xanderfan

Hi everyone. I have been working night shift on a medsurg floor for a little more than a year now and I recently got approved to the day shift starting in a couple weeks. I am so nervous. This was my first job at a hospital and I'm just now feeling confident and comfortable in my skills as a nurse and I'm afraid that it's a mistake to rock the boat. But the reason I'm switching to days is because nights have been extremely detrimental to my health overall. I've gained weight, I've been stressed and easily angered. On my days off I'm still adjusting and feeling exhausted and sleeping those days away. I really want the normal schedule that comes with days but I'm so so afraid and nervous of what to expect and the business and how to schedule oneself and generally driving myself crazy with worry. I was wondering if anyone had some advice on how to be successful and time efficient in days on a busy medsurg floor or if anyone that did such a transition can give some tidbit advice for someone struggling. thanks in advance.

Libby thank you so much. I spoke to her a few days later and spoke your words almost verbatim. She said she would think on it. I waited about a week of radio silence and i almost cracked and just gave up on the whole thing when she reached back to me and increased the salary to exactly what the rate i was told was the expected one for this position. She wasn't confrontational or angry, she just agreed. I think that's when i realized that she could have disagreed and still the situation would have remained at the same emotional level, the anxiety was only the one i invested into the situation. I hope to learn better in the future and not be afraid to express my needs or concerns. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. Sammie

That is very true. I think some people infer a lot of conversations in the pauses and that can be in our advantage at times or work against us depending. Thanks for the comment.

Thank you for that. It's good to hear that at times that can work to speak up about your pay concerns. I have contacted her regarding the issue. She said she will speak to her administrator and let me know. Even if it doesn't work out I feel better to have spoken my mind. I would have resented the job if I didn't say anything. Thanks so much for everyone who took the time and commented.

Thanks so much for the feedback. I guess the attitude comes with being really inexperienced in the job market. I am getting some experience and becoming more skilled so therefore, in my area, I am becoming more in demand. The unfortunate thing is I am not really aggressive and dislike conflict but I do understand the need to stand up for oneself and make sure your needs are met. I really didn't understand the etiquette to doing this the right way. I am going to let her know that I need to renegotiate the rate and see what she says. The worst she can say is no and at that point I can move on to other avenues and learn from this lesson. Thanks for the reply

Thanks you are right. I was thinking along those lines but I was worried I would sound greedy but it's only fair if they are able to pay more. It's not like I'm going to be unreasonable just in par with what others are getting. I'm going to tell them that the pay is not enough and that I have a better offer. Would that be better rather than outright confrontation with HR?

Hi everyone. Not sure if this is the place to ask information about this but not sure what to do and would love some ideas from my more experienced peers and this is the only platform that i know. I have a full time job that i love. No issues with them so far. I wanted to have a part-time so that I can save some more money (sorely needed). Now during the application process I asked for a certain amount of money per hr. I low-balled it to be honest. Now my issue is after applying spoke to a friend that worked there and it seems that I severely low balled it. They pay is at least 4 more dollars extra than what I asked for. Now I reached out to the Director and asked what the pay was without trying to seem as if I was changing my mind and she didn't reply but they already sent me paperwork to sign with the pay that I asked for. Now what do I do? My options are limited since I do want the job, not because my eye is set on it but because it is a big company and opportunities to grow are vast and I can transition to another one if I should move somewhere else. Also I'm of the belief that you shouldn't close door on opportunities. But it sucks major that I'll be working for a lot less than the nurses under me will make, it's a supervisor position, but this is what I asked for so I should just suck it up. But now that I know I don't think I'll be able to take it. Now the core question. I want to ask for another rate closer to what I was told was the standard, which i've confirmed. (wish I spoke to those colleagues before i applied). Anyway what's the politically correct way to go about this? I don't want to come across ungrateful or rude. I also don't want to close my opportunities with this company. Please give me thoughts (if you were patient enough to read through this essay). Sammie

I know you're right. I do but it's really hard not to beat myself because of the mistakes. I know we're our worst critics but lately I guess I've been extra hard on myself. I just need to maintain a better attitude, it's tough but I'm sure it's doable. thanks so much for the reply sammie

You are right. I'm starting to think I really need to do some independent research to make sure I understand some of the little things. I also need to be patient with myself because barring a few nurses most of my new colleagues have been super patient with my questions and welcoming. I guess I need to make the effort to ensure that I don't focus on the one harsh criticisms and take it as a learning opportunity rather than a put down. I just need to give myself more pep talks to be honest because in theory it's easy to say you'll be patient it putting it into practice is hard. thanks for taking the time. Sammie.

