Sadie85

So I'm six months in now. And I feel very little has changed. My preceptor is completely unapproachable now and I'm really having a hard time. She keep saying things like I don't understand why this is taking so long we've had other nurses in this position for a less amount of time. She says I'm careless and I lack follow through. I don't feel as if I can approach management because they're changing now and frankly I should've spoke up earlier but I honestly thought that I could power through and things would get better. But it's not. I did join the oncology nursing Society and I am going to be purchasing the bundle on breast cancer. But I'm really torn because I have so many roles in this clinic and it's hard to know which ones to focus on. It's such a small clinic there's less than five people working on it, but we do volume. It's hard because we all have to know each other's jobs that way if one of us isn't there we can still function as a clinic. The doctor is extremely supportive but I'm just not getting that from my fellow nurses or nurse practitioners that is.

So I recently just started a job working with cancer patients in a physicians office I have no experience prior to this having been in the operating room for the past two years so I am feeling like I'm fresh out of school learning to do assessments all over again. It is a super small physician office having only two nurse practitioners and one doctor as well as an administrative assistant. I have a passion for this type of work which is why I applied for the job. But now that I'm here I'm realizing that it is way too small a practice and that my orientation was less than helpful. There is so much to do and just not enough time to do it I ask for help from the other nurse practitioners but I feel like they see me as a bother and we have no medical assistant to assist with this and I am at my wits end trying to acclimate myself to my new environment. I've never dealt with patients calling for pain medication or given instructions on cancer care before. My duties calling patients, scheduling surgery, coordinating between the other members of the oncology team, make sure the clinic is stocked with equipment and that it is not outdated, as well as scribing for the physician. Does anybody have any ideas to help me get better acquainted? Feel completely useless here having had no experience and really not starting to get things. I feel like they're losing patience with me. I have no interest in quitting but I'm really having a hard time getting the support that I need.

Hello, I was wondering about advice on becoming more assertive. I am not a confrontational person by nature. I will not fight something and just go with the flow and I am starting to see that this is making me loose the respect of my coworkers. They seem to give me the crappiest assignments because they "know I won't complain" and assume I'll stay late to cover, which Yes I have no problem doing it, but how does this make me appear weak? I need to be able to be more assertive without hitting the disrespect and cattiness back with the same attitude. Background: I have been at my job for almost two years, first job out of nursing school. Thanks in advance.

Thank you I feel a little stupid for putting this statement out, but this outpouring from my fellow nurses really has made me feel better. Thanks to all for indulging me and helping me to feel better. I just feel so stupid for even complaining! Is it really as big a deal as I feel it is to feel overwhelmed by my lazy coworkers? I feel whenever I get started on this tangent that I become a drama queen. I feel as if I completely bend over backwards for my patients and my fellow staff members. But honestly! I am the only one who stocks the department, I am always there to help another out by settling their patient during induction and to help them at extubation. I am there for them to take a specimen down or give a break to someone but I am always overlooked. I love my hospital too but I really feel as if I am in an abusive relationship and making excuses, "It'll get better, it's not always like this..." etc. Just thinking about it again makes me stressed LOL

Thanks babynurse :) I know it made my day that the patient wrote me a letter and sent a separate one to management thanking me for the care I gave her before her surgery

[COLOR=#000000]1. I've worked in the OR two years, I hadn't done any nursing anywhere else or in any other field other than being a nurse aide. I completed my six month orientation and passed Periop 101. [/COLOR] 2. I haven't got any negative feedback from anyone in management or to my face from my fellow nurses both in PACU, Day Sugery. Some of them also have commented on my treatment from the other RNs and told me I can vent to them. 3. I do like OR nursing, but do miss the patient interaction. I like helping my patients feel calm, making that connection in the small amount of time allotted. I like the challenge of it. But I won't lie, I would you like the job if I felt supported by my coworkers. But I always seem to be the only one going in rooms to help my fellow coworkers settle a patient before intubation, and when I want a little extra set of hands some have commented that I need to be by myself and "learn." I'm the only one restocking rooms, which I obviously want to do because I don't want to be running when there are no supplies in the room! But I feel taken advantage of being the only one doing so, I'm trying to learn not to "count" I guess on others to help me out as I do them.

First off let's face facts. Operating room nursing is not for the sensitive, there are such strong emotions/personalities that come with the nurses that work there and I just feel like I'm not cut out to be one of them. I feel like I'm dangling between being a ***** and being a doormat I know no ones perfect but I keep making little mistakes that I take very hard and it seems like everyone is talking about it behind my back. I do the best I can for my patients but there always seem to be issues that I haven't come across that everyone thinks I should automatically know about. I'm really getting down on myself and wondering why even got into this profession. This is the very first nursing job I ever got so I know with that comes added and extra pressure because I have no basis of which to form a foundation. I'm taking the superhard I want to be the best nurse I can be and my patients do appreciate it I've gotten letters from them but I just feel like my coworkers are making it so hard. Does anyone have any tips to try to thrive and keep my chin up? Or should I just cut ties and try to find somewhere that will take a nurse that has no other experience?