sorry i am a novice and nothing but a thorn in your flesh...i promise, i'll learn fast.
sorry that i make your day seem so long and bleak...i'm in your way, so i don't miss a thing
sorry that i think you're being mean to me...because you are. perception is reality.
sorry that all my questions make you want to tear your hair out...i seek only to understand
sorry that beneath all that swag i carry, you fail to see it for what it truly is- fear!
sheer fear at the amount of learning that i have to go through...
sheer fear at the thought of making a mistake..no matter how little...
sheer fear that nursing school experience even with all the stressors did not prepare me for this...
it is nothing compared to this...being on the floor on your own with no preceptor as a buffer.
fear that i would be laughed at and ridiculed..( oh don't think that i don't notice it when you do that to my fellow novice nurses....yes, sometimes to your colleagues too).
the same fear is what hinges on me that when you tell me to connect the dots, i fail to see it,
even when it is right in front of me...
and when you tell me to see the big picture, i try ...truly i do...it's just overshadowed by the little pieces i see
with the passage of time and a wealth of experience later, you forgot a vital component- you were once like me, a novice.
dear experienced nurse,
i finally realise something,
someday, i will be like you,
someday, i will have that experience..
someday, i will become an expert...
nursing school did prepare me for this...i just had to reach deep to find it.
the difference between us? i will remember how it was being a novice.
signed,
kt5
([color=lemonchiffon]could not sleep...trying out my poetry).
Wow. Threads like this make me cringe. I've been accepted to an excellent nursing program, have successfully finished all but one prereq (finally!), then I read threads like this and I wonder if nursing is a profession I want to go into. I have no doubt I'd probably enjoy the work itself. It's the people that give me second thoughts.
I find it fascinating that experienced nurses can post poems, vents and comments about their frustrations with new nurses, but the second a new nurse posts her own vents and frustrations regarding her own experiences in her new world of nursing, there are people who respond to her negatively, condescendingly and in some cases, down right rudely. What's even scarier are the people who jump in and piggyback off the rude posts, adding rude condescending, completely unconstructive comments of their own. I see time and time again on here that readers should "excuse" posts from bitter disgruntled experienced nurses because they are allowed to vent on a place like allnurses.com. They can say whatever they want however they want. Apparently new nurses aren't given this same freedom??? Where exactly should they go and feel safe to vent their frustration and fears without being made to feel they are weak, not thick-skinned enough, not experienced enough, not smart enough or whatever to post?
Someone, I think it was Ruby Vee, said repeatedly on this thread what are experienced nurses to do when someone "just can't learn?" Huh???? I don't think any nurse would've made it through nursing school, prereqs and the NCLEX if he or she was incapable of learning. Comments like that are condescending to one's intelligence, plain and simple. Who are you to say that someone can't learn? Maybe they just don't understand they way you are teaching it? Maybe you just can't teach? It could be a variety of factors but to automatically assume that they are incapable of actually learning for whatever reason just seems incredibly small-minded to me. That is really rude and I would be offended if someone said that to me.
This may not be very nice of me to say, but as a whole, I sometimes find this board to be a bit hypocritical (in more ways than one might I add). Posters are encouraged to vent and be open and honest but then some are crucified by several people for doing so. Then in the same breath people mention how the profession needs to unify and stick together. How can that happen if you have people in this profession who seem to offer excuses for everything, even very bad behavior??
The sad thing is that there was some good advice in this thread but it probably got overshadowed by the rude posts, which by the way, seemed to build momentum as the thread grew. I wonder if people would really say to someone's face the things they write on this board. The pitiful part is that they probably do and that is likely why you have nurses who are viewed as "eating their young."
I'd like to think that if I do choose to enter the wide world of nursing, I can come to a place like this to find comfort and respect from peers. Threads like this really make me wonder though...
When I graduated from school, I applied to a critical care ward for advanced pulmonary patients. I'll never forget taking the call from the supervisor.......
"Hell-o, is new nurse home?"
"Yes, I am she...."
"This is 'supervisor' calling to say, if you feel up to the challenge, we'd love to have you."
I had just super glued my finger to my thumb, and in that moment, staring at my hand, I had an epiphany. How the hell was I going to handle critical care when I couldn't even handle a tube of glue?
The first 6 weeks on day shift (orientation) went well enough. When I was moved to nights, my charge nurse was not amused to have several new grads at once, and made her disdain for us quite clear.
