3rd Week of Orientation - now planning of quitting the job...

shammy · Jul 28, 2006

My comment is to first speak with your nurse manager and the nurse educator and your preceptor. If nothing changes I then look for a new job - but you do need to speak up for yourself and say what you need.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jul 28, 2006

I would first speak to your nurse manager and tell them all about your plans of resigning from this hospital unless you receive some more focused training and better preceptorship. Tell them about specific complaints you have had with your apparent lack of training. They invested time and money into hiring you, so they would be quite silly to let you resign without taking any action to try to keep you in the door.

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Jul 28, 2006

Due to similar issues my husband (at the time a new GN) handed in his resignation to his manager just a few weeks into orientation. Thankfully his manager is a reasonable level-headed person and she called him in to discuss things together. She let him choose a preceptor (he had been on the unit long enough to kind of know the different preceptor's styles) and schedule which thankfully matched. It did cause some hard feelings to his previous preceptor (who had left him out to drown shift after shift) but he had a good orientation. Also thanks in part to the actions of a good manager he is still working there 4 years later.

Don't just quit, talk with your manager and give him/her a chance. If this person is not willing to help remedy the situation then you don't want to work there. If they will not be there for you at your most vunerable time in your nursing career they will hang you out to dry for the rest of your career there.

Trauma Columnist · Jul 28, 2006

I agree - talk to your manager and/or educator first. Many times these preceptors are left without any resources. They need resources too such as how to teach, how best to lead a new nurse from new orientee to competent nurse. Good luck.

P_RN, ADN, RN · Jul 28, 2006

I also agree. I think that you need to speak w/ the NM and tell of your problems. Did your preceptor refuse to come into the rooms? Did you ask him/her to? My style is different from other preceptors. It may be that you just need a different guide along your way. I am surprised that you were "turned loose" on your second week.

That is how I was oriented back in the 70s! 4th day/ team leader......20 patients. Patients weren't as sick back then, and some stayed weeks at a time for something now that would be treated in an urgent care center and given a back to work slip for the next day.

nursemike, ASN, RN · Jul 28, 2006

I agree with all of the above, but would also add that's it's going to be a horrible experience, no matter what they do. Orientation is the pits! The only thing worse is coming out of orientation. It's a living hell, I tell you!

Well, it is pretty overwhelming. On one of my first nights with a full load, the wheels seemed to come off all over the place and I was utterly swamped, so that my preceptor had to bail me out repeatedly. And this was well into orientation, when I ought to have been getting the hang of things, a bit. Imagine my shock when my preceptor said, "This has been a good night." I was incredulous, but she went on to explain that getting overwhelmed, fighting through it, and even asking for help are all pretty typical of nursing in the real world.

One of my proudest night since orientation was a terrible debaucle--pt fell, another climbing out of bed, new admission running up and down the halls naked--and me there charting until 0900 the next morning. It was awful, but I happened to hear the nurse who followed me telling the day shift charge that it would be terribly unfair to give me that assignment again the next night, and the CN replied, "I know, but I have to. I don't have anyone else who can handle it."

Trauma Columnist · Jul 28, 2006

So sorry about your awful shift NurseMike. I all too readily remember when in the ER I've had the naked patient in the hall (with the staff laughing), one of my other patients pulling at their 4-point restraints and my third patient came out of her room and hit me in the face! Gee whiz! I can say this all with a smile on my face nowadays - lol.

NaomieRN · Jul 28, 2006

Talk to the nursing manager as others have said.

Jo Dirt · Jul 29, 2006

Now, I'm planning of quitting the job and look for another hospital with better preceptorship. During our first week of orientation, we, the new grads, were promised that we will progress gradually. I don't think the preceptors were given guidelines or were oriented about preceptorship. I just passed my board and I don't want to risk my license.
Please advise. Thanks.

The grass will probably not be greener anywhere else you go. From what I can gather from scores of others in the nursing field, everyone is promised good orientation and training, but few ever get it. A lot of the time the units are so hectic/short-staffed/overworked, they aren't even able to give you the orientation you were promised. Even if their intentions start out good.

It's just the nature of the business, I'm afraid.

firefox828 · Jul 29, 2006

P_RN: As soon as she saw me, before giving of nurses' report, she told me that she'll let me work on my own.

Thanks a lot for the enlightenment. After reading your experiences... big sigh of relief.

PhoenixGirl · Jul 29, 2006

On my 2nd day with my preceptor, I was assigned to take care of 2 patients -- did everything on my own (preceptor never worked alongside with me): one very unstable (w/ trach and G-tube, aphasic, immobile), the other kept yelling and screaming due to excruciating pain. One doctor even commented to me that they shouldn't have assigned me to the pt with trach and G-tube.

No, you should have never been left with a patient that had a trach w/o proper orientation and time to prove your skills. Where I work we have to get checked off and oriented by respiratory in order to do anything with our trach patients. I also had a few weeks one on one with my preceptor (and he made sure I had demonstrated adequate learning) before taking my own patients.

If I were you I'd talk to the nurse manager and preceptor together about your concerns before taking any patients on the floor again. If they are not willing to support you, then by all means go somewhere else. However it may be that your preceptor is feeling understaffed herself, overworked or overwhelmed and just needs some guidance on how to educate you. Maybe your nurse manager has no idea you were put out on your own?

Good luck