Scared and don't know what to do...

First...you need a hug -- (((meeppeep))) :icon_hug:

Second...as a new grad of three months, you should NOT be on your own on a specialty unit in the first place. My question to your nurse manager is: How the heck did that happen under his/her watch?

When nurses choose to not start out on med/surg floors, and yet choose to start out on critical level specialty units to begin their learning as a nurse out of school, this is often times what happens to them...not all new nurses...I said "often times...for some...".

Now that you are there, perhaps you should stick it out, but ask the union for help in extending your orientation under a preceptor who knows how to orient new staff...especially new nurses. Cardiac is complicated enough when you have experience as a nurse in other departments let alone as a new grad.

If Cardiac is NOT your first love of nursing, seek a different unit to orient on. I recommend Med/Surg. On Med/Surg, you get a variety of diagnoses to learn from, a variety of pharmaceutical meds to master, and patients who will be admitted with histories of old cardiac diseases secondary to their admitting diagnoses. This will give you the variety you need to ease your way into the nurses profession.

Med/Surg is a specialty in and of itself...always has been, but many new nurses will avoid Med/Surg because they think it won't be challenging enough. Believe me when I tell you this..........it is DEFINITELY challenging enough, especially if you take on med/surg in a university hospital.

I wish you well. Let us know how things go. :icon_hug:

What kind of mistakes are they? Are they medication mistakes or mistakes about procedures or something else? What I would recommend is to talk with someone about every common procedure you do, and write down all the things that need to be done for them, such as if the patient is scheduled for X, then they need to be NPO for 4 hours, and hold this med or that med. This will be an invaluable reference for yourself. Never be afraid to call MRI, or Xray or the therapy departments to ask about prep work for procedures. Feel free to consult a pharmacist at any time too.

If you are having trouble with meds, write down all the common ones and look them up to know them. And/or come early to work (like 45 minutes or more) and look up all your patient's meds before your shift starts, that way when you go into the room you can rattle them all off and what they are for with confidence.

Are you having trouble with tele? If so, most hopsitals should have ekg classes that you can sign up for. Never be afraid to ask another nurse for a second opinion about a tele strip or your patient situation. There are so many gray areas in healthcare that it is important to involve others if you are concerned about your patient.

3 months is still very new on the unit. Hospital nursing is very rough for multiple reasons.

Good luck!

Wow, I can't believe you guys have a way better orientation. Sadly, none of the health authorities here offer an orientation longer than a month. I'm only able to request an extra week or two of orientation at most. My situation is actually pretty bad. They gave me a choice of either staying another month on cardiac surgery or try 3 more months on a med/surg unit. I opted to choose 3 months on medicine. I don't really like medicine, but at this point I have no choice and my license is at stake if I don't progress in those 3 months...

Hi. My situation is kind of like yours. I actually just graduated from a 2nd Degree BSN program in Dec '08, and I just got this job Feb '09; however, they told me on April 10th, that I might want to transfer out of this Medicine unit after only 4 weeks of floor orientation. Technically, I'm still employed at the hospital I'm at, because they believe I have potential. After some soul searching, I found out that the 6 week orientation that the hospital I'm at for Med Surg floors doesn't really provide the orientation that I need as a new nurse on a Medicine unit.

I actually have an interview on a Telemetry unit as a new grad at another hospital, which offers a 12 week orientation for Med Surg nurses. At the hospital I'm technically employed at, they didn't give me the opportunity to really organize my orientation schedule. They pretty much said, hey, you'll work 12 hour shifts with 3 days break in between, and guess what, you'll forget everything you learned. At this other hospital, I'll be working 8 hour shifts and therefore have more time to hone the skills in between. With that said, I'd say you're pretty lucky that you're given an opportunity to practice 12 weeks on a Medicine unit at that same hospital.

When I was talking with my mom, a retired RN, and practicing skills in front of her, she mentioned that my skills were kind of slow, and that I needed more practice. THen, I figured out that if I could hone my skills more, then I would have more time to focus on the critical thinking part that so many of the nurses said I lacked. Maybe you could do that, and see if you can hone your skills with a more experienced nurse?

Just a suggestion. I wish you the best!