I recall hiding in a broom closet one night, frightened & crying, wondering how I'd gotten into such a fix.
Well, the seasoned nurses smelled blood, and like sharks to chum...they came for me.
Bitc*es.
They worked 12 hour shifts, I worked 8's. So the report I got was from a nurse that was staying the remainder of the shift, I was taking part of her load.
I must assume this was 'all in fun' cause she never mentioned that the patient in room xxx died (kicked the bucket, bought the farm....you get it...) during her report.They were waiting for the MD on call to come in & pronounce death...I guess they thought they'd have some fun at my expense in the 'mean time.'
Before I could get my IV's spiked for my 1st. round, she asked me to take a carton of milk to the afore-mentioned dead woman in room xxx, stating "now she's slow, but give her time....she'll drink it."
So, I took the carton down the hall, thinking "Damn, now I'm going to start the shift late...this will throw off my whole night."
Well, hell-o.
When I entered the room, it was obvious to anyone with 3 brain cells that she was no longer with us......then it dawned on me......like a nasty little thought bubble.....I'd been had.
So, I sat down, tuned in The Tonight Show & watched a little Carson. After 20 or so minutes, I emptied the milk in the patients bathroom sink, took the empty carton back to nurse 'humor' & said "you were right, she was slow, but she drank every drop."
I've never seen a nurses station empty so fast.
Hehehe......what do they say about 'he who gets the last laugh?'
When I graduated from school, I applied to a critical care ward for advanced pulmonary patients. I'll never forget taking the call from the supervisor.......
"Hell-o, is new nurse home?"
"Yes, I am she...."
"This is 'supervisor' calling to say, if you feel up to the challenge, we'd love to have you."
I had just super glued my finger to my thumb, and in that moment, staring at my hand, I had an epiphany. How the hell was I going to handle critical care when I couldn't even handle a tube of glue?
The first 6 weeks on day shift (orientation) went well enough. When I was moved to nights, my charge nurse was not amused to have several new grads at once, and made her disdain for us quite clear.
I recall hiding in a broom closet one night, frightened & crying, wondering how I'd gotten into such a fix.
Well, the seasoned nurses smelled blood, and like sharks to chum...they came for me.
******.
They worked 12 hour shifts, I worked 8's. So the report I got was from a nurse that was staying the remainder of the shift, I was taking part of her load.
I must assume this was 'all in fun' cause she never mentioned that the patient in room xxx died (kicked the bucket, bought the farm....you get it...) during her report.They were waiting for the MD on call to come in & pronounce death...I guess they thought they'd have some fun at my expense in the 'mean time.'
Before I could get my IV's spiked for my 1st. round, she asked me to take a carton of milk to the afore-mentioned dead woman in room xxx, stating "now she's slow, but give her time....she'll drink it."
So, I took the carton down the hall, thinking "Damn, now I'm going to start the shift late...this will throw off my whole night."
Well, hell-o.
When I entered the room, it was obvious to anyone with 3 brain cells that she was no longer with us......then it dawned on me......like a nasty little thought bubble.....I'd been had.
So, I sat down, tuned in The Tonight Show & watched a little Carson. After 20 or so minutes, I emptied the milk in the patients bathroom sink, took the empty carton back to nurse 'humor' & said "you were right, she was slow, but she drank every drop."
I've never seen a nurses station empty so fast.
Hehehe......what do they say about 'he who gets the last laugh?'
:lol2::lol2:That's the best one I've ever heard!!!!!!I'm just laughing at the fact that you outsmarted all the ****** as a new nurse and got the last laugh. You probably started out with more respect than most with that trick!!!
:lol2::lol2:That's the best one I've ever heard!!!!!!I'm just laughing at the fact that you outsmarted all the ****** as a new nurse and got the last laugh. You probably started out with more respect than most with that trick!!!
They thought twice before messin' with me again. That was in 1988 & I'm still friends with 2 of those ******.
When I graduated from school, I applied to a critical care ward for advanced pulmonary patients. I'll never forget taking the call from the supervisor.......
"Hell-o, is new nurse home?"
"Yes, I am she...."
"This is 'supervisor' calling to say, if you feel up to the challenge, we'd love to have you."
I had just super glued my finger to my thumb, and in that moment, staring at my hand, I had an epiphany. How the hell was I going to handle critical care when I couldn't even handle a tube of glue?
The first 6 weeks on day shift (orientation) went well enough. When I was moved to nights, my charge nurse was not amused to have several new grads at once, and made her disdain for us quite clear.
