RNmichaelJ

Warning this rant is long and likely something you hear too much about but here it goes... I am a displaced automotive engineer, passed my state boards 03/2013 and started last April on a step down cardiac unit. I was let go after being told repeatedly that I was doing great then one day called in and let go during a low census after I struggled with a direct admit from a nearby smaller hospital. Since it was only a four weeks from when I began solo so I was taking my time and asking for help with this difficult admission. I work 11-7 and that night the admission came at start of shift (SOS). As fate would have it the clinical educator (CE) was overseeing the handoff to me. Ultimately it was that handoff that I was called out on. The nurse handing off to me was talking to me like I was slow and the report went 45 minutes into the shift with the CE hawking us. I was told I was not getting it and that by this time should be getting through report quicker. The transfer involved a former CABG w/ uncontrolled angina. He arrived with no orders entered and without med-reconciliation and I later discovered needed nitro for chest pain STAT. I needed to resolve his medrec and VORT/TORB w/ a cranky physician using a portion of our Cerner Powerchart/PowerPlan I was unfamiliar with because I had only a few admissions and they were all from ER or had been processed through ARTC. So the guy may have been in pain longer than he needed to be, I asked for help on what I was "supposed" to be up to speed on, I riled up a physician, and it all started with a handoff where I was treated like forest gump. I was told that if I voluntarily resign they will keep me as an employee for a week or so to transfer as a current employee to a Gen. Med-Surg. floor. So I did and have completed the transfer applications. When I started on this floor I decided ....no new car or new expenses and no 401k roll-over until I have 6 months in. My gut feeling was that I may not pull this off. I wanted Med-surg but ended up where the turnover is high providing my opportunity. However, things were starting to click and this came as a bit of a surprise especially when the CE who should know better witnessed the SOS and was familiar with my exposure to that point. My world took a big hit. This is a multiple top 50/100 magnet hospital and our communities largest employer. I landed a job in the seven floor "Heart Center" on a Beacon awarded floor with the highest acuity attained by anyone in my nursing school cohort. One side of me is dissed that they would bale on me after my (and their) investment and the other is relieved to not be where I might say they "eat their young". In the last few weeks I noticed that nursing pods with 3 stations were full while I was alone with a whole station to myself and I was always in the break room alone. I suspect I never hit it off being a non-traditional employee working among much younger females. At times I had to interfere with their facebook and tablet video entertainment to ask a "dumb question". I can acknowledge that part of my problem is a "me" issue, not having the gift of gab with the other staff, however I came from an environment where we did not treat work like a social club. Being 50+ years old and making this change late in life I also found that I was retaining less information than I used to as well which put me behind the younger new hires even when I would show up early for work to dig into H&Ps, labs, vitals, etc. prior to shift. If anyone out there has any suggestions, similar experience, or has some perspective from a UM or traditional nurses point of view I will be real interested to hear from you...I'll be dipped ?

HouTx: Thank you for the kind words. Tonight I am on my 3rd of 4 nights in a row. When my job satisfaction varies like a roller coaster as it has been your posting really picks me up. I am certain I can do this I just dred the process of being a new nurse.....and you are right, war story shifts are rare. I have the shed my feeling of inadequacy I get when I have to aks for help. Nursing school was so competitive I suspect needing was sign of weakness, I am finding that there is great strength in becoming a functioning member of a team.

Thank you all for the insight. I thought I would see if my rant produced any feedback at the end of a long difficult night. Our computers were on a planned outage. I got a new patient and was logged off during my admission process. The ED of course had 4 different lines running into 2 different PIVs, cardizem, heparin, potassium w/lidocaine and a bag of saline off the pump and they did not scan anything before the outage. My morning med pass had to be backcharted as well as all of the above with 3 patients and a new admit. Even the most helpful co-workers were stressin' over thier own issues and no help. The added stress produced some bone-headed mistakes like a mis-count of controlled substance at the Pixis and a strange one I still have not figured out and just walked away from 1 hour after my shift ended.....somehow a scanned bag of cardizem was producing 425 ml/hr in the I & O log contrary to the corresponding order.

I worked as an orderly while attending mechanical design school in the 80's and returned to nursing as an RN after 25 years as a manufacturing engineer after my plant closed in 2009. I have completed 6 weeks under a preceptor on a cardiac floor. I am a 54 year old male. I am used to having a high competency level in my past career. Right now I stink the place up as an RN. I would have expected the teaching staff to have let me go by now but they continue to encourage me and tell me how well I am adjusting. Handing off to nurses with 20+ years on this extremely difficult floor is a daily lesson in humility. I am constantly behind and making mistakes. My first night alone was last night 11pm - 7am. Had 3 patients, 2 on drips and got a new admission to make it 4 at the start of the shift from our ED. C'mon man, wth?? Picking on the new guy or what??? Came real close to getting in the truck. I am hanging around to see if they will just fire me or offer me another position that is less demanding. I got this position by knowing a lot of people in key positions and killing the interview. I would have taken anything to get my first job.....this is not pleasant. I was inspired to become a nurse by mom , an RN I hospiced and a couple of friends who are RNs. I feel comfortable and caring with my patients and I wanted to do something special with the last decade of my career. Nursing school took its toll.....this stretch is just torturing. I would be nice to hear from someone with similar experience.....Thanks

Ok so telling the truth is helpful.....I guess I was trying to sell how smart I am to a couple of seasoned nurses, my bad. Providing assurance of my interest, ability to learn, confidence and desire to collaborate in a team environment are things I own, will do. I just registered today and this was my first allnurses posting. I can certainly understand how someone might have the same question. Cardiac floors are not easy for a new nurse to broach. ....the ole Beta-blocker trick, I am out of my leauge here:) Thank you!

Hello: Happy to be part of this cohort. I am a recent ADN gradute licensed RN looking to get hired in a local mangnet hospital. I have an interview next tuesday on a "cardiac" floor. The floor is the least critical of the cardiac floors in this hospital catering to CHF, new pacemakers, cathlab, dialysis, etc. I will be interviewed by a panel of 3-4 nurses...yikes. I have had one other interview in the same hospital on a critical care floor which I was likely not qualified. I was very nervous and I over prepared on the garden variety of interview questions like, "tell me about yourself", who is your greatest influence, give an example of a difficult situation you encountered, what are your weakness/strengths.....etc. After a lot of preparation on this generic questions, my interviewer only asked about the number of critical patients I cared for. I blew that question, and looking back i did have some decent examples that I could not produce. How would you folks suggest I prepare for this next interview catering to a cardiac floor with a majority of patients with CHF, new pacemakers, cathlab, dialysis, telemetry, etc? I can come across as visably nervous and my remedy in the past was to be prepared, that did not seem to work on that first interview. Should I take an ativan :) Stupid sympathetic nervous system!!