There is something of a pattern here on allnurses with the Newbie and Seasoned Nurses. The Newbies tend to seek information and support, whereas the Seasoned discuss experiences and share knowledge.
This is a very general perspective, may be the natural order of things, and does not apply to every situation, but it's like I said, it's a sort of pattern I've noticed.
In discussing differences between Newbies and Seasoned Nurses, this thread has the potential to go off in multiple directions, yet continue to remain true to the topic. The direction that I would like to begin this discussion with a passing and taking the torch sort of thing.
As long as I can remember, I have been attracted to older people. I loved hearing them tell tales of how it use to be and what they thought about how things are now. I would sometimes even ask them what they believed the future would bring.
Multiple older people, ranging from relatives to friends to professionals, truly influenced and had an effect on my life and career. I sought their perspective and knowledge and I believe that seeking helped to make me the person I am and the Nurse I was.
Basho said something along the lines of, "Follow not in the footsteps of the wise, but seek what they sought".
A passing of the torch. Or the baton.
If my perception regarding this thread is correct, it will receive the majority of the posts by Seasoned Nurses sharing their perspective. Very few Newbies will make submissions.
Why is that?
I've got some thoughts of my own but want to read and discuss yours first.
Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
2 hours ago, ajdizzle43 said:
There always needs to have a level of respect. Things, topics, ideals go left because people fail to show respect.
Let me hear an "AMEN!"
An LPN for 13 years. I tend to favor those who are, or were, LPNs due to the fact that there's so much- and I use this term with all due respect- "grunt" work involved.
It has been my pleasure to have worked with som top-notched Cracker Jack LPNs throughout my career. I, myself, enjoyed working as an LPN for 7 years before becoming an RN, which just seemed to be the next logical step.
2 hours ago, ajdizzle43 said:
I always show respect to those in the room, even if I am by myself.
Here, here! Self respect to oneself is an important path to the respect of others.
I was doing an ICU rotation as a student LPN, caring for a Patient with a TBI who was unconscious. "Even though unconscious", my Instructor said, "Let the patient know everything you are going to do, or are doing, with him".
I carried that concept throughout my career, and with every patient- whether conscious, lucid, confused, psychotic, what have you- I informed the Patient of the intervention.
I have indeed been vaccinated (though before my vaccines, I admittedly changed in my vehicle a time or two...or seven...after I had been pulled to COVID for the night ? )
I love reading everyone's stories and I can't wait until I'm able to contribute stories of my own!
Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
1 hour ago, BagelBomber said:
I can't wait until I'm able to contribute stories of my own!
To make a long story short, the reason being that just because it happened to me it doesn't necessarily make it interesting, I joined allnurses because I wanted something to contribute.
I made the premise in another thread that we all here for ourselves. In other words, BagelBomber, if it happened to you, it's interesting to at least one person.
You never know who is going to find what interesting, so PROLIFICALLY POST AWAY!
Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
On 6/7/2021 at 7:16 AM, Davey Do said:
this thread has the potential to go off in multiple directions,
One direction that I would prefer this thread not go is into another bashing thread.
I've mentioned some behaviors here on allnurses and have attempted to find or explain the rationale behind that behavior. What motivates that member to post what they post.
Understanding the reason for the behavior holds more interest to me than merely identifying the behavior.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
8 hours ago, ajdizzle43 said:
There always needs to have a level of respect. Things, topics, ideals go left because people fail to show respect. I am a "well flavored" LPN of 13 years. Depending on the situation I have the most knowledge in the room or the least. Regardless, I always show respect to those in the room, even if I am by myself. I love reading the perspectives of "older", wiser information being disseminated, however with everything moving at such an advanced pace nowadays, factual information, regardless of the age or duration of the vessel, is everywhere. We have to remain respectful to all who seek knowledge, and nursing will be in a much better place. God bless you all and thank you for supporting the conversation.
When I started, I was a newly minted 21 year old BSN -- the first BSN hired at my hospital, which had it's own diploma school. Diploma grads were able to run a nursing unit by graduation; they had about four times the clinical hours that we had in my BNS program. Compared to them, I knew nothing.
The other RNs there wouldn't help me out, and although I was really good at reciting the Kreb's cycle, writing care plans and spouting off about the nursing process, I was woefully ignorant about how things actually worked. The nursing assistants took me under their wing and showed me how to take vital signs (really), how to talk to patients and their families, how to move a patient, do a bath and change a bed. They also showed me where things were, who to call when the toilet became a fountain and the value of being friendly to the various people whose jobs I knew nothing about but were essential.
When the NAs were through with me, the LPNs took me on and taught me how to be a nurse. Those care plans meant very little if I couldn't connect Coumadin to cherry red urine, or a hematocrit of 11 to a blood pressure of 80/systolic and blue lips. And what does overflowing the urimeter have to do with V-tach anyway? They taught me to enter a room and in a minute or two of social chit chat, make several vital assessments about the patient's condition (and in more than one case, the condition of his visitors.) Only after the LPNs managed to turn me into a beginner nurse worthy of the time it took them to teach me did the RNs grudgingly accept me and begin to teach me the "RN only" parts of my job -- blood transfusions, IV medications and something called a "nursing assessment" which, evidently, the LPNs who taught me how to actually assess a patient weren't qualified to do.
