AnxietyMaven

Wow that's insane. I've yet to hear that thankfully. I had coworkers laugh and say I'm finally growing a backbone for telling a patient I can't help them find their phone.

In ER I insert what I can... Most of the time it's an 18 in the AC if I can get it. If it's an ICU patient it's 2 -18's (obviously again... If I can get it). This is important to keep my patient alive until I can transfer to ICU while pressure bagging fluids to bring up their pressure... That said, if I'm giving report and you ask for another IV? ?… It's not going to happen when I have 5 other patients. It's not me being rude, I just I don't have the time. I don't think any of us "have the time" so I'm not being snarky and starting anything here by saying that. I don't see not placing an additional one as a lack of professional courtesy. On the topic, I usually say what/where/gauge PIV a patient has so that the nurse taking report doesn't have to ask, and interrupt me giving report ?.

? That's the hard part. To be and look like the professional when they have worn you down all shift. Maybe it was me that just screamed "I'm exhausted" that had him more anxious. I'm grateful for all the tips y'all. Thank you!

Nope AOx4... Left AMA at another hospital because they weren't happy with the treatment received ? .... It didn't take long to figure out why. No family allowed in ER due to covid right now but... Sometimes doesn't family make it worse? ? I didn't even think to get the charge involved. We usually don't unless it's assaultive behavior because ER is just full of all sorts of characters. Maybe next time (and there will be a next time) I'll reach out to charge to see if that helps. Thanks for the ideas and support.

Not a new grad, but fairly new. 2 years experience and I still struggle to deal with the impatient patient. Little backstory: I work ER. We don't have rooms but rather we have bays that are separated by curtains. At least once a shift I have a patient that yells out for me when I'm not right at the bed side. Normally I can set expectations early on with something like "Sir/ma'am I can see and hear you. If you say something to me I will respond, however most times I'm not going to be able to come to you immediately, especially if I'm with another patient. I don't want to cause any frustration and I will respond once I am able." Last night was different. My patient kept yelling/grunting constantly (at least at the time it felt like that). No acute distress... Just wanted to be handed a cell phone, repositioning, what's taking so long, once or twice was to pee, wanted water etc... If the patient saw or heard me, they were yelling for me, saw me on the phone and yelled for me, I was with a different patient next to them and they yelled for me.... On and on it goes. I'd respond "I'll be with you in a moment" but they would talk to me while I was with the other patient. My tech helped with the toileting but it was always something. They were disturbing other patients and taking my attention away from others that needed me. I reiterated my spiel about responding when able multiple times. It's like constantly pushing on the call bell but instead of the "ding ding" it's "nurse!" If I wasn't immediately bedside they would continue to yell even after I acknowledged them. How do I manage this behavior*** Can I say/do something different. Am I just being a crappy nurse because I'm frustrated by this behavior***

You really have to ask yourself: Is it realistic to go from telehealth to ER in the middle of a crisis? Is there anyway you could work on an acute care floor instead of jumping right into the ER? I'd be very concerned for your ability to practice safely in this kind of situation. As much as you love your organization, it is still your license on the line. ER is not a floor you can just show up on and muddle your way through. I hope you can find a way you contribute without risking your license.

I wanted to say how moving this post is, and how grateful I am for reading it. Thank you for sharing your knowledge on something that absolutely needs more attention.

