Surviving my first RN job

[panda025]

I graduated nursing school May 2013 in California and moved to Nevada to get an acute care job. I am currently working on a surgical unit, and as a new grad among much more seasoned nurses, am having a very difficult time. I feel like it's back to high school again, and i'm the new kid on the block, who the older nurses feel threatened by and will do anything but help me when I ask questions. I don't know what to do. I'm getting really frustrated with my job and don't know if nursing just isn't for me or if it's just the circumstances of this job. I absolutely loved my preceptorship in the ER -- everyone worked together as a team to get the job done --doctors, nurses, techs all worked well together. On my current unit though, the surgeons are rude to the nurses, the nurses gossip about each other behind each others backs, and the patient's are here expecting a hilton like stay after their surgery. I feel more like a drug dealer/waitress for the these patients than actually helping someone who is in need. I need this 'experience' to be able to get a job in the ER or other specialities, but I don't know how to make it through this first year. I want to be able to love being a nurse and love my job!

Is first year of nursing difficult for everyone?

Any communication techniques with fellow nurses and doctors?

[KnitWitch, ASN, RN]

You, my friend, unfortunately seem to be stuck in a "nurses eating their young" scenario. This is both unfortunate and frustrating. In my experience there are two things you can do.

1) Try to suss out why the experienced nurses feel threatened by or otherwise dislike you. Ameliorate this, or otherwise strive to make friends among the cannibals. Despite being carnivorous they probably have a lot to teach you. Find a way in to get at that knowledge.

2) Find other nurses on the floor who have 1 or 3 or 5 years experience under their belt and may be working at flying under the radar. To a new nurse, these moderately-experienced colleagues can be gold. They can teach you the ropes and you can work together to solve problems without involving the 30-year veteran cannibals.

Other things that are important:

1) Care about your patients. Not just for, about. When you care about your patients you care about your work, and that can increase your patience and tolerance.

2) Learn, learn, learn. Learn everything you can. You never know when an esoteric piece of knowledge pay come in handy.

3) Grow a spine and use it to stand up for yourself and your patients. As a wise RN taught me, the only time you are WRONG is when you fail to act with the safety and best interests of your patients at heart. And in order to protect your patients you first have to protect yourself.

The first year+ of nursing is tough no matter where you are. I landed my dream job in a trauma center just out of school and I still questioned every life decision I made that got me there. But it can change and it can get easier. You just have to resign yourself to a bumpy road, and you have to commit to being a better nurse than you were when you started.

You can do it.

[RunBabyRN]

This culture really seems to vary by hospital. I know one hospital here is REALLY bad for that culture, whereas the others not so much. I say apply everywhere else as soon as possible, but you may need to stick it out for a year. I agree about standing up for yourself and focusing on your patients. When I see negativity on the unit, I really try to just put on the blinders and focus on what I need to get done.

Try to take what you can as a learning experience, for better or worse, and use it all to make you a better nurse. Advocate for change where possible where you are.

[calivianya, BSN, RN]

I am in total agreement with the poster who mentioned the moderately experienced coworkers. Those people ARE gold, and they can teach you a lot. The weekend crew at my job is mostly experienced nurses and the weeknight crew is a revolving door of new grads with only a couple of people there that have 2 years or more of experience... but guess what? I learn so much more and get so much more help from the weeknight people. Befriend the coworkers who haven't burned out or gotten stuck in their ways yet; they are the ones that watch your back and help you when things start to go south with your patients. The experienced coworkers are hit or miss.

Sometimes it takes being assertive with your experienced coworkers to get along with them - don't ask them nicely for help, they will brush you off or tell you they will help you later if they are anything like my coworkers. Tell them that you need help in your room RIGHT NOW and they will usually help you out (but please do be having an actual emergency). I had a patient who was going down the tubes a couple of weeks ago and I absolutely DEMANDED my charge come in the room to look at him with me; I feel like she and I get along better since that happened. Sometimes it feels like the experienced nurses are waiting for you to show signs of competence and assertiveness before they give you the time of day.

In a unit that does have a lot of turnover, it can also take a really long time for the experienced nurses to think a new hire is worth talking to because they're assuming you're just going to leave in a few months anyway and aren't worth their time. Don't take it personally. I feel like I'm just now really getting along with my weekend coworkers and I've been working on my unit since July. It takes a long time to break in to established social groups.

I think everyone's first year can be a little rough, especially in a unit where people expect you to prove yourself as a nurse before they willingly help you. How exactly are us new grads supposed to prove ourselves if no one teaches us, anyway?