4 weeks in... What do yal' think about this???

[tmartin83]

Hi All!!!

Here is a summary of my adventure for the past few weeks, so bare with me:

I started at "this" hospital about a month ago, and my orientation is only 6 week, which scares me. I am now into my fourth week, and I am not feeling so confident in my job right now. I knew that when I graduated I was sooo prepared to be that great nurse, and ready to do everything that I was taught, but one big thing is getting to me... Seeing that the patient load that I will have is a minimum of 8-13 pts (my preceptor and I had 18 pts last week!!!), I have been "slacking", and not giving the patient care that I feel needs to be given. I have found myself running like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get in everything that needs to be done with each patient (more of the technical stuff than anything). I feel like poop not because I'm tired, but because I'm re-evaluating what I could have done better.

I am about to be cut loose to be on my own, and I honestly fear not only for the safety of my license that I worked my a** off for, but also for the safety and satisfaction of my patients that are in my load. I like being able to converse with my patients, do a thorough assessment, etc... but I feel that the way they are teaching me here is to be sloppy and just get in and get out, ya know ( I don't like half-a**ing)??? I can't do the assessments that I need to do, and I feel like the patients know this. I also find patients coming to ME and pretty much complaining about the hospitals and doctors here (they love me though :-) ), and I find myself lost and not knowing how to respond ( I obviously don't want to talk down on the organization that I work for). Also, the nurses on this floor curse like sailors, complain about patients, and sometimes even refuse to do tasks just because... I actually gave a bed bath once, and was called out for it because "It's not the RN's job". My patient's daughter even pulled my badge reel and said "Oh, you're an RN??? I though the RNs around here were too good to do this" :-/. There's really no interdisciplinary team dynamic going on here, and I simply don't know how to, or even if I should, approach the nurse manager about this. I also experienced my first code yesterday (which sort of traumatized me a bit, because it was definitely the messiest code I've ever seen, but it wasn't my patient).

This hospital is not Magnet; far from it actually (but they are trying to be), and they are in the process of transferring from paper to electronic, so that makes things very confusing (especially with doctors who are resisting the change and still writing orders on paper that I can't read to save me!)

I want to really know what do you think about all of this, especially the patient load that I am taking here as a new graduate... Do you think it's safe??? Is this even a legitimate concern that I should have??? I can handle 4-7 patients with no problem, but when it climbs over 8, I don't feel comfortable at all... This hospital has had nurses come and go for a number of reasons; all of which I am slowly beginning to see. I was sure that I was going to stay here and would love the hospital, but now I am strongly considering going to Hawaii with the hubby in the next two months (where there are no nursing jobs :-/), as I am already sensing some burnout every time I come home. It's only been a little over a month, but I'm praying that I can safely and sanely continue on until November, when we will be relocated.

This is all a bit difficult to swallow for me, and I greatly apologize for going on a long rant about all of this.

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

To answer your thread title question, I got to here...

Seeing that the patient load that I will have is a minimum of 8-13 pts (my preceptor and I had 18 pts last week)

...and thought, "*****!"

[tmartin83]

lol @ dudette10! Yup, and it's on a med-surg floor...

[Aurora77]

That's terrifying! I don't know how even the best, most experienced nurse could safely handle 8-13 pts, much less a new grad. That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. yikes!

[maiday]

Wow! I feel for you. Move to CA :) Our max pt load is 5...

[Guest505077]

hey there

despite being a new grad - you're gut feeling is telling you alot, time to move on - you've got a long career ahead of you that can be rewarding and where you can make a difference - in the right place...

good luck :)

[tmartin83]

thanks yal'! This pt. load on a med-surg floor is by far the largest I've come across... I hate the fact that it's only been 4-5 weeks and I'm feeling this way, but at the same time, I don't want to place my license at any kind of risk...

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

I'm sorry but that would scare me as an experienced nurse to be responsible for that many pts. I wonder if they have a higher rate of codes/rapid responses and pt falls.

[tmartin83]

@ChristineN, that's a good point, and something that I should definitely look into! I just know that the patient's family members that complain to me say that they don't like this hospital at all... I love the fact that they feel comfortable enough to tell me about it and how they feel.... I really feel that's what it's all about. Even though we have LPNs and CNAs on the floor, I still feel as if there are some missing elements needed to provide the care; I just can't pinpoint it. It's just not the way that I feel it needs to be.