Based on what you have seen and experienced, what makes some new nurses successful during orientation while others are not? Why do some new nurses have more potential than others?
At my previous nursing job, in which I was not successful during orientation, there was another new grad who was. In fact, there were many new grads that were successful, and it appeared that I was the only new hire that wasn't successful. While I've heard that starting out on a progressive care cardiac unit can be tough on new nurses, and one of my former coworkers even commented to me later that many new grads don't make it on the floor, it obviously can be done. Because it has been. Just not by me.
What I'm trying to figure out is why this other person was successful and I was not. During my orientation, all I kept hearing about was how wonderful this other orientee was, how much progress he was making, and how I simply didn't compare to him. He was brought up frequently during my progress reviews as a comparison. Obviously, they were in favor of him more than me. They never really said specifically what he was doing better, they just said that he was progressing as expected. For them, he was their shining star. They loved him, while the majority of the other nurses wanted me out. Now, they are hiring replacements, and I can't help but wonder what their experiences are going to be like. More than likely, they have more potential than I do, and will probably be more successful. I have kept a list of names of the people that are joining the unit and/or interviewing for it, just so I can see how long they stay. If they make it through orientation, they were obviously better choices than I was, better nurses than I am, better people, really.
But, anyway...what I'm wondering is what makes some new orientees better than others.
Is it...
1. Personality. Can your personality make or break your job?
2. Coworkers. If your coworkers don't like you, is it more likely they will try to get you removed from the unit? Are people more successful when coworkers address issues with them, rather than immediately going to the manager?
3. Preceptors. Do orientees with consistent preceptors with consistent expectations do better than those who have a variety of preceptors? How about preceptor-orientee fit? How important is it that it is a good match, personality wise?
4. Skills and Critical Thinking. What are you, as preceptors and seasoned nurses looking for as far as skills and critical thinking? Is it expected that new nurses will need to be taught certain skills? Certainly there were skills on my old unit that had not been taught in nursing school. How fast would you expect them to be able to learn new things?
5. Fit. Are some people just not a good fit for a certain area/specialty?
5. Other ideas. What else makes someone more successful than someone else?
