ESpeed15

Thanks. I know I am most definately going to apologize face-to-face when we next work. I know e-mail isn't very personal, but I couldn't let a week go by without telling her I was sorry.

I guess I should have been more specific. These patients were like just normal every day dirty and needed a bath. The patients were both completely bed bound, incontinent, and their beds were so wet that urine was puddling in the bed when we went to change their sheets. I know that I have no right to get upset at her like I did. I think I was wrong in how I handled the situation, but I wasn't wrong in telling the director. That is how things get fixed. Its like therea an unspoken spoken rule that we don't report people and that can get patients hurt. Especially with some of the patients we have. How dis did you handle your situation if you don't mind me asking? And thank you for commenting.

I had an incident happen recently with a night shift nurse that instantly made me hate the floor I work on and makes me feel like it isn't the place for me. Now, I don't know how I feel about nursing in general. I started my shift the other day and immediately had to do a bed bath and a complete linen change on a patient. I asked the night shift nurse about it since she was still there and she just seemed to have excuses as to why it didn't get done. She just kept saying she was busy and they only had one PCT over and over again. I guess being a new nurse (been working for 8 months), it still gets to me when things aren't done "by the book" and I told her I know we have PCTs, but it's our job to make sure the tasks we delegate get done correctly. After a couple of minutes of talking, she just shrugged her shoulders and said, "oh well, I was just busy last night" and kept giving excuses, so I gave up. I got very frustrated about this because I think that it is ridiculous. I have had situations like this happen multiple times to me where everyone says that we are doing everything that we should, with turning or changing patients, and then I get the patient and they have pressure ulcers. So, who gets yelled at by the family? ME! I have been told I am not doing my job and that if I cared at all about my patients, then I would want to do the best I can for them. That is something that I pride myself on, so to be told you aren't doing that really sucks! I tried to explain that to her when I was talking to her, but it just didn't make it through. So already frustrated about that, I told our Director about it. And vented to some other nurses, which I don't pride myself on. Later that morning, I go into another patient's room (who had the same nurse) and this patient was the same! So, I did a complete bedbath and linen change on this patient as well. What made this patient worse though, was that the patient care pad underneath the patient was dry, but the pillow and sheets underneath her were wet! I of course vented about this, too, to other nurses and told the Director later that day. When the nurse came back the next night I told her about the second patient that had the same problem and that it was unacceptable. Again she just kept saying how busy she was. I told her yes, I was busy too, and we only had one PCT too, but I was able to change that patient 5 other times that shift. (We also had all the same patients for 2 days) I was able to do that today and I had been able to do a admit and 2 dicharges in 2 hours and still keep up with changing, so being busy isn't a good excuse. She had been in each of the patient's rooms within one hour of shift change and I told her that if she would have come and told me they were wet, I would have had no problem helping to change them, but I wouldn't have left them wet like that. I also told her that I told the Director and that he was going to put in a report on it. I talked with my friend who works nights on my floor this morning and she said she needed to talk to me about what had happened. She told me that the night nurse had told our charge nurse about everything that I had said to her. Unknowingly, I had made her cry by how I told her about the problems and that I had told our Director. She also said that our charge nurse told her [my friend] that if I was going to start reporting people for things that were wrong, then she would make sure everything I did wrong was reported and that if I "wanted to act like an adult, then I would be treated like one." (Which doesn't make since to me, but oh well). This charge nurse is the same one that reported someone last week on the same patient because they didn't come and clean the patient up. After this all happened, I started thinking. I am such and introverted person and I am so worried about "rocking the boat". When I was on orientation, I didn't even want to make a big deal about having a horrible preceptor because I didn't want to look like the new nurse that comes in and starts causing problems. Almost everyone on my floor talks about each other, passess the buck when it comes to problems, and leaves stuff undone for others just so they can get out of work on time. Nurses will snapchat all day, complain about patient just for needing something, and PCTs will disappear multiple times throughout the shift. How did I go from someone who ran from conflict, to someone who starts it and doesn't even care? I know what I did was super unprofessional, I didn't take her out privately to talk to her, I was very aggresive when I talked to her about it, and I went behind her back and talked about her. I feel like the negativity of the floor I work on has made me bitter towards the other nurses and our patients, too. I used to never complain about patients because I always said that you never know what they are dealing with on top of being in the hospital and you don't know their story so there might be a reason they are acting the way they are. I always said that I wanted to be the nurse that I would want for myself or my family members, but right now I am far from that! I sent an email to the night nurse to apologize for making her feel like that and that I know we have a lot to deal with sometimes and that I wasn't acting like team player at all. Neither of us work until next week and I felt so guilty that I at least needed to contact her in some way to apologize. I just need some real advice!! Is this floor I work on just full of toxic people whose bad attitudes are rubbing off? How can I still work here and not let it consume me too or is their anyway I can help change the way everyone acts towards working here?? It bothers me so much and even more that I am starting to act the same way!