You are some right. I guess it's just frustrating feeling always out of my depth. I guess I need to just accept that there will always be more to learn and that I probably won't ever find a true comfort zone but that I will get better and improve as I go along. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply. Sammie

Hello. I've been working as a medsurg nurse for the past 2 months with about 3 weeks on my own and I have been really struggling. My background before that is subacute rehab for 8mo so it's a big leap. It's interesting, I love the new things that I see, the different atmosphere and the work but I've been having a real issue with time management, hand off reports (I feel like the older nurses are testing me with the questions they ask and I feel really incompetent when I can't answer them). That all sucks but I can be patient and wait until I have more experience to manage. The biggest issue though is the very very poor (in my opinion) assessment skills that I have. I feel like I miss the stupidest things and it's frustrating me. "Like my patient with thrombocytopenia and I missed the petechaie in my assessment, I feel so so stupid. And it's not only one instance it's several, and it's not like I don't know these things, I remember them from nursing school I just have a hard time connecting diagnosis and focused assessment (example low platelets checks bruising, bleeding, hemorrhage and of course petechaie). I'm not completely abysmal but I'm always always forgetting something and it's frustrating me. Okay vented. My reason for coming here is to ask my more experienced peers some advice. What should I do to improve on this. Should I bring out my medsurg book and start studying? Is there a book for medsurg nurses that I need to pick up? Do I need to suck it up and just wait to become more experienced? (Not my most appealing option) What should I do? I know there's a learning curve but I should still manage to stay afloat and not feel like I'm drowning. Right? Any comments are appreciated and thanks for reading that far. sammie.

Thanks. I think its a problem with me I tend to overthink things and worry over my day. I'm told that its being on the fast track to burning out but i can't turn it off. I worry about what i could have done better and i try to plan for the next day to avoid making similar mistakes. I honestly think it was me being taken off guard about being asked that question. I think he knows more about his disease process than i do and that he has accepted it but to me as a fairly new patient of mine, i feel like our interaction are filled with minefield since i'm not sure where the emotional triggers are since they aren't the obvious ones you would think in such a situation.

I didn't mean annoying as in I mind, maybe a different word could be used. I don't mind answering questions. It's a little much if i'm having the exact same conversation every single day. I guess i did make it about me but honestly i mostly felt guilty about the conversation and that i answered him too harshly. Thanks for your comment

Thanks you are right. I think he has a serious understanding of his disease process and he was just joking. I think the problem was with me and me feeling bad about his situation and being awkward about it. He is young and its really my first time interacting with someone so upbeat and still so sick. It was a weird moment that i couldn't get out of my head.

I didn't mean annoying as in I mind, maybe a different word could be used. I don't mind answering questions. It's a little much if i'm having the exact same conversation every single day. I guess i did make it about me but honestly i mostly felt guilty about the conversation and that i answered him too harshly. Thanks for your comment.

Today I had a weird moment and I'm in bed right now and I can't help but think back on it and kind of feel like i didn't handle the situation properly. I have a quadriplegic patient and he is fairly young and due to his tumor on his spinal cord he is in this situation. I think he has a fairly good outlook on things but I think he gets bad days which is okay. The family is fairly present and every time I come in the room, they always ask me what the medications are, which can become annoying after a while since they are always the same but expected as they are concerned. Today, I brought him the Pro-Stat, he hates it (like most of my patients) and he asks me what is it for. I tell him it is a protein supplement and encourages healing. Then he says, will it get rid of my tumor? I was shocked that he asked that and I blurted stupidly no. Mom was at bedside and she said why did you tell him no, it could diminish the size or encourage healing or something. She insisted that I should have said it will help the tumor. I was in a bind at that moment, I tried to backtrack. I said it is a supplement, it won't heal him but it allows him to remain healthy, keeps albumin at a good range and all that stuff, but I couldn't say it would affect the tumor because that would be a lie. I tried to direct the conversation away from the topic but I drew a blank. The family and the patient weren't overly upset or anything. They don't seem as if they're lingering on the topic as I interacted with them throughout the day. But I just can't let it go. It might seem like something small but I felt like I was really insensitive to say no like. It just won't let me sleep tonight. I mean did I make an already hard situation worse for someone? thoughts are welcome. Sorry for the extreme length, I just needed to talk about it, I guess.

Thanks for the reply. It's a good idea to wait until the interview. I will see about asking for a tour of the unit if they are interested in giving me a position. I guess it's normal to have nervousness when going somewhere new and hopefully most of what i've heard is just general nursing stress and burnout that likely exist in all settings. I'm hesitantly hopeful I guess.

Hello fellow nurses, I was hoping I could get some feedback regarding the experience nurses have had working at this hospital both positive and negative if applicable. I'm interested in working there but i've heard horror stories about abusive workplace and employee mistreatment and I'm very concerned. It would be very convenient to work there but i'm not willing to compromise my state of mind for that convenience. I'm also thinking about pay rate and i've heard it's very low. I'm concerned about experience and as a new nurse it's worth more than gold and working in a hospital for at least a year will make me more marketable and able to transition to other fields a lot easier but I'm not willing to work in a hostile, unsafe environment and put my license in jeopardy for that. Please let me know how your experience has been or what others have told you about it. Much appreciated.

I do agree that it's important that the patient trust the nurses and the best way to create that rapport is transparency. My supervisor, DON and everyone knows about it, the MD is aware. At this point I'm waiting to see what the decision is. I still feel terrible about the whole thing. Everyone says that errors occur and I'm bound to make more in the future but this feeling of horror and guilt just won't leave me. I really don't like making mistakes.

