Thought I was doing fine... THEN got a call from my manager.... :(

Nurses General Nursing

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Hello everyone!! :p I have been out of orientation for about a month. They gave me an extended orientation because my boss and I thought it was necessary (was a new RN). I have been doing just fine (or so I thought), and then my boss contacted me today to say 'I have to have a mentor (someone to shadow me), because I have asked several questions and get unfocused (according to charge nurses).' WHAT???!!! Yes, if I don't know something, I AM GOING TO ASK. I am new and not going to hurt anyone. If I don't know, I am going to keep asking questions. My boss said this is a good thing and will help me, but I don't know. :rolleyes: She said I was unfocused??? I am many things perhaps, but unfocused is NOT one of them. I have always paid special attention to detail and have been a stellar student all my life (graduated top 10 in my RN program). I feel I have been doing just fine and have had no problems. So this was completely out of the blue.

How would YOU take this?? She told me what the charge nurses had said and some of the things they reported never happened. :uhoh3:

Specializes in Med/Surg/vascular surg/Rehab/LTC.
If you truly believe that some of the things that they reported never happened I would ask the manager if it would be possible to meet with them as well, with her, to get further clarification on what you needed to work on from their perspective.

This is perfect and it promotes a mature working environment.....and It will give you and them a chance to put your heads together and see if maybe somethings you have done they have taken incorrectly.

Specializes in Med/surg, rural CCU.

wow- do you work at my old place of employement? That's how I felt. They kept extending my orientation (and I was NOT a new grad) they got mad when I asked questions, and then lied in my review and put things that flat out were not true. I left after 6 months, but started looking at 2. I was miserable.

If things don't get better- look elsewhere, and don't get upset at nursing in general because of a bad work enviroment. Hope it gets better soon though!

I think your decision to approach only a select one or two nurses is a wise idea. It's really quite sad that you can't freely approach any given nurse and seek advice or information when required. Nursing should be a team effort with understanding and insight info the lack of knowledge a new grad nurse has. It's ludicris to expect you to know something if you haven't already done it, and in my opinion, text book knowledge only goes so far... Having read and understood the process of something doesn't make an individual competent and capable to perform it without guidance and assistance, chastising you for asking questions isn't productive nor professional.

My only suggestion would be to make sure you understand/are aware of what is being said about your practice, get it in writing if you can, also - very important, document ALL meetings with your manager, stating what you were told, what you'd said, etc... keep it non-biased and objective. That way, if you need to defend yourself in any situation, you have a leg to stand on and look professional in maintaining documentation of this.

Just do the best you can, ensure you are always doing safe practice, review at home, talk to your manager and a selected nurse or two on things you can work on/feedback, and be prudent on who you go to. Don't let any of what others are thinking seep into your functioning on the floor because that stress is going to produce less efficient and more "unfocused" work. It's better to work slower and maintain patient safety and have your coworker complain about you. You can't have your license revoked for that.

Good luck! : )

Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

I would take the mentorship, because any additional help is advantageous for a new RN, but I also believe I would have asked for a meeting with some of the people that complained. It can be done without anger on your part. Express your confusion, ask for constructive criticism and explain yourself without being defensive or hostile, but to be open to listen. I don't see anything wrong with saying to your unit manager "I really thought about our conversation last night, and it disturbed me a bit because I am trying hard to be an efficient nurse, and was unaware that my honest attempts to be so may have been misperceived. I'd like a chance to explain myself, if possible".

I am the sort of person who likes to grab the bull by the horns. If I feel uncomfortable, I can't rest until it is addressed somehow. I am also open to listen and try to understand how people perceive my actions, because while I believe I project one image, it may actually come across as something else unintentional.

Best of luck!

If you truly believe that some of the things that they reported never happened I would ask the manager if it would be possible to meet with them as well, with her, to get further clarification on what you needed to work on from their perspective.

Actually, based on past experience, I disagree. If the charge nurse lied about OP's practice, she sure won't admit to that in the presence of the manager (who may be her best buddy, anyway). In a situation where such an approach would be helpful - well, it wouldn't be needed in the first place.

OP, getting a mentor is great, but be aware they may be setting you up. I hope this isn't the case, but in some places a new nurse (new grad or experienced) just doesn't fit in (...the clique...) Anyway, just prepare yourself for any possible outcome and it wouldn't hurt to start looking into a possible transfer NOW.

I hope they are truly trying to help you, I really do and wish you the very best.

DeLana

It's also a good idea to seriously look at yourself. We *all* know that new grad ask a lot of questions. We *all* know that new grads have problems focusing. It could be that they are reporting to your director that you are doing these things even more than expected from a new grad one month off orientation. But it also doesn't sound like they have it in for you and want to get rid of you; it sounds like they really want to help you be a better nurse on their unit.

