Hi fellows,
I would love to hear from new grads and experienced RNs(Preceptors), why the precetors give hard time to the new graduates and the new grads that had experienced a negative experience with preceptors.
I graduated 2 years ago, and I was fortunate enough to get a job soon. The problem started once one of my former class mate found out I was working in the same organization as she was. I found out later that she set me up. It was a very painful experience... The preceptors I had( expcept one that I really loved), was extremelly mean and liars.
So shocking for me to experience so much cruelty from " professionals and colleges". I would go home every day crying... I ended up quitting the job, it become too much for me. Does anyone have a comment?
Thanks,
Valeri
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August 25th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
I was a new grad 4 years ago. I had several preceptors during my orientation into critical care. My first was at a step-down unit. She was unprofessional and lazy. I took 2 patients the first night precepting with her, although it was my first time as a nurse! One patient was combative and tried to choke me with my stethoscope as I was changing an abd dressing. The other had had abd surgery and was soaking his dressings every 20 mins. I assessed him and found he had frank blood coming from the wound. She didn’t even come to check it out when I asked. She said, “It’s probably just drainage. Don’t worry about it.” I had not learned the finer points of charting yet and with my patient load, I was falling behind. I asked for help and she said “You’re gonna have to learn to do this on your own!” One of her friends yelled at me about my charting. Finally, I called the doctor to check out the patient with the excessive bleeding. We had several traumas that night and the doc didn’t get there til morning. Believe it or not, my preceptor left me and went home! I stayed and found out the patient had an artery nicked during surgery! I left that morning in tears, wanting to give up. Instead, I called the program coordinator at 8am on that Sunday and told her what happened. She told me to go home, get a good day’s sleep and come in Monday. I’m so glad she did! The next weekend with that nurse was better. Sure, it was like getting thrown into the deep end to see if you could swim, but I handled things better and learned to trust my skills. I had another preceptor who I wanted to strangle, but she ended up moving out of state, which was fine with me!
I have since become a neuro critical care nurse and love it. I am precepting and am acutely aware of my experiences as an orientee. I am careful to listen to my orientee, see where they are coming from, and offer words of encouragement as often as possible. The first night, I do the work and they watch, asking questions along the way. The next night, I have them do the work with me. Then, I slowly fade into the distance, watching their techniques and always available for questions. I want them to be comfortable in the critical care setting, which includes dealing with distraught family of very sick or critical injured patients.
I want to continue doing education, always remembering how I started and where I am now.
So hang in there! It’s not where you start but how you finish. In your next experience, you will be better prepared to handle any issues with preceptors. Listen, ask questions and, if you see a problem, ask for a different preceptor, if possible. There are good ones out there. I just hope to be one of them! 🙂