moments. Its nursing. It is what it is. Hope I helped.

I wore Danskos for years and loved them. But then, I don't know if something changed with them but they didn't seem to fit the same, so I went to sneakers, but unless you get the perfect sneaker, it didn't work for me. So, I tried Crocs and I love them and now wondering where in the world they have been all my life!!! I know you said you don't like the look of them but man are they comfy. But you have to go with what works best for you.

That is awful! How is that your fault? I would be just as irrate as you!

Hilarious! I needed that laugh! Thanks for sharing!

Let me start by saying this, the medical field, in of itself, is chuck full of egos. It's not just nursing. With that said, I know exactly what you mean about big egos being rewarded in nursing school. I used to think getting into nursing school was competitive, then I got in and realized where the competition really is. I remember a group of about 5 nursing students in my class that we all had mixed emotions about: envy, distain, disgust, admiration, a want to be just like them... you name the emotion, the vast majority of the class had it. They all had the professors/instructors fooled into thinking they were all that and a bag of chips, and in a lot of ways, they were. No one was ever critical of their achievements, it was the "I'm great and I know it" attitude that was often followed with the "you're beneath me" tone that bothered everyone. We all worked hard in school, ALL OF US. We were all nursing students after the same goal. We were all in this together. I remember one day sitting at a table in the library with my study group, next to their table. The fab 5 were known for their incredible notes. One member of my study group, that day, asked to be a part of theirs for this one upcoming test. It was a big midterm and for this particular student, it was do or die time. We were helping her as much as we could but she wanted more help and asked the fab 5. If she didn't pass this exam, she would be out of the program. I remember her asking them if she could sit in on one of their study sessions. I clearly remember all of our faces when they almost unanimously (sp?) responded with a resounding "NO WAY!!!!". I don't know if we thought we should laugh, cry, or be indifferent. We were in shock and at first thought they were kidding, but, they weren't. Well thankfully, my study group partner went on to take the midterm and passed by the skin of her teeth, but she passed and I am happy to say it is nearly 5 years later and she is a phenomenal nurse who was just going through a rough time during that very last semester of nursing school. So close to graduation and having to worry about failing out, scary stuff! But it all ended well for her. So why am I telling you this? Because later that day, myself along with a couple other students over heard the fab 5 talking about how they don't share their notes or allow anyone else in their study group because they felt they were decreasing the competition and opening up their own playing field when it came to finding a job. No joke, they actually said the words "the more people who flunk out, the less that are out there looking for jobs". WOW!!! Was all I could say! It was like the cherry on top of a very old sundae that no one wanted anymore. It was 2 very long years of egos, backstabbing, competition and all that. But there were so many great times too! It was my experience that you became closest with your clinical group and they became your family who always had your back. If you needed another IM injection or something like that, a member of your clinical "family" would be ready to offer their's up to you if they've already done it a few times. Things like that kept you going. But we all also witnessed the ugly in nursing school. And it wasn't just your fellow students, it could be instructors, the nurses on the units you would be assigned to. The moral of the story is that the nursing profession can be very cut throat, very caddy, very, do I dare say... UNPROFESSIONAL. I wanted to be a nurse my entire life and finally got to do it as a career change later in life. I came from management in the corporate world after a lay off and I thought big business was cut throat... it doesn't even hold a card to nursing. But we have all been there. All of us! A couple of times while in school I questioned if I really wanted to do this. But that was more of the stress and having no social life what so ever talking. When I came out of school I was one of the fortunate ones who got a job right away. I kept my options open. As much as I wanted to work in a hospital I put my resume out at LTC facilities too. I passed my NCLEX July 3rd and started my job on July 16th. And guess what, I HATED IT!!!!!!!! I dreaded going to work every single day I was scheduled. I started to get sick to my stomach and by the time I got to work my nerves were shot and I would usually cry all the way home. Nurses ate their young for breakfast, lunch, dinner and frequently snacked on them at this facility. It was awful. But I plugged away and gave it my year and then got a job as a med/surg nurse at a local hospital. And guess what, at first, it was great, everyone was great! I loved it! But I often heard the murmors about the nurse manager and how so and so is on her poop list and that's not where you want to be... but I didn't let it affect me, until, I ended up on that poop list and it was horrible... She almost killed my love for nursing and almost caused me to hate the nursing profession and I almost walked away from nursing all together because of her. But, I gave it one more try and got a new job at a different hospital and I'm happy to say I have been there almost 4 years and I love it. It is my dream job. Great management who supports their nurses, great nurses who are eager to learn and teach when the students come in, and we truly work as a team. Moral of this part of the story is, hang in there. Your niche will come. We all have those moments/thoughts of "is this really for me?" or "did I make a huge mistake?". Self doubt is a beast that you just have to learn to control or it will eat you alive. Nursing is not for the weak of heart. Its a tough, stressful job. You are not expected to be great or perfect right out of the gate. You are going to go through those self doubting emotions a thousand times before you find that niche I spoke of. Its a natural progression. Hang in there and you will do great. Good luck with your future endeavors!

Long term care facilities are always looking for help. They can be a great place to start. LTC's have come a long way and now many of these facilities have sub-acute units or transitional care units that will give you the experience you are looking for. You might start on an overnight shift working on the LTC side of the facility, but, have patience because you will get over to the sub-acute & transitional care units. Also, another great start for a new grad are rehabilitation hospitals. Rehabilitation nursing is med/surg nursing that is specialized in rehab. You will see trachs, IVs, blood transfusions, foleys, the works. Check into these facilities too. It is frustrating. We've all been there. Then when you get the experience you will hit a wall again because the hospitals will be looking for "acute" care experience. But the biggest part of landing a job is persistance and never give up. Get your experience wherever you can find it. Stay there for a year or two and then you will get your job at the hospital. Good luck! Hang in there! It will all work out! :)