Tele class right after orientation...Too much?

[Leonurus]

I recently started on a medical/telemetry unit after graduating in May and am in my first solo weeks after 8 or 9 weeks with various preceptors. They have me taking 4 pts this week, next week 5, and then I'll be considered officially off orientation taking 6-7. I feel really good about my ability to independently care for 4 patients well, but I know it will get more difficult from here. Taking 6 and 7 pts, even with a preceptor, felt like enough stress to burn me out in no time, especially because the assignments are rarely made with any attention to acuity! There is a tele class starting in a few weeks and my team leader is signing me up, but says that if I feel it's too much, I can hold off for now. I want to go to this level for sure, but it seems like tele nurses often get even more intense patients, and the charting is more time consuming. Plus I will be adding the class to a full time schedule for a few weeks. I'm not sure if I should just go for it now, or try to take it more slowly... How difficult is it? Does anyone have advice?

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

my advice, as a clinical educator, is to take advantage of the opportunity to NOT have extra things to think about. You have a lot on your plate already. Resist getting burned out.

That said, only you know your limits.

[ILRN200]

You can do it, reward yourself after you take the class :)

[Leonurus]

Thanks for the input. I have decided to hold off for another month before taking the class. I had a couple more crazy days at work-They're already giving me tele patients when the census gets too high, even though I'm not a tele nurse. The charge nurse watches the monitors, but it is definitely one more thing I'm thinking about when my head is already spinning. I'm pretty convinced at this point that I don't need the additional stress yet. There's talk that they may stop giving tele pts to non-tele RNs (at least the fresh out of school ones)-hopefully that will happen... It seems completely unsafe to me.

[Leonurus]

Update: I tried to opt out of this class, to defer it for the safety of my pts and to make my job a little more sustainable...but my boss said, basically, "Too bad. You're taking the class." No wonder there is such a huge turnover. I have been looking at nanny positions on the internet lately because I don't know how much more I can take of this job. It seems like no job, career, or paycheck could be worth what I'm going through.

[mamiekay]

I know this is a tough job market and there may not be any other positions available, but maybe you could find an open position on another unit. I applaud your concern for your patients' safety, but obviously the tele class is part of being a tele nurse. If you're not up for it at this point, it may be time to look at another unit. I'd hate to see you leave nursing altogether because you're not ready for the stress of working tele. Every area has its own stresses, but at least it won't be interpreting tele strips. Take some time & really think it through before making a drastic decision.