This could be a result of a great nursing school, great preceptors, and that you are meant to work I'm this department! I went to what I believe is an amazing nursing school. Almost every facility we went to had nothing but good things to say about students and registered nurses that have come from my school, even to the point of showing favor to us due to our overall work ethic. When I graduated, I knew that my instructors had prepared me to start working. I know that I don't know everything there is to know about nursing and probably never will, and I accept that, but I am confident about working. And there is nothing wrong with that! I, too, have a 12 week orientation that will begin this week. I plan on asking as many questions and learning as much as I can from these nurses. I will be working with stroke patients and have already, on my own, gotten my certification for the NIHSS stroke scale. I don't see anything wrong with being confident about what you have learned and what you continue to learn, whether it is on the job or on your own time. I would consider feeling confident after your orientation is due to the preceptor that you had. The fact that that one nurse precepts all the new nurses gives proof that she knows what she is doing and does it right!! I doubt that she would let someone go on the unit by themselves if they weren't ready. There are some people that pick up skills and the routine and duties faster than others, and I think that makes a difference in how you feel when you come off orientation. That doesn't mean you are smarter or a better nurse, just that your better at hands on tasks. Every preceptor program is different and each nurse has their own opinion to bring to the table when it comes to those experiences. Having a confident, organized, and knowledgeable preceptor will give the new nurse a different outlook than one that still gets everything done, but looks like a chicken running around with their head cut off every shift. Yes, be confident, but also be humble. The more seasoned nurses have probably forgotten more about nursing than you will ever know! Take the good days and remember them, you will need them on the bad ones! Never stop learning from nurses, patients, and doctors! Everyone has something to teach and everyone has something to learn.

This was veryopen and enlightening. Thank you for sharing!

I was required to use Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Exam by Linda Anne Silvestri and HESI Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Exam throughout nursing school. The Saunders book has a CD with lots of practice questions and the HESI book has a code to use online for more questions. I also had to attend the Hurst review and a HESI review, they are different and both help a lot! Since it has been so long since you were in nursing school, a review course would help you to go over all the information you need as well. There are websites, like nurselabs.com and mightynurse.com, that have tons of condensed information and practice questions. The NCSBN also has a review course that you can take. It does cost (3 week course for $50), but is worth it if you pass. If you graduated in 2012, the test plan for the NCLEX has changed and will change again this year in April (or around then). You can go to the NCSBN website and view the test plan to help you know how to focus your studies more. Maybe take your performance report to a previous instructor or a mentor and get them to give you some advice. Make sure you know the information, REALLY know it!! I wouldn't schedule my appointment until I felt extremely prepared, like OVERprepared. For me, the more questions I did, the more I understood because there is just so many times you can read something. Make sure to not only find out the correct answer for each question, but also the rationale. When you test, don't worry about your previous attempts. Go into it like it is your first time and be confident. Take all the time you need, take all the breaks you need, and read, read, and reread the questions and answers. I recently took NCLEX and was extremely nervous and I could tell when it was just getting too overwhelming for me. If I couldn't focus, I would take a break, walk around a little, look out the window, or anything until I calmed down and was able to do my best. It is hard, and it is supposed to be. While I want to encourage you to do your best and hope that you are able to pass, I also want to tell you that if you are doing everything that you can and still aren't able to pass, it might be better to pursue a different course. There are still other good jobs you can have and still be in the healthcare field. I will be praying for you!

