quick question for recent grads

1. Describe the orientation process you received when you began working as a new graduate? 1 weeks of didactic preparation which covered things like critical thinking, helpful hints on nursing skills along with prioritation, NCLEX review, and we also went through and learned how to use all of the equipment that we would use on the floor. Then I was put on the floor with a preceptor. The maximum amount of time we have to orient was 12 weeks. Some were ready by 8 weeks. I was finished by the end of my 10th week.

2. What assistance from your mentor did you find most helpful in making the transition? She made me think. I would ask questions and she wouldn't just flat out tell me the answer...she would have a conversation with me and ask pertinent questions that would lead me to the question I originally asked her. She is hard on me and makes me work. I love it. She doesn't hold my hand, and never has from day 1. The first 2 weeks were really nerve wracking, but I got use to it and learned that she is prepping me to care for these patients by myself.

3. What responsibilities of the nursing position did you find, and may still find, most challenging? That all MD orders are carried out in a timely fashion. Juggling the paperwork for a fresh post-op while still caring for my other 5 patients and documenting all care on them. Sometimes the most difficult thing to deal with is the family.

4. What activities do you engage in to promote your personal health? I go to the gym three times a week, and I eat right. I take plenty of healthy food to work, so I always have snacks when needed. Going to the gym helps me deal with all the stress that I contract from work. I cant vent on the eliptical machine and not my patients.

5. What advice do you have for a new graduate nurse? You will be scared...thats a good thing. Never lose that! It will keep you on your toes and you will know what is going on with your patients when you have that anxiety at work. When you need to call the MD, know your pt's current vitals, what you want to tell the dr, what you think should be done, the patients current assessment, current meds, and current labs. Know your stuff, because the MD will want to know all of these things.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask me for any clarification....

Thank you so much for answering my questions! May I ask, when did you graduate? Do you still work in Med-surg?

Thanks for your time.

1. Describe the orientation process you received when you began working as a new graduate? 2 weeks of hospital orientation (paperwork, insurance, hospital policies) and then 12 weeks with a preceptor ( I am going into the ICU area)

2. What assistance from your mentor did you find most helpful in making the transition? Making me do things instead of just watching. Baptism by fire!

3. What responsibilities of the nursing position did you find, and may still find, most challenging? Our patients are critical so their conditions change on a dime so I find myself on a constant high. Am really tired at the end of the shift.

4. What activities do you engage in to promote your personal health? yoga

5. What advice do you have for a new graduate nurse? it is really difficult out there finding a job and you need to make sure you like the area you will be working in. Start looking to early and if you don;t know something ask.