You know when you are a good nurse when...

[NewlyGradBSN]

I am currently the junior nurse.

Whenever I am on duty, I sometimes hear things lacking from the previous shift/ comments about their work. Everybody talks behind people's back. I believe it's not productive even though they are venting because of the added work load. I am afraid that I am lacking a lot of things.

During duty, I see to it that I always come early. First because I dont want to hear anything from them and second I feel unethical to be late especially if the workload is "UGH".

I lack time management skills, critical thinking and I think my colleagues would prefer to be on duty with someone else other than me....

I'm really afraid because, I believe even though I have been training for almost a year, I still lack things.

How do I know that I am cut out to be a nurse? and can you give me tips to be a good one. I am a staff nurse on duty in the floors.

[LifelongDream]

When I first graduated, I accepted a position on a Pediatric floor. I was SUPER excited and eager to get going on learning everything. Our day and night shifts had a good rapport because our day and night charge nurses were sisters. There was one particular nurse on the day shift (opposite rotation). She was very condicending when talking to me during report and always made snide remarks. One day, she yelled down the hall to another nurse that the information I provided during report was inaccurate and that listening to me was a waste of her time.

I left the hospital in tears that day and went back to see my nursing instructors to vent because I knew they would understand. One of my favorite instructors told me that she saw me as nieve and vulnerable and that she was attacking me because it made her feel like she was a better nurse. She suggested that I take her aside and call her on all of the things she had been doing to make me feel horrible about my patient care.

When I went back to work, I took her aside and told her that enough was enough. I told her that I provided accurate information based on my assessment of the patient 15 minutes prior to report and that things change over time. I also told her that she had a wealth of knowledge that she could share with me and teach me and that her behavior was not constructive in any way, shape, or form. She sincerely apologized and said that she would do better in the future. I stayed there for another two months and I did a great job of taking care of our routine patients. Patients that had more complicated/advanced disease processes still scared me until I left after 10 months. Find a place to work that makes you feel good and forget people that live to make your life heck!:heartbeat

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

my sincere advice to you, go now. peace!

thank you, i'm already in the process. i will be joining your ranks soon!!!

i enjoy being around the non-bedside nurses while training and in school. i also enjoyed being around all of my former nurse managers.... so i am in the process of leaving bedside due to the contacts i have successfully made as a bedside nurse. i am not bitter or angry. when i make up my mind, i move quickly. i just like to post to others to let him/her know that yes, bedside nursing is what it is... but the profession as a whole is not bedside nursing.

[jollydogg_RN, ADN, BSN]

"you know when you are a good nurse when..." you are finally able to leave the catty, vicious, unprofessional behaviors of your co-workers in a bedside nursing position behind to care for patients directly or indirectly in professional nursing positions!

did i make myself clear? if not here you go: you are a good nurse when you know that your work environment is too toxic to continue to provide excellent patient care. so rather then continue to force yourself to work there you either get another staff nurse job or you leave bedside nursing. i am choosing the latter.

i am done with changing one bedside nightmare for another. positions away from the bedside require your co-workers to behave professionally because they have no choice. they work with non-nurses all shift in a business like environment and in order to succeed, he/she must be professional.

couldn't....agree.......more.

[jollydogg_RN, ADN, BSN]

from canesduke....

i am also a second career rn. i used to be a graphic artist, and the employees were mostly men. that job was so fun that i felt like i got paid for playing! we would literally sit around the conference table and draw, sketch out storyboards, throw ideas out wildly and then put them into a format.

being the only woman in my family, i can tell you that men are highly competitive. they are just not as passive aggressive as women. when they have a beef with you, they tell you and then get on with life. women tend to let something bother them, then let it simmer...and simmer. but i digress...

i always said this about nursing, canes...... working with women and men are totally different when it comes to altercations. with men, you have it out right there, express your differences, then go out later and have a beer. with women, you think everything is ok until you find a knife in your back two weeks later.

floor nursing with women is the pits. sorry ladies, most women would tend to agree with me.

[NewlyGradBSN]

thanks for the comments. I love the staff, dont get me wrong. It's just that there are things I still do not know. I feel stupid for not knowing that much.

I love learning day by day. I love the fact that I am somehow gaining confidence day by day. There was this duty way back when, it was my first time to go on single duty. There was a patient who has elevated heart rate, which was her usual heart rate. She could go on to 140s without feeling anything wrong. There was an order to give a medication with "symptomatic tachycardia". The order was "May give (med) with symptomatic tachycardia". The patient made no complaints to us the whole shift. So we didn't give it. Then, at the end of the shift, I said that we didn't give this medication to the next shift which were my seniors. There was even a supervisor at that time in our station. They said that we should have given it. So we did even though it was the end of our shift. The next day they noticed that there was a long gap between the order and the time that the medication was given. Later that day, they said that we shouldn't have given it because symptomatic means that if she manifested any other symptoms related to her tachycardia not just her usual heart rate. So, I explained that I asked my seniors about it, they said that we should have given it. The medicine was p.r.n. So I dont know if we were wrong to give it or not...

This is my dilemma, and Im learning day by day.

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

from canesduke....

i always said this about nursing, canes...... working with women and men are totally different when it comes to altercations. with men, you have it out right there, express your differences, then go out later and have a beer. with women, you think everything is ok until you find a knife in your back two weeks later.

floor nursing with women is the pits. sorry ladies, most women would tend to agree with me.

now that i work with mostly women, i am a bit...how should i say...unpopular? i never did get the filter on my mouth that was supposed to come with etiquette classes. since i was raised with only brothers, my mother insisted on these classes so that i would develop into a "proper lady". (sorry mom...but here is a kiss from me to you for the effort.)

i absolutely believe in stating your needs point blank and getting an uncomfortable situation resolved before it hampers effective communication. i have been reprimanded in the past for not sugar coating a situation when voicing a concern in regards to patient safety. the doc that reprimanded me did eventually back down, but she never did have a face to face talk with me about her concerns; rather she went straight to my nm. i was so confused. why did she not just talk to me? i don't get the whole diversion of communication. we can get from point a to point b without the static.

state clearly what your issue is, state what you want, ask for a response. why is that so difficult? i don't understand....

[Chin up]

thank you, i'm already in the process. i will be joining your ranks soon!!!

i enjoy being around the non-bedside nurses while training and in school. i also enjoyed being around all of my former nurse managers.... so i am in the process of leaving bedside due to the contacts i have successfully made as a bedside nurse. i am not bitter or angry. when i make up my mind, i move quickly. i just like to post to others to let him/her know that yes, bedside nursing is what it is... but the profession as a whole is not bedside nursing.

i am so happy to hear this, you were breaking my heart. i should have known you had a plan. glad you responded. go kick some non bedside ass! i did! peace!

[stateofart]

When you have gone through a hostage crisis in the line of duty as a nurse and you still do nursing, I think I can say I am a good nurse. I started this thread after being held hostage in Panama City Florida with two other nurses. My user name was "Clarity" until I changed it. I'm good, thanks to my belief in Jesus, who helped me thru it all.

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

I still hesitate to call myself a "good nurse" because I learn every day. I suspect I will never give myself that title then. However, I am more confident, and I now enjoy going to work. You just do the best you can, listen to your patients, know what you don't know, prioritize well, help your coworkers when you can, don't gossip, don't take things personally, give the benefit of the doubt, and address any problems directly and privately with the person you have issues with.

[stateofart]

There is bad, good, and the best. I am, too, striving to be the best at what I do. Just something to reach for :)