Jaellys

I switched from small hospital to huge hospital. I’ve only been training for a week and am finding myself overwhelmed. I even have asked help for certain drips that I’ve never given at my small hospital on med surg. I’m overwhelmed by finding who to call for what, where everything is, different and many procedures that I’ve never dealt with. i guess I feel like I thought this transition would have been smoother since I’ve worked in a hospital. I’m feeling like a new grad all over again and only the basics come to me easily. how long will it take for me to be comfortable? I just feel ashamed because I have a few years of experience already.

I’m moving and so I applied for a large hospital a couple hours away and got the job. its a meg surg unit but I’ve been told it will be more fast paced than my current med surg unit, since the hospital is larger and takes a bit more higher acuity patients. im getting two weeks of orientation with a preceptor, sharing the patient load. Thankfully It will be the same Charting system that I use now. any tips? This is my first job switch. I’ve heard the unit is very supportive of new people but I’m still nervous as it’s gonna be busier. It will still be night shift. I’m worried about not being able to find things or know which doc to call, or encounter something that I haven’t done before and looking stupid since I have experience already and “should know this”. I have 3 years med surg experience.

For work life balance, is it doable? The 2 12s is what is worrying me. I work 8s and 12s now but am picking up a new schedule.

Nightnerd, you nailed it! Though I have stopped watching medical shows because I just can’t stand how out of touch with reality they are. Developing a dark sense of humor has been my coping mechanism for those crazy and draining nights. Definitely have lost a lot of faith in humanity unfortunately. I have seen that doctors, and the healthcare system in general, is far from perfect. Mistakes are made. And it makes me more vigilant with my own health and makes me question my own doctors decisions more, as I have seen things fall through the cracks too many times. I guess you could say I’m paranoid about certain things! I got prescribed a medication recently and I looked it up to ID the pill to make sure the pharmacist didn’t fill my prescription with the wrong drug. and I’m comforted now by the fact that I may not know the answer to everything, but I know what my resources are and will find the answer/figure it out.

I think to help me get accustomed to the unit and the orders etc. does this seem unusual?

Two weeks of floor training for a nurse with two years of med surg experience. This will be for a med surg floor. I’ve been told it’s busier on this floor but the patient ratio is lower than I’m used to which is good I guess. They said it would be one patient first day, then second two patients, 3rd day 3 patients, and the final days with 4 patients. i also know their computer system as I currently use it now.

A meeting for a sentinel event?

I was told that working in a small, 30 bed hospital as a med surg nurse makes me less of a nurse than one who works in a large hospital. Is this true?

Hi guys, I have been working at a very small hospital (68 beds) for the past 1.5 years, and I have always wanted to work at the large, 680+ bed hospital that I did all of my clinicals in. A couple of my family members work there (not as nurses but either way, they love it.) I am happy where I am, my coworkers are great and I am feeling more confident with myself, but my heart always goes back to the thought of working at that large hospital that I did my clinicals in. I work in med-surg and would be applying for a med-surg position. Could this be a case of the grass seems greener on the other side? I feel like the nurses at the large hospital will look down upon me if I get hired because I come from a small hospital. The small hospital has a very harmonious work environment and management is awesome. Has anybody else taken the risk? Is it feasible to work part time at both jobs? I dont have any kids/other outside of work obligations. Or on call at one place, part time at another? So stumped. :/

I work in a large teaching hospital and I really love it. I have been here since November. I am in a BSN program where I attend class one day per week and do the rest online. I work evening shift and some night shifts. It is becoming really hard to balance school and work, especially because the workload is increasing in school. Should I wait until the 6 month mark to ask to reduce my FTE? I guess I would have to apply to an open part time position Im assuming. I just dont want to look bad this early in the game. And how should I go about doing this? Thank you!

Basically I called wrong doc during the night and got an order from them, they weren't supposed to be taking call until 7 am. I am still feeling so bad about it.

That makes sense, thank you so much!

I am thinking hypothetically about this since I have been studying and brushing up on med/surg nursing books. I am a new hospital rn. since it's only a matter of time before I administer blood on the floor to a patient, what do you do if you are trying to get consent for the blood administration but the patient is not alert and oriented (brain damage, dementia, etc.) and the POA is not present (night shift for example)? Or if they don't have a POA to sign?

I feel so bad. I came down with a horrible stomach bug, violently vomiting and had diarrhea. I could not possibly work like that. Is it likely that I will be fired or get a bad review in my 90 day review for this? Is it necessary to go to the doc and get a doctors note?

I also attend an RN-BSN program at a local University. Its becoming a lot for me. I feel like a lot of the newbies at my work are working so much overtime because they want to, but I am not signing up for extra shifts due to school. Would it be in my best interest to pick up a shift? If so, how often? I literally am using up every minute of my day with something whether its school, spending time with my husband and kids, etc. But, I also dont want to be seen as a non-team player. My hospital does 12 hour shifts. I was originally supposed to be part time because of school, but my manager asked me if I could take an additional shift each week to make me full time. So, I feel that I am being a team player by becoming full time to help the unit, while sacrificing my school time. But its probably not the same thing as covering shifts. And for what its worth, I have never called out (dont plan to) and am always on time. Thanks guys.