I recall hiding in a broom closet one night, frightened & crying, wondering how I'd gotten into such a fix.
Well, the seasoned nurses smelled blood, and like sharks to chum...they came for me.
Bitc*es.
They worked 12 hour shifts, I worked 8's. So the report I got was from a nurse that was staying the remainder of the shift, I was taking part of her load.
I must assume this was 'all in fun' cause she never mentioned that the patient in room xxx died (kicked the bucket, bought the farm....you get it...) during her report.They were waiting for the MD on call to come in & pronounce death...I guess they thought they'd have some fun at my expense in the 'mean time.'
Before I could get my IV's spiked for my 1st. round, she asked me to take a carton of milk to the afore-mentioned dead woman in room xxx, stating "now she's slow, but give her time....she'll drink it."
So, I took the carton down the hall, thinking "Damn, now I'm going to start the shift late...this will throw off my whole night."
Well, hell-o.
When I entered the room, it was obvious to anyone with 3 brain cells that she was no longer with us......then it dawned on me......like a nasty little thought bubble.....I'd been had.
So, I sat down, tuned in The Tonight Show & watched a little Carson. After 20 or so minutes, I emptied the milk in the patients bathroom sink, took the empty carton back to nurse 'humor' & said "you were right, she was slow, but she drank every drop."
I've never seen a nurses station empty so fast.
Hehehe......what do they say about 'he who gets the last laugh?'
Wow. Threads like this make me cringe. I've been accepted to an excellent nursing program, have successfully finished all but one prereq (finally!), then I read threads like this and I wonder if nursing is a profession I want to go into. I have no doubt I'd probably enjoy the work itself. It's the people that give me second thoughts.
I find it fascinating that experienced nurses can post poems, vents and comments about their frustrations with new nurses, but the second a new nurse posts her own vents and frustrations regarding her own experiences in her new world of nursing, there are people who respond to her negatively, condescendingly and in some cases, down right rudely. What's even scarier are the people who jump in and piggyback off the rude posts, adding rude condescending, completely unconstructive comments of their own. I see time and time again on here that readers should "excuse" posts from bitter disgruntled experienced nurses because they are allowed to vent on a place like allnurses.com. They can say whatever they want however they want. Apparently new nurses aren't given this same freedom??? Where exactly should they go and feel safe to vent their frustration and fears without being made to feel they are weak, not thick-skinned enough, not experienced enough, not smart enough or whatever to post?
Someone, I think it was Ruby Vee, said repeatedly on this thread what are experienced nurses to do when someone "just can't learn?" Huh???? I don't think any nurse would've made it through nursing school, prereqs and the NCLEX if he or she was incapable of learning. Comments like that are condescending to one's intelligence, plain and simple. Who are you to say that someone can't learn? Maybe they just don't understand they way you are teaching it? Maybe you just can't teach? It could be a variety of factors but to automatically assume that they are incapable of actually learning for whatever reason just seems incredibly small-minded to me. That is really rude and I would be offended if someone said that to me.
This may not be very nice of me to say, but as a whole, I sometimes find this board to be a bit hypocritical (in more ways than one might I add). Posters are encouraged to vent and be open and honest but then some are crucified by several people for doing so. Then in the same breath people mention how the profession needs to unify and stick together. How can that happen if you have people in this profession who seem to offer excuses for everything, even very bad behavior??
The sad thing is that there was some good advice in this thread but it probably got overshadowed by the rude posts, which by the way, seemed to build momentum as the thread grew. I wonder if people would really say to someone's face the things they write on this board. The pitiful part is that they probably do and that is likely why you have nurses who are viewed as "eating their young."
I'd like to think that if I do choose to enter the wide world of nursing, I can come to a place like this to find comfort and respect from peers. Threads like this really make me wonder though...
I'm starting to think it might be desireable to have a "Strictly for Venting" forum with no "Reply" function at all.
It would be incredibly dull, though.
But I think your point about people who "just can't learn." is worth discussing a bit. As you note, graduating an accredited nursing program and passing NCLEX pretty much proves ones ability to learn and possession of a knowledge base adequate for entry-level practice. So, by logical extension, we might reasonably conclude that any newbie who "can't" get it, in reality simply "won't" get it, that their problem isn't lack of ability, but a lack of something else: lack of effort, lack of humility--lack of character, even. And in a very limited number of cases, that conclusion may be justified. Not everyone who gets a license gets, or deserves, to keep it. But these really, really are the rare exception, rarer even than the brand new nurse who "gets it" from day one, with little or no drama.
