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Discussion

unknowledgable

I am a new grad rn, on the floor for 5 months. I feel terribly inadequate, like I will never learn what I need to. Everything from diabetes and insulin (feel terribly unsure about that) to when to panic (O2 sat dropping, I need to come up with some kind of check list before I start getting butterflies in my stomach, like rearrange oxygen sensor, head of bed up, deep breaths...) to procedures (picc and cvc dressing changes, ostomy changes) to common diseases and what to look out for (small bowel obstruction, this is what to expect..)

There is only a handful of nurses on the floor that I feel I can go to with questions, there is a pack of incredibly witchy nurses that I always seem to get stuck with. They are so high and mighty they won't smile at you in hall when you smile at them...

I enjoy the patients, I like the manager, like the hospital, some days are better than others, just tired of not knowing.

Any suggestions? Any real good books out there?

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Just in terms of when to panic when looking at numbers - remember that they are just numbers, and look at the patient. If you have an O2 sat of 80% but your patient is sitting there looking fine, you can take the time to check the probe, the O2, reposition etc. If they are blue or difficult to wake, it's time to get to action. Don't get too focused on the numbers - they are just one tool to use in assessing your patients.

What about insulin/diabetes confuses you? If you can narrow down your questions, it becomes easier to address them.

I found lists helpful when I started. Writing down the stops of things, which I can carry around on notecards and refer to, helps until a task becomes automatic. Be methodical until it does. And it WILL become automatic. 5 months is not a long time.. give yourself a chance. You will make mistakes, just make sure that you learn from them and try not to make the same mistakes a lot.

Always remember to treat the patient and not the equipment. I work ICU and can't tell you how many time the monitors alarmed for a decreased O2 sat and I walk in the patient is nice and pink, has no shortness of breath but is moving their hand around that the finger probe is on or the probe is laying in the bed. Seems like white hospital sheets sat around 82-85% lol.

If the peak times of insulin that you are giving is what is hanging you up make a little cheat sheet that you can hang on your badge to reference.

Personally I felt as a new nurse that I didn't have a clue and wondered who in the heck thought it was a good idea that I take care of these patients and then about the 5-6th month it clicked. I really did know what to do and if I didn't and I walked out into the hallway and said I need help in here people really did show up.

Hang in there and don't give up!!!!!!

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