Tips for New Graduate Nurse Starting a job

Jane Doe, RN · Feb 20, 2010

Don't be scared to ask questions!

locolorenzo22, BSN, RN · Feb 20, 2010

pay attention to how people give report...write down everything so YOU understand it and can repeat it later.

always keep alchohol wipes, med cups, IV flushes and bandage sissors on you, along with pens, sharpie, and dry erase marker.

don't assume that you will be doing things quickly, it will take time to pick up on em.

Learn how to do a assessment asap and quickly. I can honestly say I can do a head to toe in about 5 minutes if not quicker, and I'll look at backs/butts when they get up or when they roll, often when they are rolling from side to side post admission.

Learn the rationle behind certain orders, never be afraid to question things and ask "why?"

After a while, you'll develop your own routine. Never assume that yours is the best or you know all. do what you can, when you can, and know that you may not be always able to do everything.

BREATHE!

dragonflyRN · Feb 20, 2010

Work with more than one preceptor....everyone runs their day differently. Be confident! ( I know you are!) And if you hate med/surg....there are other options!

debragail105 · Feb 20, 2010

Thank you all for the advice! I appreciate any help! I am good at watching what people do so maybe that will help! I hope to be working with more than one preceptor! I will have to remember to breathe as all of it will be overwhelming in the beginning! I am starting out in Med surg! My passion is emergency medicine but hard to get hired as a new graduate. I am thankful for the position I have to help me learn and adjust to the field and hopefully one day I will be a fabulous ER nurse! If anyone has any other tips! PLEASE let me know! Thank you!!! :yeah:

sassy_cassie · Feb 20, 2010

Build good working relationships with coworkers. Help them out by answering call lights, help turning and wiping pts and trading shifts if they need it. When your coworkers have your back things go so much better.

If you are nervous about calling doc's write down an outline of what you will say first, so you get everything needed in the call. This works good for report to. Gradually you can move away from this.

Ask to start iv's, Ng's etc. for others on the floor while you are being precepted and have time. The more practice on these the better

Goodluck

Reigen · Feb 20, 2010

You made it! You survived nursing school--All should be well, right? Once you’re out of school and the reality of your chosen profession hits you, it can be quite overwhelming, no matter how thorough your schooling was.

So what can you do to survive (or better yet thrive) during your first year out there? Here are some tips to get you started:

Be patient with yourself. You’re just starting out. Take time to learn and gain experience. Most seasoned nurses agree it takes a good year to become somewhat comfortable and two years to be able to handle most situations. Go easy on yourself and think about how far you’ve already come. Even the most competent nurse once started out exactly where you are now.

Focus on the positive. While it’s human nature to dwell on the negative, if you focus on the positive, that will become your reality. At the end of each day, reflect on what you learned and on at least one good thing you did for someone. Write it down, look at it, and fall asleep with that thought in mind. Keep a positive journal of the times you made a difference or helped someone, including any nice things people say about you. Review it often.

Help others. It’s never too soon to lend a helping hand to a coworker. You might even learn something in the process. Show your willingness to help, and others will do the same for you. Be sure to extend yourself to students and other new grads who follow you. Treat others as you wish to be treated.

Align yourself with positive, competent people. Experienced and friendly people are all around. Buddy up with those after whom you’d like to model yourself. A person doesn’t have to have the same title as you for you to learn something from him or her. Many RNs have told me they learned everything they know from an experienced LPN.

Show some initiative. Don’t wait for someone to tell you to do a procedure. Seek out opportunities to get the experience you need. If certain procedures aren’t done with any frequency on your unit, talk to your preceptor, unit educator, or nurse manager about getting that experience elsewhere. If a certain procedure is going to be done on your unit, see if you can participate (or at least observe). Show your willingness to learn.

Build good relationships. Don’t wait for others to come up to you. Introduce yourself to coworkers on all three shifts, to physicians, and to others. Have lunch with someone you don’t know, and get to know him or her better. Learn others’ names, and use them. Say good morning and good night to everyone. Become part of the team.

Keep learning. Use your drug reference guide, the Internet, policy and procedure manuals, and other resources. Ask questions, observe experienced people, and ask more questions. Remember — you have to do something for the first time only once. Then it starts to be old hat. Do your homework at the end of each day, and look up things that are new to you. Remember — this is phase two of your education.

Join professional associations. Become a member of your state nurses association and specialty association. These affiliations help you stay on the cutting edge, provide sources of support and help, offer educational programs, and give you a forum to share ideas, and so on. Don’t stay isolated within your department and your facility. Become part of the greater whole, and develop close ties with your colleagues on state and national levels.

Track your progress. We all have a tendency to look at where we are now and where we still want to go. We lose sight of the progress we’ve already made and keep making. Consider starting a log. Record your accomplishments periodically, including any new procedures you do. Start with what you’ve already done, including getting through school ready to take the boards, and keep adding to it. Review it on a regular basis to see how far you’ve really come.

Manage your stress. Stress is not something to be tolerated; it should be managed. Everyone has stress in his or her life. As caregivers, we’re particularly susceptible. Make time to socialize, engage in leisure activities and hobbies, exercise, meditate, and so on. That way, you’ll have more to give your patients, your family, and yourself.

Stay focused, and keep moving forward. With the passage of time, you’ll become more confident and comfortable in your new profession. You can do it! How do I know that? Because I was once right where you are now. Who knows? Maybe someday you’ll be giving advice to new grads or writing a career advice column for nurses. I’ve come a long way since I got out of school almost 22 years ago, and you will, too. Hang in there. It’s definitely worth it. You can do it. I know you can!

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · Feb 20, 2010

I used highlighters to color code on my report sheet various things that needed to done and info about pts. I designated different colors for different things.

For example, a pink highlighter dot means the pt is diabetic. A pink check mart next to that means they are scheduled for routine finger sticks. Yellow means pt has a foley. I would make two short yellow lines- one for I, the other for O- and fill in the yellow lines with the amounts for my charting and report.

A green mark means wound care/dsg change needed, and so on.

debragail105 · Feb 22, 2010

Thank you so much for all the tips. I am beginning to feel less anxious about starting but will not know until day one!

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Feb 22, 2010

Remember that you can learn something from everybody, be they the CEO of the company or a maintenance person, the DON or a CNA. So don't close off learning opportunities because of where/who the lesson is coming from. Keep an open mind and always be willing to learn.

Granted, all of these lessons won't be nursing skills per se...but it'll be things you could stand to learn nonetheless

boogeysmomRN · Feb 22, 2010

Thanks for sharing all your tips!! I am going into my 5th day in the ER as a new grad and I feel almost as if I'm drowning, haha. Not really that bad, but I know there is a lot to learn still and probably for a very long time. It helps to know that out of all the applicants, the manger considered the ones they chose to hire were the "cream of the crop". :) But I'm sure all of us new grads are extremely far from ever feeling comfortable at the daily routine, haha. So any more advice is most very welcome!

Thanks in advance! (and its VERY comforting to know that nearly every new grad feels this way) :)

tracyd77, RN · Jul 7, 2011

Thanks for the tips! I just got THE CALL yesterday, I have a job on our hospital's med/surg floor! I start Aug 22nd! They have a good orientation/precepting program but I'm so nervous. I'm afraid of doing something wrong or missing something important. There are a few clinical skills I never got the opportunity to do in nursing school and they scare me! Its been so long since we had our lab training on those skills. This really helps though, thanks!