k3depro

Thank you for the encouraging words! I know ultimately it is my responsibility to become successful, so I do not plan on pointing fingers. My goal is to feel more comfortable practicing independently and gain confidence with my skill set. I know I am not the only new RN struggling with this. I just think a general floor may help me gain the confidence I need. I hope that my manager is understanding and we can figure out a good plan for me. I love the hospital I work for and my patients, so I do not want to give up!

I had 12 weeks total - 3 weeks on each unit. I met with my manager at the end of the 12 weeks to discuss how I was feeling coming off orientation. I told her my concerns starting in the PICU and asked if I could start in a different unit first to get more comfortable with my skills in a slower paced environment. She felt that I needed to come off orientation and see how I did in the PICU with a resource. I decided to try her plan and now I am ending the resource phase of my orientation. Like I said, I still do not feel comfortable in the PICU, which is why now I am meeting with her to figure out next steps. With regards to my resource nurse, her feedback is that she thinks I overthink everything and need to just get things done more efficiently since the PICU is very fast-paced. The problem is that I can't do things faster when I am unsure how to do things in the first place. I try to look up a policy/procedure beforehand but my resource also rushes me through that and tells me I need to just get things done. Also, if I spend too much time in a room when I go in to get my hourly tasks done, she asks what I was doing in there for so long. Sometimes I am just talking to my patient or their family member, which I don't see a problem with. But she suggested to me that I don't waste so much time doing that....I don't consider that a waste of time, as it's part of how I get a more detailed picture of my patient's hospitalization and events leading up to it. Ultimately, I do not think the PICU is for me, so I am definitely going to tell my manager again that I need to move to another unit. I really appreciate your kind words of advice and good luck to you in your nursing career! I do not plan on giving up, as I love working with my pediatric patients and their families.

Hi all, I am a second degree BSN graduate who recently landed my dream job at a pediatric hospital. I was hired into a position rotating through four units - PICU being one of them. I received 3 weeks of orientation on each unit, then was scheduled to work in the PICU off orientation with a resource nurse for a few weeks. I am just finishing this resource period and do not feel any more confident about practicing independently. I honestly never expected to be an ICU nurse right out of school, so the learning curve has been very steep for me. I feel that I am still struggling with new nurse things, like performing a good assessment, time management, starting IV medications, etc. My resource nurse was getting frustrated with me for being "too slow" with tasks and would criticize my performance in front of patients and families. It took everything in me not to cry inside patient rooms. I had to remove an arterial line and central line the other day before transferring a patient and I wanted to do so independently since I knew I would be on my own soon. My resource nurse hovered over me and pointed out how I was doing things wrong throughout the procedure. I finally just said "Do you want to do it instead?" and she said yes and took over. I know I have a lot to work on personally in terms of increasing my confidence and skill set, but I feel unable to grow in my skills if I am being criticized every time I try to perform them. I generally take criticism well and do not "talk back" to people, but the constant criticism of the way I practice has been really discouraging for me. My resource called my manager later that day and told her she doesn't think I am a good fit for the unit. I am unhappy there, but I also think I have not had enough orientation or support from staff I've been working with. I feel like a failure since I have spent time orienting on this unit without achieving an end goal. I am meeting with my manager soon to discuss the plan for me. I do not think I will be returning to the PICU but I am scared that I will be fired for poor performance. Any advice on how I can improve as a new graduate would be greatly appreciated!