Seasoned Nurses VS Newbie Nurses

That's fine, I have heard them called "grenade pumps" because I guess you just toss them on the bed, haha.

For the record, I am a seasoned nurse who keeps up with new things. Usually. :)

I am certainly familiar with the "grenade pumps" term. It is what we call them here.

I know exactly what you are referring to. I too, am a new nurse with only 8 months experience. I had the same question when I first started. I wondered, due to my lack of experience, how could I discern if a practice is a safe shortcut vs something that I shouldn't implement into my own practice. Of course, I wanted to learn the "tricks of the trade" but I also wanted to make sure I was safe and doing the best for my pts.

All I can say is, it has a way of working itself out. I followed what my preceptors suggested while in orientation. I had multiple preceptors and it was nice picking up things from each person. Once I was on my own, I combined all of these things, replaced some practices with what I was taught in school, and overall I'm just finding my own groove. Good luck to you!

I find these posts hilarious. I'm not a newbie but I'm not terribly seasoned either. I'm thankful for all that I've learned from the seasoned nurses but I don't go around trying to change the things that I deem "wrong". Recently, I precepted a student who was overly obnoxious about starting IVs in the NICU (she was with me for a total of 72 hours). She saw a couple sticks on some complicated kiddos and decided to write a paper for her class (the prompt of which escapes me - something she would teach the unit perhaps) about how to place IVs. She has placed one in her 18 month Nursing school career on a 4 year old. I'm definitely going to let her educate the unit on IV placement... jokes.

I agree with brownbook . There is more than one right way to do many things as evidenced by all the discrepancies you have observed.

That setup has several points of failure when you compare it to these. I was seriously impressed.

Admittedly.

They sound very cool... and another thing that I wish I'd been involved in inventing. I love elegant solutions.

you brought a smile to my face ,thanks for the vintage cpr.

I wonder where all these seasoned nurses with slow computer skills work. I have been an RN for 30 years now, and I have not witnessed anyone who couldn't learn computer skills. Our older, seasoned nurses do just fine with the computer, and we have a crappy system. As for ACLS, I can't imagine what on earth the seasoned nurses would be doing that is antiquated. Isn't there a doctor in attendance in the code? Perhaps the nurses are following hospital policy, which might be different than what you learned in school.

True story. 95% of what you need to know to be a good nurse you don't learn in school. You can read something 1,000 times over in a book, or be told about it, but until you experience it IRL, you won't know what's going on. Hell I worked ER/ICU for so long I can tell by the color of somebody's skin if they are having a STEMI while c/o chest pain. 12 lead? Please!

I have to point out that many nursing instructors don't have hands-on, actual working experience themselves. They only know what the "perfect" world of nursing books say.

That's fine, I have heard them called "grenade pumps" because I guess you just toss them on the bed, haha.

For the record, I am a seasoned nurse who keeps up with new things. Usually. :)

[ATTACH=CONFIG]26260[/ATTACH]hmm...how about that!

A little big but I don't know how to unattach it.

First, as a seasoned and older nurse, I appreciate your attitude and care regarding this issue. All nurses know that nursing and medicine are constantly changing. Stick with what you've learned in school, and when appropriate, ask a more experienced nurse when you need a second opinion. Example: As a new grad LPN years ago, I couldn't help noticing I was hearing a bounding pulse in the abdomen, while listening to bowel sounds. I asked my partner on the floor, to listen and see if she was hearing was I was hearing. It turned out that the poor patient was wisked off to surgery for an aortic aneurysm. Thank the Lord I asked questions!

Use your newly acquired knowledge and temper it with grace and wisdom by asking questions and learning from others perspectives as well.

We had a saying when I was in school, that "Nurses eat their young." I have always hated that expression, but sadly,I found it to be true at times, such as when a younger, freshly educated nurse comes aboard. I love new grads, always have.

We need seasoned nurses so if its not breaking any rules of protocols, let it slide. We have things to contribute to our teams and each other. I have learned that we can offer each other support and learn so much from each other. I graduated several years ago and I had a really good preceptor on my last clinical. School nursing is so different from real life nursing. My preceptor showed me that and the other one I had showed me the ugly side of how catty people can be. They were once where we were when we first started as a new grad, so how they adapted and any advice given is something I would accept. There is nothing wrong with how things are done differently from what school presents to you. As you become more experienced, you find what works for you and what does not.

I have to point out that many nursing instructors don't have hands-on, actual working experience themselves. They only know what the "perfect" world of nursing books say.

I totally agree 100% on this.....

Reminds me when i was going through the processes of getting my BSN... My then lecturer asked the lot of us to prepare a training workshop for the affiliated nursing college first year students. Let me tell you, this lecturer never even in worked in an actual hospital setting! Long story short, I did not get on well with the lecturer as many of her ways or "methods" of overcoming the "proposed situations" were ancient (e.g. over 20 to 30 years ago).

Books versus Reality... That should be the OP's title.