I'm going to attempt to answer this question from my perspective as a new grad, and from my experiences in my nursing school. I feel our instructors did a good job at relating the possible hardships as a nurse. I had one clinical instructor ask each of us "why do you want to be a nurse" with the explanation that our jobs as nurses would entail some of the worst of the human condition. If one of the students said "for the money" ? she'd reply that they needed to rethink their career choice. Our instructors ALL relayed the working hours expected, and the fact that most nursing is not a 9-5 job. The problem (from my perspective) is that people didn't listen and didn't throw themselves into clinical work. I had a buddy call in tears because she was moved to work as an aide because her unit was shut down due to covid. Cue the horror when she had to change a patient diaper and give a bed bath. She'd never done it in clinical. Meanwhile I was laughing the whole time she was talking because I'd been cleaning butts since our first clinical rotation. As far as skills go..geez... All of this made me laugh. Some of my clinicals were at cancer hospitals that had IV teams. I never stuck a single patient in the clinical setting. The nurses on the floors didn't even start IVs or draw blood. All of that was handled by IV teams and phlebotomy techs (lucky them right). I bet you those specific skills degraded over time with experienced nurses, but that doesn't make them any less of a nurse. I guess some commenters may think so. I guess what I am saying here is that it all depends on the individual experience. I'd appreciate it if all new grads weren't lumped together as lazy, or lacking skills. The truth is most new grads don't make it to 5 years at the bedside. It may be because they get in and hate it, or it may be more experienced nurses looking down on them. Be Kind.

I'm curious how you get time to sit down?? "If you're sitting down then you aren't learning or working" "If every single patient on the floor has had all of their vitals and ADLs done for that shift then you might have time to sit." These are both quotes from my clinical instructors. Be the difference. Be the student that works your tail off and shows the staff that you came to learn and work, especially if they aren't very warm towards you. Ask yourself: do you do all of the patient care that you can? Vitals, all ADLs, feeding if needed, changing linens, changing and cleaning soiled diapers? If you don't know what to do then ask what you can help with and ignore any attitudes.

Please don't think I'm bragging here: I got 99% for Kaplan medsurg. I went through the Kaplan practice tests and then the remediation for each subject. I read ALL of the information for every question, including the ones I got right. I feel the material not only helped me with the Kaplan exam but also as study material for my medsurg final which was also an A, when my previous test scores were low B or C. I say all this to help, not brag. If this is the way the testing will be done in the future, you can strategize and prepare for the Kaplan using their resources.

The professor is absolutely not to blame. The OP violated the rights of medication administration x3. Heparin isn't IM, but SQ (wrong med, and the med given the wrong route) And OP guessed at the dosage, and meds to be given since OP couldn't find the MAR. (Wrong dosage) My clinical instructor would have failed me for just that alone.

I know in my school if you don't pass their standardized test to see if you're ready for the NCLEX they will drop you from the program. It is to save the school from having a lower NCLEX pass rate and IMO a shady practice.

I'm so sorry you feel this way. I felt the same way during medsurg clinical (I actually had to drop because my anxiety and depression was so crippling, and had to wait until the new anxiety meds kicked in to begin again) So I'm commenting from that frame of reference. You aren't a failure or stupid or an idiot for feeling this way at all. It sounds like you need some professional help to get through this period of adjustment and that is 100% okay. Try reaching out to you HCP to see if he/she has any recommendations on a therapist or meds that could help you. I thought I was done too, but I just needed a little help. Maybe this doesn't apply to you or maybe it does. Regardless, be kind to yourself.

I can tell you what I learned from my experience. You are going up against people that want to be in nursing school just as much as you do, and are going to present their best scores. No one that entered my BSN class had less than 85 on any portion of their Hesi. Many had 4.0 GPA and a hesi average of 90+. The program that you're applying to obviously may have a different range of averages though. You need to decide if getting that application in for the Spring is more important than having more time to prepare. Only you can decide that.

Student nurse here! I feel your pain but I promise that it absolutely does get better after practice practice practice. Practice on your parents, siblings, friends, and anyone else that will let you assess them. The more times you do it, the more you will feel confident in your skills. Second thing... And I know you didn't ask how to deal with it, but you mentioned it so.. Breathe deep before you go into the patients rooms, and then cut yourself a little slack. You're going to screw up and that is perfectly fine. Take your assessment sheet with you and take it slow. You aren't going to remember everything anyway and you need to write your findings down. Make sure you fill in your spots. Watch YouTube for nursing assessments to get a feel of the flow.