Hello,
I am sorta of a new nurse. I graduated in May of 07. Finally got my RN in Feb. 08. I started out on the post-parutm/nursery floor. After 5 weeks in nursery, the put me in post-partum for cross training. The first day on pp I folled another nurse. The second day they gave me one patient. At this time I am learning to chart for that floor and about different paper work that needs to be done. The 3rd night they give me 6 patients. When it is over, the charge nurse says I did well even though I was behind on the charting. The next work day, they put me in with couplet care (caring for both mom and baby) with a totally different nurse, again. The next day they call me in and terminated me saying people felt I didn’t fit in, or I complained about the work (totally a lie) and a few other things one of wiich “We thought you had more experience” even though I was a new nurse. Any way, I got another job at much smaller hospital, pp and womens surgeries. After 6 weeks, they let me go saying I just wasn’t getting it. The first week being oreintation and 3 days I was cancelled because they had no patients. Some days I would only have 2 patients. Now I work in renal/med surg and have been for a week. I totally hate it. I pray each day and night before going to the job for God to help me absorb the information and retain it and not be a burden on someone. I really don[t want to stay there, what do I do.
Catrina
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September 24th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Are you interested in any other types of nursing – example: outpatient office type nursing or other outpatient settings? The hospital can sometimes be overwhelming – especially for new nurses. maybe it would help to get your feet wet in a different environment all together and see if you like that better. You might even find out you enjoy it more than the inpatient setting and it just took this bumpy course for you to be open to other options.
There are many different roles for nurses out there, so don’t feel like you HAVE to stay in the hospital environment – especially if you hate it. Maybe with your nursery/ cross training in post-partum areas you would enjoy working in an OB office and working with the same type patients in a different setting.
Keep your options open and don’t give up! You will find your passion and be thankful for the experiences along the way even though some aren’t as fun as others:)
September 25th, 2008 at 11:15 am
From what you have written here, it sounds as though the orientation processes you have been through have been terribly inadequate. Orientation for a new RN usually includes several weeks on the unit with a preceptor to help guide you in the routine of the unit, policies and procedures of the hospital, and to assure that you know how to care for the patient population you will be caring for. They are falling down on their obligation to provide adequate learning experiences for you. At the same time, you cannot go out there and work in an environment that you are unfamiliar with and practice competently. YOU MUST SPEAK UP if you are given an assignment that you are not ready to take. If I were you, I would do a little searching on the internet to find out about the orientation programs in your area. You may also be able to get recruitment and retention statistics from the human resource departments of the hospitals in your area. This may give you a little insight about the hospitals. One things is for sure… You have to do something quickly and you have to find something that you are going to stick with. Otherwise, as you might expect, your work history, whether it is your fault or not, is going to throw up a red flag to potential employers in the near future. This isn’t a fast food chain. You are a professional now and job “hopping” is not looked upon very fondly. We all have something of value to offer so keep your chin up and take the initiative to do some research and some quick thinking. Good luck.
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:28 am
I agree with Jackie and Kim. But I also think you need to do a solid self evaluation and not focus on what “they’ did to you in these prior jobs. Why not call on one of your nursing school faculty who know you well and who you trust. Tell the faculty person your story as you have written it here and see if there are things that perhaps you are unaware of in your behavior that you could correct and that would make you more apt to ‘fit in’. Or ask your faculty person where you can go from here for a positive career move.
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:30 am
Also, read the article on this site- 6 things your preceptor never wants to hear. It is great advice!
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:58 am
Catrina, I hope these responses have been helpful to you. They are all on target! But one thing I did not see mentioned is that when you are interviewing/hired, you should make it clear to the recruiter/manager that just because you have been out of school for over a year does not mean you have that much clinical experience. As a hospital-based Educator, I see it happen all the time–that the hospital staff assume your degree of experience is equal to the amount of time you have been out of school. This leads to giving the orientee an abbreviated Orientation. If the setting is a hospital, you should look for one that will give you a minimum of 12 weeks in Orientation, and hook you up with a Preceptor who will be open-minded and fair with you. You might want to ask the Manager if she will be open to your changing Preeptors if the first one doesn’t work out. You should spend about 6 weeks on days, and the other 6 on your permancent shift, and your pt. load should not be increased until you have mastered clinical, organizational & documentation skills with 1,2, 3, pts., etc.
Good luck!
October 7th, 2008 at 1:51 am
Maybe a hospital setting is not your “calling”. I thought it was for me when I got hired in ones of the cities, now county’s best hospitals. I was let go after 6 wks orientation, because I wouldn’t do my receptor’s job while she gossiped with the unit manager, and took her cigarette breaks. When I complained about this, my “great work” became “not well enough”, and out the door I was. But then I tried nursing homes, and other nursing settings, and I found myself enjoying the
field again. I don’t believe a person should be fired during their “orientation period”, as you are learning how the place is run. I was given just a week at the nursing home I work for now, and they say I’m one of the best nurses they have.