Welcoming "Newbie" Advice

[RoVo70, RN]

Hello! I just received my RN and accepted my job April 1st and will be starting orientation on the 20th of this month. I'm so excited as this has been a life long dream!! Whoo! I will be on an Oncology/Med-Surg unit and although I'm older (45 next month) I am smart enough to know I no nothing other than what school prepared me for. lol So, with that being said, if you could give me some words of wisdom, time management advice, or whatever you think I could use starting out, I would truly appreciate it! I am a huge believer of team work, being organized etc and I get along well with everyone I meet, but just have the newbie jitters. So far, I've only met the unit manager and one of the nurse managers, although I do have a classmate starting there too. I'm so happy there is a place like this to go to for support. So....Ready, Set, Go! :)

[db2xs]

Congrats on your new job!

A first job is nerve wracking. I started off (and still am) in medical-oncology. My humble "advice" is to not rush; it's too easy to make mistakes. Look over your medications not just once, but at least two, even three times if you have to. Take five minutes to talk to your patients and/or their family; the sense of care you convey will go far. Time management comes with experience, and you'll figure out how to cluster your care. Don't think you're above helping out the CNAs.

This is the most important: Make sure you implement regular self-care! :-)

[nicolemy0215]

Congratulations!!!! Any "new" situation can make even the most confident person nervous so just keep in mind that every nurse you work with was the "newbie" at one point. My advice is to ask questions!!! The more you ask and get involved in anything new, the faster you learn. I started in ICU and transferred to Oncology and time management is key to both. I can tell you that it has always helped me tremendously to "anticipate" an emergency...so I get to work a little early and make sure I have the orders I will need for the day, get some NS bags primed and ready to go (what you don't use, another nurse will surely appreciate having available), make sure your rooms for the shift have the supplies you need in them...also always try and be proactive...ask if your patients need anything each time you check on them (blanket, water, snack, etc). In the beginning, making a "check off" list is helpful...after a few weeks of beginning nursing I made an Excel spreadsheet that listed all "tasks" I needed to complete and put them into columns for however many patients I would have and then just printed out a bunch and used them for the first year, just to make sure I had completed/documented everything I needed to do. You will find that learning time management early on will only benefit you and your patients. And then IF there is a code/reaction, you can focus on that and know that all your other patients have been taken care of.