"Eating Young"

[TangoLima]

This may have been discussed before. Haven't gone through all the discussions.

I am wondering if this is as widespread a problem as we hear it is. Does anyone have any "good" experiences where they weren't eaten?

[NurseBrittney]

I have a few bad experienes I could share, but 1 really posstive one.

I graduate in 1 month (YAY!) but my preceptor this semester was amazing. She was so thoughtful, considerate, moitivating, and really made me confident in myself and my nursing abilities. She was caring compassionate and so helpful to me. I felt like I should be paying her, because she was exhibit kind and caring nursing behaviours usually only reserved for patients. She offered to write me reference letters and really went out of her way to make me feel like I was on the right track. She was probably the one person who gave me the most confidence and motivation in my entire nursing school experience. She would be a great mentor to have.

As I have not yet worked as an RN, I can't tell any positive or neative experiences about it.

I can give you some horror stories about my very short stint as a tech in the ER if you are interested.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

there is a posting on this about every other day. If you use the search function you will get more than you ever wanted to know.

[nursemike, ASN, RN]

This may have been discussed before.

You said a mouthful, there.

There is a stickie under General Nursing Discussion entitled: Do nurses really eat their young? That thread is 97 pages long. The demon in the box on my desk won't let me post a link. I don't recommend reading the whole thread, but I do recommend reading the intro, then continuing the discussion there, if you are so inclined.

[helper T cell]

I am just entering my fourth month of a 5 month preceptorship on medsurg. I have not been eaten yet. All of the staff at my hospital have been very supportive. I just hope I will be able to manage on my own and that people will not become impatient with me once my official preceptorship is over. The toughest times I've had have been when I am getting overwhelmed with it all & wondering if I can handle the pt load when I'm on my own.

Nurses keep telling me that there are good days and bad days no matter how long you've been doing it. That is true so far and I have to say that when things are going good and I feel there have been positive outcomes nursing is so rewarding. On the other hand it is difficult when there isn't enough time & I get frazzled. I am figuring out how to prioritize more and more and also how to deal with trying to be there for everybody. Delegating gets easier as you go along as well as communicating with others when you will be able to do the task they require.

I have had some really good input from a nurse that graduated 2 years in front of me in my same program. She told me to do the priority thing; delegate other items that need to be done right away and put the rest on a list.

So to answer the OP; I am having a positive experience as a new nurse working with my peers.