telemetry for new grads

bluestar · Oct 27, 2005

With a good orientation and training you can work telemetry. Your first six months will be busy learning new information and applying it. Good luck and welcome.

chinoyRN · Oct 27, 2005

oh no... :eek:

i have the same situation because i will be starting with telemetry too... hope anyone can give us some ideas and tips on how to do good on that unit...

i might start very, very soon... :nurse:

thanks!

tramalady45 · Oct 27, 2005

i will be starting orientation on telemetry floor soon.... i havent even started but yet i feel very stressed already... other nurses who i know have asked me where i will be working and when i tell them "telemetry", most of them say " you gotta get out of there as soon as possible." after accepting the job offer that's when i kept hearing horror stories about telemetry...
would anyone recommend telemetry for new graduates? for those who worked in telemetry unit fresh out of college, what was your first 6 months like??
thanks everyone..

Don't let them freak you out. I worked tele right out of school. The first 6 weeks or so were very stressful because you have to really fine tune your assessments skills and being able to juggle time management issues but after that it was okay. Every job right when you get out of school is going to be frightening. You don't have anyone to fall back on and having the responsibility of making the decisions will seem scary at first but with time it will come. Tele is a wonderful place to learn, I know that usually that is code for "run like hell!" but it really is. Take this opportunity and use it to grow as a new nurse, ask lots of questions, and get as much hand's on with difficult tasks as possible. Also, you might want to consider taking a basic arrhythmia class ASAP before you start if at all possible. Also, I made flash cards the first week of drugs that I was starting to see routinely like Digoxin, Labetelol, Metoprolol, Lasix, HCTZ, Aldactone, Coumadin, Nitroglycerin, and Clonipin for example and memorized implementation , side effects, adverse reactions and common dose ranges just so I would be a little familiar with them.Don't let people scare you, and remember your patients will not know how much experience you have, they will only see RN behind your name so they assume you have experience and have done it all a million times. Remain confident and your patients will be confident and alot calmer too! Good luck!

shyone2005 · Oct 27, 2005

thank you bluestar and tramalady45 for your comment... i hope to gain lots of experience in tele and not burn myself out....

chinoy, good luck to you... let me know how it goes when you start...

suzanne4, RN · Oct 27, 2005

Glad to hear that you found a position. I actually recommend telemetry for new grads quite often. In most areas, the ratio is slightly smaller than the number of patients that you would have on a med-surg floor, plus you learn what to do in an emergency and develop your skills. Depending on the nurse, it can be one of the best learning experiences that you can ever get.

Good luck to you. Please keep us posted.

belfry · Oct 28, 2005

Voice of experience here.....3 months of experience so far as a new grad on telemetry, that is! :coollook:

I absolutely love it, it IS challenging, but I am learning a ton and honing my skills to boot. All our patients are monitored, tho some of them do not have a primary heart dx...so I get to see and do and learn a lot. First thing my hospital did was send me to an arrythmia class, and also a special 3 day tele orientation....a great help. My co-workers are wonderful, and I ask questions all the time all day long, and they are great teachers and mentors...I have been off orientation 3 weeks now, and still feel unsure a lot but most of the time I am competent with my 5 patients.

Good luck to you!

Beth

shyone2005 · Oct 28, 2005

thanks!!! sounds like i made the right decision... i guess i will see how it will go... thank you!!

Agnus · Oct 28, 2005

I work tele and we accept new grads. They do quite well. I started in critical care right out of LPN school and then continued after I go my RN a year later.

Many nurses who do not work tele are intimidated by the monitors. Frankly the monitors are considered a good thing by the tele nurses. Unlike the med surg nurse we know exactly what our pt is doing cardiac wise at any given moment and we already know if something need furter attention. On the med surg floor if a patient gets tachy, brady, c/o chest pain palpitations they freak because they do not know what is happening.

When I worked critical care new nurses were intimidated by the ventilators. Frankly vents are nothing to be intimidated about. You know the patient is breathing when he is on a vent and you know the heart is beating becuase they are also on a monitor. You can push drugs very fast with a vent patient that you would not otherwise. You do not have to worry about too much narcotic for example because the machine will ventilate the patient.

Once you realize these technologies are tools to assist you not risks that other nurses preceive them to be you discover you are in the best place.

Non cardi and non critical care nurses tend to precive these things as representing increased likely hood the patient will die or suddenly go sour and they will not know what to do. Actually they are a blessing on the rare occasions a patient does take a bad turn as they assist you to get them back where they need to be faster.

rudsters · Oct 29, 2005

Could someone please tell me what lead is used for most telemetry monitoring systems on a med surg floor?

Thanks

shyone2005 · Oct 29, 2005

angnus, exactly what i needed to hear.. thank you!! i start tomorrow i will let you guys know how it goes.. thanks again...

christvs, DNP, RN, NP · Oct 29, 2005

Hi! I'm a new grad RN (graduated in May, started working in July) & I've been working on a med/surg/tele unit for 3.5 months now. I've been off orientation & on my own for the past 2 weeks & I feel very prepared. I only have 4-5 patients to take care of, so that is good-& the telemetry does not scare me anymore now that I am used to it & know how to read the strips. And if I still have trouble with something, I ask the more experienced nurses to help me. It's really not that bad. :) Good luck.

-Christine