There could be many reasons that these nurses are acting like this and none of them could have anything to do with you. Some nurses can get guarded over the years; they might not be completely happy with where they are professionally; or possibly because there is such a high turnover rate, they might either think to not try hard to get to know you because you might not be there long, or there is such a difference in either age, values, or beliefs that they don't really know how to overcome the gap. My best advice is to first work on yourself. As long as you are doing your job competently and getting your duties done efficiently, then you are doing your best. Something that happened to me in nursing school is that I have become so much more confident in myself, not just knowledge and skills, but my self-esteem has come a very long way! Be confident in yourself and not let a comment make you second guess yourself. Go the extra mile with the other nurses. Ask them if they need you to do anything when you work, ask them about a concept that you don't quite understand, or ask for any constructive criticism they might have to offer. You learn a lot in nursing school, but nothing can even compare to the knowledge and experiences of more seasoned nurses. If there is a certain nurse that seems to have a problem with you, ask if there is anything you have done wrong, or could do to make the work relationship better. And like another commenter stated, ask one to mentor you. You will gain a lot of knowledge and skill and it can be real helpful when you decide to apply to a position. If you want to stay on this unit, then you have to show them that you want to commit to it and are not just there until something better comes along. Trying to be an active team member says more about you and your work ethic than just continuing on the path you are in. I know how draining it can be to work with people who seem to have something negative to point out about you every time you turn around. Just give it your best and if nothing changes, at least you come away with the knowledge of how you don't want to be. Good luck, and I hope your situation improves!

As a new nurse, there are things for me to learn from her post, good and bad. While I most definately do not know enough of nursing to say what should have been done and what should not have, I can speak on experiences that I have. I am very particular about trying my best to do things the correct way, not just a short cut or whatever is easy for me. I have been that way since I got my CNA license 8 years ago. For me it doesn't matter if it takes 5 minutes or 50 minutes, I am taking care of someone else, and they deserve to be cared for on the highest level possible. I am very proud to have graduated from a college that preaches about doing complete head to toe assessments every time you meet a patient and to treat your patient first, not just what the monitors tell you. There have been times, as a student nurse, that I have been told by more experienced nurses that I was more worried about something wrong on a patient than they were. I think that when we get to the point where we don't worry about abnormalities with our patients is when we are the most dangerous. I have heard that nurses makes the worst patients and it is true. Though I am not saying what happened to the patient in this story is okay in any way, there are different ways to handle things. I have had no problem with going up the ladder when there have been things that I did not agree with while being treated or having my kids treated in any facility. Would I have put it out publically like this nurse did? Maybe not. It not only speaks down to the nurses she is talking about, but it doesn't put her in a good light either. There are more ways to handle situations than to shout it out online.

I am also a new grad. I had to choose between 3 different positions as well recently. What I did was to write out the positive and negative aspects of each job and look at how they fit into my life (married with 2 kids). If you know what you want to do eventually, it is a positive thing to begin there and gain your experience there. Personally, I feel that it is important to work on skills right out of school, so a job where you could do that could be important. I know that there are plenty of nursing skills that I have not done in a clinical setting or even since the first semester in classes! You might really love one position, but another position might be a better choice for you right now. Also remember that this isn't the one and only time you will get a job. Take your time and choose one that suits you and that you will enjoy going to every day. I hope this helps you make your decision! Good luck!!