Starting new job this week - nervous!

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Specializes in Pediatric Specialty RN.

Hi All,

I am a newish nurse (1 year) with a background in psych nursing. I am a second career nurse so I'm in my 40's. I am staring with Davita on Monday and I'm really nervous about it. Because of COVID, I was not able to shadow so I'm going in completely blind - other than watching a few Youtube videos and reading virtually every thread on this page!

My friends all think I'm crazy for going into Dialysis so that isn't helping at all. Of course, they are in their 20's (yes - when you go back to nursing school in your 40's, your nursing friends will all be in their 20's!! LOL), and want excitement and prestige. I want a good job where I am challenged and can make a daily difference in patient's lives and I can have upward growth in the company.

I was offered two different OR jobs and I turned them both down to do this because I wanted patient contact. My nursing school friends think I'm nuts for doing that. I guess time will tell. But my OR interviewer spent most of the interview asking how I handle conflict and telling me that people that work in the OR are not typically "sensitive, empathic nurses" and that I need to get used to getting yelled at. Yeesh - that didn't sound fun. I'm also a heart on my sleeve, empathetic nurse. So it didn't sound like a good fit. So as exciting as I think it would be to see surgery, I turned it down.

So I start training on Monday! I am excited, nervous and also, yes, scared!

Any tips for success?

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Specializes in hemo and peritoneal dialysis.

I must disagree that OR nurses are not empathetic or caring. There are nurses with that description in all fields. Sounds like dialysis will be a good fit for you. There is plenty of room for caring and empathy. Caring for this population can be very rewarding as you get to know them and their families. After all you'll see them three times a week. Many of these folks live in fear and respect tough love especially when accompanied with a great smile and a generous dose of humor. We need nurse like you.

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Specializes in Pediatric Specialty RN.
On 5/13/2020 at 1:32 PM, diabo said:

I must disagree that OR nurses are not empathetic or caring. There are nurses with that description in all fields. Sounds like dialysis will be a good fit for you. There is plenty of room for caring and empathy. Caring for this population can be very rewarding as you get to know them and their families. After all you'll see them three times a week. Many of these folks live in fear and respect tough love especially when accompanied with a great smile and a generous dose of humor. We need nurse like you.

I agree that there must be OR nurses with those qualities....but for the unit in which I interviewed, I was specifically told that "empathetic and overly caring nurses don't do well in our unit". It's ultimately why I turned down the job.

I'm a week and a day into my training with Davita, and even given my 4am start this morning, I am confident I made the right choice.

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How is training going? What state are you in?

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