But I humbly submit that the far more typical, and more maddening, situation is the person who is perfectly capable of learning, but is desperately in need of procto-cranial traction to pull their head out so they can hear what you're saying. Because a deer caught in headlights can't think, can't learn, can't even run and hide. And the maddening part is, most successful nurses have been in those headlights, themselves, at some point and know exactly how it feels. But knowing how it feels doesn't tell you what to do about it. Do you stand at the roadside calling, "Come here, little deer, come to me."? Or do you make yourself scarier than the headlights? It's a tough call when those headlights are getting closer and closer. I hope it's obvious I was joking about the "thank you, mistress, may I have another," but I do think when you're the one in the road, you owe a little something--respect, gratitude, cookies, whatever--to anyone who doesn't just watch you go splat and shrug.
When I graduated from school, I applied to a critical care ward for advanced pulmonary patients. I'll never forget taking the call from the supervisor.......
"Hell-o, is new nurse home?"
"Yes, I am she...."
"This is 'supervisor' calling to say, if you feel up to the challenge, we'd love to have you."
I had just super glued my finger to my thumb, and in that moment, staring at my hand, I had an epiphany. How the hell was I going to handle critical care when I couldn't even handle a tube of glue?
The first 6 weeks on day shift (orientation) went well enough. When I was moved to nights, my charge nurse was not amused to have several new grads at once, and made her disdain for us quite clear.
I recall hiding in a broom closet one night, frightened & crying, wondering how I'd gotten into such a fix.
Well, the seasoned nurses smelled blood, and like sharks to chum...they came for me.
Bitc*es.
They worked 12 hour shifts, I worked 8's. So the report I got was from a nurse that was staying the remainder of the shift, I was taking part of her load.
I must assume this was 'all in fun' cause she never mentioned that the patient in room xxx died (kicked the bucket, bought the farm....you get it...) during her report.They were waiting for the MD on call to come in & pronounce death...I guess they thought they'd have some fun at my expense in the 'mean time.'
Before I could get my IV's spiked for my 1st. round, she asked me to take a carton of milk to the afore-mentioned dead woman in room xxx, stating "now she's slow, but give her time....she'll drink it."
So, I took the carton down the hall, thinking "Damn, now I'm going to start the shift late...this will throw off my whole night."
Well, hell-o.
When I entered the room, it was obvious to anyone with 3 brain cells that she was no longer with us......then it dawned on me......like a nasty little thought bubble.....I'd been had.
So, I sat down, tuned in The Tonight Show & watched a little Carson. After 20 or so minutes, I emptied the milk in the patients bathroom sink, took the empty carton back to nurse 'humor' & said "you were right, she was slow, but she drank every drop."
I've never seen a nurses station empty so fast.
Hehehe......what do they say about 'he who gets the last laugh?'
I wish very strongly to encourage you to transfer to my floor. I believe we could have a good time.
I wish very strongly to encourage you to transfer to my floor. I believe we could have a good time.
The way I see it, if you got to be there, you might as well have a good time. I know inpatient nursing is stressful enough, no need to add to it with bickering & backbiting. Put a happy tune in your heart & get on with it.
Thanks for the compliment, and even though I'm retired, just knowing there are still people with a sense of humor out there, gives me a feeling of hope for us all.
How could I forget....the glue, oh God...the glue....
When the phone rang, I had glue all over my hands. Not only did I successfully glue my index finger to my thumb, I was trying to answer the phone.....handle the tube of glue....paper towels.....long story short, I glued the phone to my other hand.....it was in my hair....everywhere.
When I went in for some final paper work the supervisor asked me why I'd cut my long beautiful hair......
When I graduated from school, I applied to a critical care ward for advanced pulmonary patients. I'll never forget taking the call from the supervisor.......
"Hell-o, is new nurse home?"
"Yes, I am she...."
"This is 'supervisor' calling to say, if you feel up to the challenge, we'd love to have you."
I had just super glued my finger to my thumb, and in that moment, staring at my hand, I had an epiphany. How the hell was I going to handle critical care when I couldn't even handle a tube of glue?
The first 6 weeks on day shift (orientation) went well enough. When I was moved to nights, my charge nurse was not amused to have several new grads at once, and made her disdain for us quite clear.
I recall hiding in a broom closet one night, frightened & crying, wondering how I'd gotten into such a fix.
