Shadowing a nurse on another floor/unit? PLEASE HELP.

Specialties General Specialties

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Hello! Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you in advance for your advice. I have been working on a busy floor (clinical decision unit/observational/tele-unit) for about 4 months now. As a new grad, orientation was 3 months. I always wanted to work with neonates after graduating and applied to those positions but they wanted experience. I decided to apply to other position with adults cus I needed to work and landed the position I'm in right now with the hopes of transferring to the special care nursery floor later on. Working on the tele floor is going OK; it is a lot of work but I'm doing OK. My manager is great; always checking up on me and all.

I was wondering if it is bad to email the manager at the special care unit to see if I can shadow a nurse in order to get an Idea of what it is like to work there so I can see if it is the place for me in the future. I am not sure if my current manager will know about this or if it looks bad that I'm just shadowing/following a nurse around to see what they do there. My hospital policy says we can transfer after 6 months but other nurses have transferred to other units after like 1 or 2 months but they did that for adults floor(like from IMC to observational floor). The special care nursery won't even allow transfer to their floor until nurses have 1 year of hospital experience. I just want to see what it is like to work there and I want to do it now because I'm scared that they will be more restrictive in allowing people to shadow due to COVID. Does this look shady? have you guys ever done that? and is there a way that my current manager will find out about it? Thank you.

Specializes in Clinical Pediatrics; Maternal-Child Educator.

Honestly, I would have a conversation with your current manager first. Transfers within hospitals are common. I would let your manager know that you appreciate the experience and support that is being provided to you now and that you are interested in the special care nursery at some point in the future when you have more experience. I would let the manager know that you are aware that you have to have at least 1 year of experience before applying to the position there, but you would like to ask for the opportunity to shadow a nurse in the department to see if that is an area that you would truly like to aspire to.  This is just an honest conversation with your current manager.

I say this because if you ask behind your managers back, there is a chance that your manager will find out about it. Your manager will have no idea what your plans are, when you may be planning to transfer out, or if you are looking at other areas throughout the hospital for a job you can transfer to in the next month or two. In my experience, that has always been more destructive to a professional relationship than honesty from the start. Good managers support the professional development of their nurses because it benefits the organization as a whole.

 

4 Votes
Specializes in nursing ethics.

Well can you just walk around the floor in street clothes when you are free?  Just say you like watching a well staffed efficient dept and you are waiting for someone--no names. Use a pretext. Casually talk to a nurse or med assistant without being intrusive but don't stay long. Not everyone cares to be shadowed

Specializes in retired from healthcare.

So much of this depends on whether the place likes you.  I agree with not going behind the managers back.   I would ask before you visit a unit you don't work in.  

2 Votes
Specializes in Adult.

If you can't transfer until you have been employed for a year it doesn't really make much sense to shadow now as you are only 4 months in. A lot can change in the next 8 months on the unit you are interested in, including staff and leadership.

My advice is to wait until you are employed w/the hospital for at least 6 months, then, approach both managers (your unit and the unit you are interested in) and request to shadow since your ultimate goal is to work with neonates.

Being up front about your intentions to transfer to another specialty coupled with the fact that unit is in the same hospital you are working at now will save you a lot of grief in the future with the hospital if you are upfront w/the hiring managers. 

4 Votes
Specializes in Critical Care.
On 10/16/2021 at 2:37 PM, Mywords1 said:

Well can you just walk around the floor in street clothes when you are free?  Just say you like watching a well staffed efficient dept and you are waiting for someone--no names. Use a pretext. Casually talk to a nurse or med assistant without being intrusive but don't stay long. Not everyone cares to be shadowed

I would not recommend doing this. Not sure about your facility; but in mine, staff is hyper vigilant and very protective of their babies; you will be questioned/examined like hawk if you just "walk in" into the neonate unit (or anywhere where children are involved) with no intended business. 

1 Votes
Specializes in retired from healthcare.

I remember being shadowed by students when I still worked.  I was getting the feeling from some of them that they were there for voyeuristic purposes and just wanted to stare at some vulnerable patients.   Although their R.N. teacher sent them, they did not know how to act.   They did not speak or show concern.  They did not offer to help in any way, even though there are ways an untrained person could help.   I was getting madder by the minute since it seemed to me that they could stare without even blinking and with complete lack of feeling.   I do not think patient care is a spectator sport.  It would not matter what age group or category of patients I had.  

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