Should I change fields?

[bethany_ortiz]

Oh my goodness, I don't know what to do. It has always been my dream to work either in the new baby nursery or with the mommies and babies. I am an LVN and got a job at a SNF. It is close to impossible to get a job in a hospital as an LVN in Ca. My plan was to do this until I got accepted at a school to complete my RN. Anyway, to put it mildly, I didn't do so good at the SNF. I am not sure how these nurses manage to get all of their work done in an 8 hour shift. I had 3 days of orientation which consisted of watching another nurse pour and pass meds. When it was my turn, I was still passing the 5'Oclock meds at 10 P.M. I was soo slow. I felt myself panicking. Other nurses everntually helped me and it got a little better as time went on but not much. I would come home crying every night. I would be there for hours after my shift to try to finish. I was waking patients up to give them their 9 oclocks and they were mad. I talked to the DON about my experience and she assured me it was normal to be slow for the first month.

I have never experienced anxiety attacks before but thinking about going back made me physically ill. I would be shaking all over and having trouble breathing. It was like inpending dome was ahead when I wasn't there and knew I had to go back. One night, I worked the graveyard shift and one of the nurses told me that many patients die on that shift. I had then realized that I was never oriented with the crash cart or anything.

I was always being asked, did u do this or that? For example, giving new admits TB tests. When I replied no, other nurses told me I was going to be audited. Nobody ever told me these were things I had to do.

The truth of the matter is, I am so confused. I don't know if this was just a bad experience I had or if this is the way it is going to be. I don't know if I should continue to go to school. I've prayed and prayed but just don't know what to do. My husband and I have already sacrificed so much so that I could do this. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks...

[caliotter3]

Your post implies that you quit your job at the SNF but you didn't come right out and say so. If you have not quit, don't do so unless it is an unbearable situation with your coworkers and supervisors. It sounded as if people were willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and were actually helping you at times. That does not always happen and you should be glad that they were this helpful. You need to come up with a plan to improve whether at this job or at the next job. If you aren't working there, you need to come up with answers for those questions you will get at job interviews. You still need a plan. What I did was to write down all the things that I knew I needed to be able to do and then I made myself a calendar of extra effort for each. I made myself an example book and kept my little cheat sheets in there. I would look stuff up. I would ask questions. I would write out a shift schedule and checklist and keep track of how long it took me to do everything. If you do this you will find yourself getting faster. Take the med pass for instance. What can you do to speed it up and get more proficient? Does the med cart need to be cleaned up and straightened out so you can find things? We would take a black magic marker and write on the tops of bottles (liquid meds) the number of the room and bed number. Although you still have to check the label when you dispense, if you get the right bottle the first time you reach for it, you will be surprised how much faster you can go. Little things like this. I wrote out a list of the five places I had to address when I got a new order: writing out the slip, writing on the orders sheet, routing info to phar, or the kitchen, etc., writing on the report sheet, writing on the MAR, etc. Then I could check all of these off when I got a new order and make sure I didn't forget anything. Make yourself a report sheet to get and give report, and use during the shift, (most people call this their "brains"). There are many other things you can come up with. You can ask your coworkers for ideas. Anyway, do these things and you will come away with a sense of relief that you are taking steps to get it together. You will also have milestones to report to your supervisor when you get your evaluation. Just don't give up because it is rough now. It takes most people at least a year just to be able to walk into the place without that feeling of doom. Hang in there. If you have to get another job, then take a deep breath and go for it. And don't let this keep you from advancing and going back to school. That would be the wrong step at this point. Good luck. Come back to let us know how things are going.