Hi everyone. I made a med error and I feel horrible about it and it was only the day after that I caught myself. I told my supervisors and they told me to fill out a med error form, I informed the MD and the patient had no adverse effects. I accidentally gave a patient oxycodone when they were due to have oxycontin. My issue now is that I was told I needed to inform the patient, I'm not sure that's a good idea, the meds are the same and it's just the releasing that's different. They had no adverse effects, no complaints of pain, no constipation, nothing. Thanking God for that. Plus the MD is aware and said it was fine. I feel like telling the patient will only make them lose trust in me and make the situation worse. I told my supervisor my position on that and they said they will review the facility policies. But I wanted to know what other nurses have experienced or done in that situation. Have you told the patient what happened?

It's been still a crazy experience. As you mentioned the load is not unusual for this setting, it's not quite acute nor is it long term but it's still dealing with patients with high acuity, enough to give me chills and palpitations. I've been feeling overwhelmed yes and frightened and that hasn't changed and I've realized from speaking to other workers that it's just the job. They say theres a very high turnover rate, people just don't stay. I spoke to my DON and she gave me 2 more days of orientation, 2 that's it. At this point, i'll give it a month. If it doesn't become at least bearable or even doable i'll quit. I really wanted a job any job so that I could be marketable/hireable as a nurse and that's all i got, other than home care. I don't want to say i'll give up nursing but bedside caring so far especially in that setting is not something i like at all. I can see myself become a very different person if I deal with that stress for long. I've already become short tempered and easily anger and it's only been a few days, imagine doing this for months if not years. I just can't. I'll give it a month and I will try my best, do it the right way, the safe way. If it doesn't work out, I'm going for something else. I'll try another freaking career before I take those scary shortcuts. The loans will wait for me as I learn something else. Sorry I think I'm seriously depressed and sad and in a funk, don't know how to come out of it. Trying to stay positive but i'm already in the negatives for that battle. I don't mean to be whiner just needed to vent a little and it's best someplace where someone can relate.

Hi everyone, I just got a job at a subacute facility. I work the 3p to 11P shift. I'm on my 8th day of orientation which will end in about 2 more days. I am feeling crazed, overwhelmed, scared and I'm starting to feel as if this is not for me. It feels like an impossible task. The patients need close monitoring but I never have time to do more than the minimal look over for them, basically a set of vitals. Most of my time i've been just passing medications and it's insane. I was given 10 patients of my own on friday and 1 admission. A nurse was supposed to help me but she disappeared most of the shift (probably doing orders or something) and I literally had no time to look for her. It was insane. The meds were missing or in another cart, pts. that were complaining, family members that wanted something, Aides that kept disappearing. It was hell. Yesterday I was with another nurse and he told me that I need more time management skills which okay I get but I noticed he skipped a lot of things (like treatments) and he told me if I wasted time getting caught up on the minutia I would be there until 3 am everyday. I feel like that is horrible, why is it like this? It seems everyone knows it's impossible. Everyone knows about these stupid 'shortcuts' everyone is taking so why is still like this. Why is nothing being done? Am i supposed to start developing these shortcuts as well like everyone else? I don't want to but I see no other way from what I can tell of the other nurses. It's scary and ridiculous. I hate it. I feel like I'm going to tear my hair out and the rub is I only had 10 patients and 1 admission and the other nurse was doing my orders for me. They've told me it gets as bad as 20 patients and 2 admissions at times. This is insane, how does anyone expect this job to be possible. I don't know what to do. I really really hate this feeling. I can't sleep and I feel horrible and just want to cry. I don't like that feeling. I'm really afraid i'll make a mistake, It's a frightening feeling. Maybe bedside nursing is not for me. I don't want to give up, please anyone let me know what you think? what do you think I can do to manage my time better? should I stick to it and hopefully eventually i'll get it? Emotionally wrung out, Sammie

Hello everyone, I am in desperate need for some advice. I was recently hired on an acute floor at a long term care facility, I am starting orientation tomorrow and I am very very nervous. I know since this is something new, it's okay to be anxious but i'm the type that try to be as prepared as possible in order to decrease my anxiety. I think hearing from other people's advice and thoughts will help me feel more secure. They said I will be receiving 2 weeks orientation and upon starting work, I will be working on the acute floor with one day in long term care, the 3 to 11pm shift. The DON said the acute floor is tough, with many types of disease processes and that medication pass and time management will be my biggest obstacles. Does anyone have any advice on how to overcome that? Any thoughts on how I can prepare myself? What are some mistakes that you made when you first started that you think I should avoid making? I know admissions are a big component of the 3-11 shift, any advice on that? I also heard that critical thinking and knowing when to intervene is important, are there any tips that you can give me to help me hone those skills (other than time lol)? Please, I am so nervous it's ridiculous. I know it is a right of passage and that nursing is tough period but I just want to avoid dumb mistakes and be as prepared as i can. As a new grad everything is new and I want to learn as much as I can but I don't want my fear of the unknown to trip me up and make me panic from the get go. Please share your thoughts or advice, I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance. Sammie

I completely get it. That test was tough. I wish you luck. Let me know how it goes.

I'm so happy!! Yay!!! It's such a great feeling and such a big relief. Congratulations!!!!