Question About Orientation

I havent been out there yet, still need to take the boards but i agree with Commuter.

A long orientation doesn't have to be a bad thing. Use that month and get the most out of it! Know that what you learned in school will greatly differ from how you function on the floor.

You have a lot of things to get used to... paperwork is a doozie! There are forms for everything and multiple places to chart some things and it can be very time consuming when you aren't familiar with the type of documentation that particular facility does. Also, learning where things can be found can be frustrating and time consuming... so look in drawers, closets, ask where storage rooms are for oxygen, where the crash cart is, where supplies are kept. Time management is also going to be a challenge. Being organized can make or break you for having a good day. Finding ways to get that in order during orientation will save you a lot of time spent after your shift finishing up things.

Get in the charts and learn about these patients you're going to be assuming the care of. Take the time to really establish a relationship with them so that they will trust you when you are on your own.

Jump in and offer your help. If your preceptor/proctor has an order to insert a foley catheter, offer to do it for them! Do the dressing changes, if you see a patient who is a fall risk taking themselves to the bathroom, assist them and then take the time to do some patient teaching about why it's important they ask for assistance.

Help the nurses aides! I cannot stress this enough. If you build a good report with the nurses aides you will find your job to be so much easier. They are your eyes and ears when you have several patients to keep track of. Scratch their backs and they'll scratch yours. If you come into your new job with the attitude that they are "just" nurses aides, don't be surprised if they don't do a thing to help you. I was a CNA for 6 years prior to going to school to be a LVN. The nurses who treated me well I made it a point to help them do their job as much as possible. The ones who treated me like crap... well lets just say I didn't go out of my way to be nice to them.

For your first week or so I'd just shadow the preceptor/proctor and not do much patient care, focus more on the charts, the paperwork, locating things... week 2 jump in there and offer your help with procedures, help the nurses aides, get organized... week 3 take on a few patients of your own, do all of their care, meds, treatments, documentation... by the end of week 3 take on 1/2 of the patient load. By week 4 your preceptor/proctor ought to be shadowing you. You run the show and let them help you where needed. That's the only way you are going to get a REAL sense of how things are.

Good luck!!

i started my first job at a ltc facility and they are requiring me to have atleast 7 weeks of orientation. i'm on my 5th week now. the first 3 weeks was with the supervising rn doing all sample paperwork.. of course, that didn't help because there is so much that i will have to ask what form for what situation for a while until i know. now, i'm on the floor and i do most of the work and the floor nurse watches over me. i have learned alot in a short period of time, but it is deffinetly not boring... there is no time to be bored, even as an orientee when you have help.

As others have said, jump in and do things so that you'll be more familiar with the job when you are working on your own. I doubt it seriously if you'll be bored, except during class time. But, make sure that you read policy and procedures. The things that people will probably show you are the short cuts. It may not be a bad thing, because most nurses cannot survive without creating ones of their own, but you had better know what the policy is for certain things in case you are asked. At least you'll know.

Also, when it comes to the paperwork, try and get a sample piece of each of the forms you have to complete and fill it out with Jane Doe names, and keep them in a folder. This way, when it comes up, you can follow your own examples. Good luck! And, also, always have a small notepad to document incidentals to refer to, with the numbers of supervisors, physicians, and whatever. It is invaluable!!

A good preceptor wouldn't let you be bored. A good preceptor is the one towards the end who is bored because you are doing all the work. I've never heard of a new grad being bored.