I like your idea of asking questions of a few people, to an extent. Don't overwhelm one or two people on the unit with questions, though. I work with one nurse who will only ask questions of me, because she's worn out her welcome with nearly everyone else and knows they will bite her head off if she asks them anything. I'll be honest, I dread working with her now. My phone rings 50x a night with her questions (so of which are valid, most of which are not), and it really interferes with my own work.

When you ask a question, take a second to THINK. Do you really know the answer, and you just want validation? Is the nurse the most appropriate person to ask, or should you be asking the pharmacist or the unit secretary this question? Can you find the answer in the patient's chart, or in your unit resources (a drug book, protocol and procedure manual, lab values book, etc)? Do you have all the info you need--if you ask me if I think your pt's blood pressure is too high and should you call the doc: I'm going to ask you what your pt's here with, what his baseline is, if he's symptomatic, if he's receiving any bp meds, what the doc says about his bp in the progress notes, and if the doc left you any parameters and possible prns for elevated bp. It's going to make me a little grumpy if you don't know the answer to any of these questions, particularly the second or third time we have this conversation.

Good luck, and congrats on finding a job in this market!

That old tactic "things that never happened" must be a common "young eating" policy, because I remember it myself. You have been blindsided, so now you know that you have to work harder at keeping your guard up around the complainers. Perhaps they are trying to make themselves look better at your expense. They probably do the same thing with all new hires. Try to ask less questions, as much as possible learn by looking up written policies and observing what others do. And ask for that meeting with your accusers. Good luck.

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

something for you to consider: perhaps the charge nurse didn't lie or make something up, but is looking at something that actually happened from a totally different perspective than yours. perhaps it did happen the way she said it did, but from your perspective you couldn't see that or didn't realize it or don't fully understand what she means when she's reporting the incident. if you thought you had wonderful rapport with a family, for instance, you might totally disbelieve it when the charge nurse says they complained to her about you. perhaps you overlooked a whole second page on the mar when you did your med pass and didn't realize that you had done so. so when the charge said you neglected to give so and so his meds, she was half right. or perhaps you are doing just fine and the charge nurse thinks you look exactly like her husband's girlfriend and wants to get rid of you. i don't know and you won't, either, unless you discuss it with her. i'd urge you to discuss it with her so that you know for sure whether you've screwed up somehow that you aren't aware of. and if it's her, at least if you discuss it with her she's less likely to attempt to pull that again.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

As someone posted- a new grad. and out of orientation ONE MONTH is no pro.

:hug:

Did you really just graduate this summer, 2010? I thought I remembered you from previous posts, several months ago ... talking about having graduated and having a couple of other jobs last year. Do you I have you confused with someone else? When did you graduate?

I only ask because it might explain some things. If you graduated in 2009 and have held a couple of jobs in between graduation and your current job, it could be that your employer was expecting you to "hit the ground running" and that you would not need as much orientation as a new grad. But if your previous jobs were very different from the one you have now, you may not have learned the skills that eveyone is assuming you learned in your previous jobs.

If that's the case, perhaps a sit-down meeting with you manager to clarify your previous work experience would help the two of come to an agreement about what reasonable expectations would be for someone in your position.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.
The boss said it was 'little things' the other charge nurses were reporting.

To the OP: do you know what those "little things" are or are they still some unexplained mystery that was important to report to your boss but somehow not important enough for the charge nurses to actually tell you?

Specializes in Chiropractic assistant, CNA in LTC, RN.

I have been a nurse for 7 months now and work in a very fast paced LTC/rehab facility. I was on the floor for the first several months and now I am a 2nd shift charge nurse. I now help train new nurses and they ask me tons of questions. I NEVER think they are asking too many questions. I'd much rather they ask me a question than attempt to do something they don't know how to do. And I asked tons of questions my first couple of months and I STILL ask questions. Some nurses DO eat their young and it sounds like the OP has found a few of those. Hang in there and keep asking questions when you aren't sure of something. You are doing what you need to do. :)

Specializes in drug seekers and the incurably insane..

First things first....never, ever trust co-workers. Not until you've had a lot of time to get to know them; be wary even then. In my facility if the DON wants to set someone up with a mentor after orientation, it is usually because they want the "mentor" to spy on that person. Had it happen last fall. The DON wanted me to mentor a particular nurse whom others didn't like and did have some practice issues, and had already been through orientation...twice. The DON told me to write down just about everything she does and report back to her.....the DON did let it slip that this particular nurse will most likely not be "here" anymore. I mentored this nurse....didn't see any major issues so there was nothing to report to the DON. This nurse was escorted out of the facility the next week....done. Terminated. Be on your guard about your mentor....she is likely there to spy on you. It is unfortunate as nurses there are a lot of environments with this nastiness going on. However, you will find co-workers whom are trustworthy and good to work with. Just be careful in the meantime. Best wishes:)

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