I was just wondering, since I hope to be starting a new grad program in the very near future.....
What are the things that new grads do that really get under your skin?? Have there ever been times that a new grads judgement/critical thinking skills (or lack there of) have scared the pants off of you??
Just wondering...... :)
Just thought someone may want to vent on this one, I would love to hear it, since I want to avoid being one of those nurses like the plague
Yes, i do that...all I ask them to let me do is watch, because I know they are very busy; it's just frustrating sometimes because I get the eye's rolling manouver, hehe ...it's ok though, I still trail and watch or look for someone else :)
Now that you mentioned IV's, at a nursing home once, a nurse let me start an IV but I got sooo nervous that I couldn't do it...I almost cried!! I prepd the skin and all but I started shaking from head to toe, just couldn't do it...; he (the nurse) asked me why my eyes were watery and the truth was that it was because he trusted me to do it and I KNEW noone would ever give me that chance again!
I agree with everyone else-I hate it when new grads think they know everything. Even nurses with 20 years experience don't know everything.
Also be sure to delegate and ask for help if you are falling behind. I think a lot of new grads don't like to ask for help if they are falling behind because then they feel like a "bad" nurse. Remember, everyone needs help at times. Examples--hanging an antibiotic 2 hours late or waiting to infuse blood 6 hours after it is ordered is not acceptable. Ask for help!
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
i am a new grad
i'm not looking to get picked on, i just don't want to go into my first nursing job and unknowingly do things to **** off the nurses
i just want to start off on the right foot because i feel that teamwork is essential for a companies productivity and an employees satisfaction
ask questions when you're unsure, listen to the answers and be willing to look things up on your own. we love new grads we can trust to ask us the "dumb question" before they do something they're not sure of. we love new grads (or any colleague, really) who knows when they don't know something and finds out rather than attempting to "wing it." what ticks me off is someone who will ask the same question 57 times, not listen to the answer and not learn from it. or someone who has been on the job for six months and doesn't know something so basic you wonder how they could possibly have missed it, and doesn't seem to care that they don't know.
but not to worry. anyone who starts off with your attitude is bound to be an asset wherever they wind up. good luck!
ask questions when you're unsure, listen to the answers and be willing to look things up on your own. we love new grads we can trust to ask us the "dumb question" before they do something they're not sure of. we love new grads (or any colleague, really) who knows when they don't know something and finds out rather than attempting to "wing it." what ticks me off is someone who will ask the same question 57 times, not listen to the answer and not learn from it. or someone who has been on the job for six months and doesn't know something so basic you wonder how they could possibly have missed it, and doesn't seem to care that they don't know.
but not to worry. anyone who starts off with your attitude is bound to be an asset wherever they wind up. good luck!
thank you
i would feel blessed to have any one of you be my preceptor :redbeathe
I am one of those nurses who always asked a ton of questions. One time I asked the charge nurse if all my questions were driving her crazy. She said they had a nurse once that no one like to work with because they never asked questions and acted like they knew everything. I asked alot because I wanted to be safe and have a clear conscience at all times. I work nights and got to work with basically the same two charge nurses for several months, both were great and had a lot of patience with me. Plus, most of the staff nurses are approachable for questions also.
Specializes in Tele Step Down, Oncology, ICU, Med/Surg.
As a new grad on my first clinical day I once forgot to put the bed down to its lowest position after giving an elderly pt a bed bath--and the nurse I was working with noticed it as she was walking by in the hall and as I was just about to exit the room.
I shudder to think what might have happened to that sweet LOL if she woke up to toilet with the bed so high....but this was also a good lesson because I never ever forget to put the bed to its lowest position now. Also, high beds just look wrong once you've been on the floors for awhile and are easy to catch, so I will go around and lower beds that I notice were left too high.
I have this permanent image of this petite quick moving nurse looking over at me thru her reading glasses with disappointment on her face saying, "did you forget to put the bed down to it's lowest position?"
Everyone else is taking the high road and giving global advice to a new grad. I agree with everything that has been said. But I have to add my actual experience with a new grad:
I was a new grad (ASN) and was orienting on the same floor as a very perky, very young-looking BSN new grad. I was extremely self-conscious about the ASN on my nametag and feeling quite inferior to the BSN on hers. Until the day that she came up to me, brandishing a standard 3cc syringe. She said "How many cc's of insulin do you think I should give to my patient whose blood sugar is 200?"
I am definitely not trying to re-inflame the tired old ASN vs BSN discussion. But that was my first indication that ASN and BSN nurses all start out as new grads. And any one of us could scare the beejesus out of experienced nurses.
I am definitely not trying to re-inflame the tired old ASN vs BSN discussion. But that was my first indication that ASN and BSN nurses all start out as new grads. And any one of us could scare the beejesus out of experienced nurses.
Of course ASN and BSN nurses all start out as new grads, but the difference in education in relation to errors made is not the point of this thread. I know you didn't intend to but it's bound to ruffle some feathers.
"Of course ASN and BSN nurses all start out as new grads, but the difference in education in relation to errors made is not the point of this thread. I know you didn't intend to but it's bound to ruffle some feathers."
Whatever. I would hope that all of us (ASN's and BSN's alike) could rise above the eternal debate to get the humor of this post (as I saw it).
sahily3
3 Posts
Yes, i do that...all I ask them to let me do is watch, because I know they are very busy; it's just frustrating sometimes because I get the eye's rolling manouver, hehe ...it's ok though, I still trail and watch or look for someone else :)
Thank you