Thanks for the replies guys. I still want to know, though. When do symptoms usually arise after giving phenergan iv push if they do? He was fine all shift (5 hours after). No burning or anything. In the clear? The reason I ask is because I was told IVP is very dangerous

I always knew that phenergan should be given cautiously due to the possible complications when giving iv push. I gave a young 40 something year old patient 25mg phenergan diluted in 10 ml normal saline in his peripheral iv in his forearm. He also had a NS running at 125cc/hr. I gave it over 2 minutes. He denied any pain, and his iv site looked great and no burning or pain was ever experienced throughout the rest of the shift. Ive been told that people can lose limbs if given peripheral iv. That was how it was ordered and nurses before me were giving it that way. If if he didn't complain of any pain in his arm/iv site all shift, is it ok? Or could there still be a chance for complication? I pushed other meds in that line later in the shift with no complaints. I'm just really worried about it

I will be working 8's. This unit and night shift is pretty taxing and I'm afraid I'm going to burn out with this schedule, but hoping the 5 days off will be rejuvenating. Considering decreasing my hours in 6 months to a year because I am also going to school for my BSN. Thanks for the replies.

I've been told that most nurses do 3 12's in a week. Plus the night shift makes it that much harder I think to do the 5 8's in a row.

I got my schedule and I work 5 nights in a row, then 5 nights off, and it repeats. Kind of discouraged about the working 5 nights in a row, wondering if Im going to burn out? (8 hour shifts).

I feel so horrible at my new job. I am very fortunate to have gotten hired at this hospital I really love the facility and coworkers but I don't feel I am cut out for this no matter how hard I try. My background is 1 year of home health. I am on orientation on a med surg unit and I have done 10 shifts out of a 3 month orientation. I have 4 patients at this point and I honestly feel so incompetent. the computer system is hard to get used to, i take so long to do admits, and I feel I take too long on my assessments because I feel my skills are lacking. I always have to look things up or ask. I feel that I ask too many questions. I also have a hard time understanding the big picture of the patient. i have a hard time determining when I should call the doc, knowing different protocols, etc. there is just so much to know and I feel overwhelmed! Is it normal to feel this way or is hospital nursing not for me? My preceptors say I'm doing well but I feel like a complete idiot even though I've been a nurse for a year. When do assessments skills tend to get better, and how long until you feel comfortable in the hospital setting? This is so much different than home health obviously..So frustrated and discouraged..

I graduated almost two years ago and have been working in a very busy rehab facility and at a busy clinic as a RN. I will now be working at a hospital on the med/surg unit with 10 weeks of orientation on nights. Does anyone have any tips for me with this transition? Has it been too long since graduating to the point that I will not have the right critical thinking skills to function well in the hospital? I used a lot of my nursing skills in both settings (rehab and clinic), but I have heard that its a different type of thinking than the hospital and many people crash and burn if they dont go right into the hospital after school. I am very excited to learn but also a bit nervous because of what I have read on here about needing to start in the hospital, which I obviously didnt do. I took what experience I could get until I scored a hospital job.

I graduated almost two years ago and have been working in a very busy rehab facility and at a busy clinic as a RN. I will now be working at a hospital on the med/surg unit with 10 weeks of orientation on nights. Does anyone have any tips for me with this transition? Has it been too long since graduating to the point that I will not have the right critical thinking skills to function well in the hospital? I used a lot of my nursing skills in both settings (rehab and clinic), but I have heard that its a different type of thinking than the hospital and many people crash and burn if they dont go right into the hospital after school. I am very excited to learn but also a bit nervous because of what I have read on here about needing to start in the hospital, which I obviously didnt do. I took what experience I could get until I scored a hospital job.

I have a hospital interview with the nurse manager on Monday.. I have been practicing. It's supposed to be an hour long. How many can I expect on average? I know there's no way to know for sure. Thank you. also is it weird that I didn't have a phone interview first? I am getting interviewed by the unit manager first. Hmm..

Just trying to up my chances for this specific dream hospital.. I got an interview recently for a hospital 2 hours away. But this certain hospital that I did my clinicals at and the hospital Ive always wanted to work at since before becoming a nurse is not calling me back. Ive applied to a few jobs there in the last month, including a residency for new grads/non-acute care nurses (me). They are big on the BSN degree it seems. I really want to work med/surg there. I have 1.5 years of experience in a clinic/subacute rehab setting. I will be enrolled in WGU's rn-bsn program soon. Will it look good to at least be enrolled? What else can I do to increase my chances? Thanks everyone.