Well, the seasoned nurses smelled blood, and like sharks to chum...they came for me.
Bitc*es.
They worked 12 hour shifts, I worked 8's. So the report I got was from a nurse that was staying the remainder of the shift, I was taking part of her load.
I must assume this was 'all in fun' cause she never mentioned that the patient in room xxx died (kicked the bucket, bought the farm....you get it...) during her report.They were waiting for the MD on call to come in & pronounce death...I guess they thought they'd have some fun at my expense in the 'mean time.'
Before I could get my IV's spiked for my 1st. round, she asked me to take a carton of milk to the afore-mentioned dead woman in room xxx, stating "now she's slow, but give her time....she'll drink it."
So, I took the carton down the hall, thinking "Damn, now I'm going to start the shift late...this will throw off my whole night."
Well, hell-o.
When I entered the room, it was obvious to anyone with 3 brain cells that she was no longer with us......then it dawned on me......like a nasty little thought bubble.....I'd been had.
So, I sat down, tuned in The Tonight Show & watched a little Carson. After 20 or so minutes, I emptied the milk in the patients bathroom sink, took the empty carton back to nurse 'humor' & said "you were right, she was slow, but she drank every drop."
I've never seen a nurses station empty so fast.
Hehehe......what do they say about 'he who gets the last laugh?'
:lol2: HAHAHA, that is flippin' awesome!! You are my new role model
hey y'all everyone lighten up! To the new grad, there are RNs out there who will be kind and will help you and answer your questions. To the old RNs, no need to be mean and treat people as if they are stupid.
Some RNs are nicer to their pts than they are to student nurses. WHAT is up with that? These are the RNs who will take care of us in the future !
For Pete's sake, don't trash them. I am sure I made every mistake one can make, and turned out to be a good nurse. There is no substitute for experience. Give them a break.
:lol2::lol2:That's the best one I've ever heard!!!!!!I'm just laughing at the fact that you outsmarted all the ****** as a new nurse and got the last laugh.
You probably started out with more respect than most with that trick!!!
GaMBA
161 Posts
Wow. Threads like this make me cringe. I've been accepted to an excellent nursing program, have successfully finished all but one prereq (finally!), then I read threads like this and I wonder if nursing is a profession I want to go into. I have no doubt I'd probably enjoy the work itself. It's the people that give me second thoughts.
I find it fascinating that experienced nurses can post poems, vents and comments about their frustrations with new nurses, but the second a new nurse posts her own vents and frustrations regarding her own experiences in her new world of nursing, there are people who respond to her negatively, condescendingly and in some cases, down right rudely. What's even scarier are the people who jump in and piggyback off the rude posts, adding rude condescending, completely unconstructive comments of their own. I see time and time again on here that readers should "excuse" posts from bitter disgruntled experienced nurses because they are allowed to vent on a place like allnurses.com. They can say whatever they want however they want. Apparently new nurses aren't given this same freedom??? Where exactly should they go and feel safe to vent their frustration and fears without being made to feel they are weak, not thick-skinned enough, not experienced enough, not smart enough or whatever to post?
Someone, I think it was Ruby Vee, said repeatedly on this thread what are experienced nurses to do when someone "just can't learn?" Huh???? I don't think any nurse would've made it through nursing school, prereqs and the NCLEX if he or she was incapable of learning. Comments like that are condescending to one's intelligence, plain and simple. Who are you to say that someone can't learn? Maybe they just don't understand they way you are teaching it? Maybe you just can't teach? It could be a variety of factors but to automatically assume that they are incapable of actually learning for whatever reason just seems incredibly small-minded to me. That is really rude and I would be offended if someone said that to me.
This may not be very nice of me to say, but as a whole, I sometimes find this board to be a bit hypocritical (in more ways than one might I add). Posters are encouraged to vent and be open and honest but then some are crucified by several people for doing so. Then in the same breath people mention how the profession needs to unify and stick together. How can that happen if you have people in this profession who seem to offer excuses for everything, even very bad behavior??
The sad thing is that there was some good advice in this thread but it probably got overshadowed by the rude posts, which by the way, seemed to build momentum as the thread grew. I wonder if people would really say to someone's face the things they write on this board. The pitiful part is that they probably do and that is likely why you have nurses who are viewed as "eating their young."
I'd like to think that if I do choose to enter the wide world of nursing, I can come to a place like this to find comfort and respect from peers. Threads like this really make me wonder though...