I am ever so grateful to the LPNs and NAs I worked with in my first two jobs, because without them I would have crashed and burned in a truly spectacular fashion. If the internet had existed in the late 70s when I was learning on the job to BE a nurse, I would have had a much easier time of it. As it was, I made some truly stupid mistakes, alienated some really valuable people and spent too much time crying about how nobody liked me.
I'm an old new nurse, so not positive where I fall. I'm coming up on my 1 year of nursing experience and a have a child the same age as many of my workmates. I reach out here when I can be helpful, and do the same at work. I have found that sometimes because I just came out of school, I learned things the "new" way and can be helpful if I approach the situation with the proper attitude (ie - not I know it all, but this is how they are teaching us now and I'm happy to demonstrate if you are interested). It isn't just the words that you speak, but also the attitude with which you speak them.
As a newbie, I don't post unless I know that I can add some value or perspective to the situation. Even then, sometimes I will write a well thought out post and then just delete it because - - - no one wants my opinion or I feel that they don't.
My daughter and I are both in residency programs - but she is not a nurse. Over the past year, she has rotated every 6 weeks with a different group, and at the end of this group, she gets to "bid" on the group she wants to join (the groups get to bid on the people they want to join their group as well). She determined the group she wanted to join based on similar life values to her potential bosses. First of all - I'm not sure how she got to the point of having life value conversations with her bosses - I can't even imagine a situation where I would feel comfortable doing this. However, I would have chosen my bid based on the type of work that was offered and would have chosen something I found enjoyable regardless of the people involved. I homeschooled her until she went off to college and we have always been very close. Sometimes she and I are so far apart in our thought processes - its like an alien raised her.
I often feel similarly when having conversations with nurses who started at the same time as myself. I listen to them and wonder how they arrive at the conclusions they do - sometimes I even ask - usually it just confuses me further.
I am on your team - lift me up. Help me grow so that I can make our team stronger.
My take on this subject is that while I've definitely been around the block, all of us seasoned nurses have to remember that if put in a new specialty, we would probably have less knowledge than a new grad. Put me in a NICU and I wouldn't have a clue! I don't know the lingo or equipment, and quite frankly I don't want to. The diversity and choices in nursing jobs/experiences is probably the best thing about our career. My young coworkers (both nurses and non-nurses) have taught me so much.
Interesting! I love topics that make me think a little. I started here on AN as a student nurse, I was Googling some question or another for homework help, this was before Googling was even a word I believe! Anywho all the search results were pointing to threads on this site I'd never heard of called All Nurses. I followed a link, found the help I was looking for rather quickly and I was immediately hooked!
I went to AN a lot in those days looking for homework help, general student nursing advice and to get a peek at what my future as a nurse might hold. I stayed for the knowledge I gained well beyond the homework help, the camaraderie and yes sometimes the pure entertainment of reading some of those threads that quickly devolved into huge arguments that usually ended with the flounce when the newbie realized they weren't going to win.
As I gained my own nursing knowledge that only comes with experience I found I was actually able to help a newbie or two and it felt good to be in position of finally being able to pass along some helpful advice. I don't frequent the student forums anymore but I can only assume that times haven't changed that much and students still come here for answers beyond "I applied for xyz school, how do I get in?"
It still remains pure fun for me to read and occasionally respond to the threads started by the clearly clueless or completely entitled newbie that is obviously just looking to validate whatever point of view they hold that nobody with even a bit of nursing knowhow agrees with. Unfortunately [maybe?] those threads seem less common than they were back in the good old days! In that vein the biggest difference I see between the newbie nurses and the seasoned nurses is the snark in those threads changes from being defensive to offering a reality check depending on who is responding.
Some of the newbie nurses offer a fresh perspective. Occasionally an article is still posted that was pretty clearly a homework assignment rather than written with the insight that only experience can bring.
Many newbies and even the more experienced nurses are overwhelmed and questioning their career choices. Sadly too many of those are looking for a way out rather than looking for help coping with a career they they weren't expecting to be as difficult as it is tuning out to be or that has changed for them over the years and not for the better.
For the most part the experienced nurses continue to offer what I see as good advice to those newbie nurses that come seeking help so I am glad to see that hasn't really changed over the years.
Davey Do
10,666 Posts
Let me hear an "AMEN!"
An LPN for 13 years. I tend to favor those who are, or were, LPNs due to the fact that there's so much- and I use this term with all due respect- "grunt" work involved.
It has been my pleasure to have worked with som top-notched Cracker Jack LPNs throughout my career. I, myself, enjoyed working as an LPN for 7 years before becoming an RN, which just seemed to be the next logical step.
Here, here! Self respect to oneself is an important path to the respect of others.
I was doing an ICU rotation as a student LPN, caring for a Patient with a TBI who was unconscious. "Even though unconscious", my Instructor said, "Let the patient know everything you are going to do, or are doing, with him".
I carried that concept throughout my career, and with every patient- whether conscious, lucid, confused, psychotic, what have you- I informed the Patient of the intervention.
Thanks for your submission, ajdrizzle!