The one nurse that everyone loves...and hates

Ruby Vee, BSN · Feb 16, 2012

i'm not an er nurse, although sometimes i wish i were because they seem to post the funniest threads. i'm in sicu. an experienced nurse with no icu experience will probably be "that nurse" for at least a year . . . assuming, of course, the stellar personality. and even after that you'll be exposed to new things that you'll need a bit of advice about how to handle. sicu has an adult, surgical population. in er you can get everything and anything -- and all at once. i'll defer to the actual er nurses for a definite answer, but i'm thinking that after less than six months you still have some time before you conclude that you're a drag on your unit.

newbies -- and i'm talking someone new to a unit or a specialty, not just to nursing -- require some handholding, question answering and feedback, both positive and negative. i know that when i'm in charge or in the six-bed ward with 2 - 5 newbies, i'll spend a good part of my shift keeping an eye out for changes in their patients, trouble shooting assistance and answering questions. that's the role of an experienced nurse in any setting. sometimes, when i have a busy assignment but am still the only seasoned nurse on my end of the unit it's a drag to keep an eye out for the newbies (and i'm sure i'll get flamed by all the newbies telling me how insulting, bullying, young-eating or whatever i am). i vividly remember being new to the icu and the seasoned nurses who made it their business to watch over me -- and who saved both me and my patient many times without being asked and without complaint. i want to be like them.

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Feb 16, 2012

Just as ruby said it takes time. I occasionally float to other units on my job and boy I feel like a fish outta water. Sometimes it constantly feels like I'm always trying to catch up and ask other nurses for help.

I'm very aware that I may be a drag sometimes so therefore I always offer to the other nurses on my down time. Yesterday I stayed over just to help with an admission. They nurses were very thankful. So anytime I get a chance to help or make their shift a little easier for once I jump right on it.

ertravelnurse · Feb 16, 2012

KalipsoRed21

So when I started my ER career, I went from working in a psych hospital (not just a ward but a true independent psych hospital) into a 60 bed Level 1 Trauma Center - Lets talk fish outta water, LOL!! But looking back at it now, it was the best thing that has happened to me. It took a long time before I was comfortable and still to this day I have days where I still question myself on whether or not I am a good enough nurse to be there. The one thing that has blessed me most is the fact that I worked and still work with some of the most amazing nurses, I have learned so much from them, much more than I did in school. Before you know it you are going to be that "helping" nurse, just stick with it. I think more then one nurse has felt what you are feeling and if you talk with your co-workers, I bet you will find alot felt the same when they started. Every ER nurse had a first time - dont forget that. Hang in there and before you know it this will be funny conversation in the break room.

Good Luck

vanburbian · Feb 16, 2012

I was almost wondering if I wrote this post...similar story. Started in ER in September after 9 years away from direct patient care. Granted, worked 13 years at bedside prior, but those 9 years in CM were a very long vacation.

So, here I am, 6 months later, and I am so thankful for the nurses who are "watching" over me still at the times I need it. Every day I feel more confident, and I get faster, and my manager was even nice enough to tell me yesterday that I was right on track after I told her I was still feeling very slow....she said she'd heard nothing but positive feedback.

But...I do feel bad sometimes for those who do in fact still need to pick up the slack for me when we get bombarded- the charge nurse who does my triage or my discharge because I'm starting the line/doing EKG whatever in another room. Then I realize, we work as a team, and I do the same for other nurses when they are bombarded with 4 new patients in 20 minutes too.

And, I happily am confident enough with myself/my nursing skills to know that it would take me a year to get to a reasonably comfortable point with this job. Not expert by any means, but "stable".