Tips for nurses in their first year of nursing

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Please share any tips you might have for our new nurses. Hopefully, this will become a great resource of nursing tips from all of our experienced nurses from around the globe.

Specializes in LTC, MED SURG.

tips...longterm care

follow the mars always

count your narc drawer correctly

double check dosage ie: 1 0r 2

always have your own tx scissors

start with the most difficult resident

reorder meds asap when low

be prepared always for delays

never sit at the nursing station long * the phones *...lol

mark the books as you go...saving for later when there never comes a later...lol

remember the cpr dnr codes

i & o's

bm list

answer call bells * the cna's keep track of who does * give to recieve

monthly summaries...:bugeyes:

carry your own steth

do your bp's ab's temps...ie: parameters

always have 2 pens & a black marker

know how to take a phone order

put new papers in charts ie: nurses notes...when you know its nearing the end.

remember to add your shift and date on your note

injuries ie: skin tears falls..etc must fill out incident report & call family and or doc..even if the resident is capable make the call.

write neatly

remember accu checks most are 630am 1130am and 430am

never mix lantus with any insulins

assess skin issues when doing tx's * theres always something *

make sure to document nourishment & med pass liquids into i&o's

carry a container of prune juice

know your pixis pro's and cons...lol

restock med cart and empty garbage

clean off top with alcohol or other antimicrobial...lol

....theres so much to do and so much to remember.

take your time and always smile...it gets better.

oh 1 more thing...dont make plans close to your tour end....because youll likely have to stay every now and then....:p a little past 3...lol or 11 or 7.

good luck 2 you

jill

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Specializes in Med Surge.

I've been out of school and working med surg for about 6 months and I too was told by my preceptor that I needed to work on time management! So how long does it take? Probably at LEAST 4-6 months before you feel more comfy and then up to a year to get in the groove. You'll establish your own way of doing things, your own routine. You'll learn from watching some of the more seasoned vets..you may pick up on some of their shortcuts but don't ever compromise patient safety! You'll develop more confidence.

But MED SURG is the boot camp of nursing. If you can do a year on med surge, you're prepping yourself for smooth sailing on down the road.

DONt worry! You will get faster. But that comes with a lot of time. Prioritizing is something that you will learn through making mistakes. Remember that patient care ALWAYS takes precedent over paperwork. if you are charting a note and someone comes up and says can you come check on mother or something...hop up and go check on mother.

It is so hard to be a new nurse. It helps to have support. Good luck to you!

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Specializes in addictions recovery, tele, peds.
I have only been a nurse for a little over a month. And I know one of the biggest fears is having to call the Doctor. So far I have had great success in not having a doctor yell at me (even the one's the other nurses have said aren't very nice) or treat me like I'm stupid. I don't know if it is luck but here are a few tips that have helped me out.

- Always make a list of the things you need to mention.

- If calling labs or test results I always look up what the previous one's were in case they ask.

- If I'm told I have a return call from a doctor I always grab the chart and take it with me in case I need to look something up (& so I can write the order)

-I try to anticipate what they will order so I can provide them with the right info needed for them to decide what orders they need to make

- When working nights I always go through all my patient's charts to make sure they have some type of pain medicine ordered or assess if pain is an issue with the patient so that If I need to get an order I can do it at a decent time of night. I have had several patients admitted with chest pain yet not a single pain med was ordered.

I also work on a floor with tons of different doctors, all of which none of their signature's look like their names. I have started to make a little book with a photocopy of each of the physician's signature and their name for easy reference.

Hope these tips help!

These are awesome, I actually copied and pasted these into a notebook ty

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Organization is the key.

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I've been out of school and working med surg for about 6 months and I too was told by my preceptor that I needed to work on time management! So how long does it take? Probably at LEAST 4-6 months before you feel more comfy and then up to a year to get in the groove. You'll establish your own way of doing things, your own routine. You'll learn from watching some of the more seasoned vets..you may pick up on some of their shortcuts but don't ever compromise patient safety! You'll develop more confidence.

But MED SURG is the boot camp of nursing. If you can do a year on med surge, you're prepping yourself for smooth sailing on down the road.

DONt worry! You will get faster. But that comes with a lot of time. Prioritizing is something that you will learn through making mistakes. Remember that patient care ALWAYS takes precedent over paperwork. if you are charting a note and someone comes up and says can you come check on mother or something...hop up and go check on mother.

It is so hard to be a new nurse. It helps to have support. Good luck to you!

Just last week I told my boss that I knew I was driving my preceptor crazy - I know she (my preceptor) expects me to go at warp speed, but I've only been on the floor since mid September (and 3 weeks of that was in class). I know speed will come and I am very happy with the way I'm doing. I told my boss that I wasn't willing to sacrifice pt safety for speed. My boss wholeheartedly agrees, but she isn't the one who follows me day in and day out and makes my environment tense. I needed to hear that, thank you.

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It is actually really great to hear that everyone has their own rough experiences their first year, because when it comes down to it, if our first impression of nursing through our first year was easy, we would have the wrong idea of our career. Hang in there everyone! If it makes anyone feel better, I haven't even started on the floor yet. I'm only on my second day of orientation in a lecture. For advice for anyone who hasn't interviewed yet for a job, one thing this thread really reminded me to do is interview the manager when you are being interviewed yourself. As I was trying to sell myself, I also came back with the questions of, "If I don't know something or do something well, will I be told how to correct my actions instead of just being told I am wrong?" or "I know I will not do things as fast as a veteran nurse and I know I have a lot to get used to my first year, but how will I know I won't walk in here after the first week feeling too overwhelmed?" He was very impressed with my concern about these issues and came back with great responses like, "We work as a team here and that is very important to us," and "You can ask ANYone whatever you need. We have all been in the same position as you." That's when I knew I picked the right floor.

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Specializes in Pulmonary.

Like the photocopy idea for md's signature for a reference.

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I know when I used to be a medic, a Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopoeia came in real handy for drugs. Very small pocket sized handbook that categorizes drugs, dosages, generic/trade names, and vital drug information. The doctors and medics I worked for highly recommended it. Faster than a pda and cheaper too. I do believe they are due for 2009 version. Even doctors can't remember the correct dosage for a particular meds too. Thats why there are cheatsheets.

http://www.amazon.com/Tarascon-Pocket-Pharmacopoeia-2008-Twenty-Second/dp/0763765988/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227483566&sr=8-2

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Thank you sooo much I needed that!!

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I'm gonna have to get one of those! Thanks

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I am going to be a nurse and this was nice to read these pieces of advice!

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I will pass this onto new nurses that I know.

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