So now you are close to graduating from nursing school or you have graduated recently. Whichever the case, you will be in for a reality shock when you begin your vocation as a Registered Nurse. What do we mean by the term, “reality shock”? Well, like the term says, it is the reality that shocks us. The ask you may ask is, “so there is a disagreement in the reality of being a learner or graduate nurse”? The retort is an emphatic, Yes!
First of all, as a learner nurse you were given assignments that were not beyond the scope of your practice or ability. In expanding to that, you were working under your instructor’s license and either or not you were aware, they kept a very close watch on you. Therefore, there was a protection net that always hovered beneath you in case you were to fall. This is not the case as you take on the title, Registered Nurse. There is no protection net. You are out there by yourself, free to make decisions and make mistakes. With those decisions and mistakes you are also, Fully Accountable.
Survival
Now fantasize yourself with eight or more patients. You may be asking yourself, “What do you mean eight or More patients?” Most learner nurses never have more than six or seven patients and that is only at the very end of the program. Even then, the learner nurses can delegate tasks to assistive personnel thereby lessening their work load. However, there will be time that you will be on a floor, without any assistive personnel, with more than eight patients and no one to rely on except yourself. To aggregate this scenario, there may be patients that have very requisite care pathways that you must follow, incoming calls from patient’s families, doctor’s, operating room staff, and other collaborative care departments requesting information.
Now, let’s stop this scenario in its tracks. You probably feel the stress construction by just reading the old passage. If so, don’t worry, it is a perfectly general reaction. So, relax, and know that there are ways to ease this determined right of passage. Let’s take a look at some of the ways to help ease and deal with reality shock.
1. First of all, it is leading to understand that, “reality shock” does of course exist and you will come face to face with it. Knowing what you will face is most of the battle. The task at hand then becomes, knowing what steps to take and resources to use, and how to use them.
2. Learn as much as you can while your in-service training program, which normally lasts up to eight weeks or more. This means familiarizing yourself with every inch of your floor. Know where everything is located, from protection pins to I.V. Tubing. You may never know when you may need it, Now, and the worst thing that can happen is that you spend costly time seeing for something as small as a protection pin.
3. Know, who the assisted personnel are, and know them by name and face. Find out who will be the ones that you will be working with while your shift. What normally happens while in-service training is that graduate nurses train on the main shift, which is most oftentimes days, before transferring to the shift that they have been hired to work. Therefore it is very leading to know who you will be working with while your shift. Try also to produce a working association with the assistive personnel. Remember, it is not a popularity game, you are not out to make best friends. Your goal is quality outpatient care, and the outpatient comes first.
Let your intentions be known that your number one goal is to give the best outpatient care that you have respect for the care team assistive personnel and are a willing and helpful body to them as well. In doing this, you will have disabled the indiscernible wall that exists between nurses and assistive personnel. That wall is the one entitled, I am a Nurse and you are Only an aide. One thing that you must strive for is to use an even tone of voice, and fairness when delegating. You must also remember the ownership of delegation, which are as follows,
a. The right task,
b. The right person,
c. The right communication, (must be clear and concise),
d. The right feedback, (the person who is delegated the task must realize what it is that is asked of them and let the nurse know that they comprehend). By doing this you are ensuring that outpatient care will not suffer do to a personality glitch, which could have been avoided.
4. Know, know and Know where the policy and policy hand-operated is located on the floor. Part of your hospital in-service will consist of the introduction of the policy and policy Manual. This is the hand-operated that you will have to refer to many times for protocol from everything from changing out a Foley Catheter to transporting a outpatient to other floor. The final diagnosis will be in any investigation, “did the nurse use and supervene the policy and policy Manual?” You want to always be sure that you supervene the rules and protocols contained in your institutions manual. Therefore, you should know where it is located and be familiar with how to look up varied procedures and policies.
5. The policy concerning medication errors. Most everybody makes them and it is crucial that you know what paperwork is required to be filled out. It will come in handy. You cannot just, “wing it”, when production a decision, you have to supervene protocol.
6. Use assertive communication when interacting with doctors’. Assertive communication indicates that you are aware of yourself and your limitations as well as your liability to the patients that you care for. Using this form of communication with over assertive medical personnel will help you function to your maximum quality and earn respect as an independent care professional. facts on the uses and strategies concerning assertive communication, please refer to the text entitled, Nursing Today, Transition and Trends, by JoAnn Zerwekh, Jo Carol Claborn, 5th edition, Co. 2006, Saunders, Philadelphia.}
7. Ask questions. You will have time while your in-service training to ask questions and get answers. It is your right to do so. Remember, not knowing is not an excuse, and you do not want to be in a situation where there will be no-one to ask. This is not to say that you will know everything, but a least you are giving yourself a head start and a good solid foundation by knowing what you can. So don’t be afraid to ask. Also, know who your resources are, for questions that you may have on the shift that you will be working.
8. Find a mentor with whom you can relate. Try to find person not only on the shift while training, but also on the shift that you will be working. It is nice to find person who has the contact and insight as well as person that you can get along. There might be a time that you will want to call them in the middle of the night and vent your concerns, or just to have them give you determined input in your performance. Mentors are requisite to the increase of a new nurse.
9. Lastly, Know, Know and Know, what your State Nurse practice Act states. This Act, is your guideline for most all that you do as a Registered Nurse. Know it well.
Hopefully these tips will help to ease the reality shock that you will face while your transition from learner nurse to full time graduate nurse. Remember, you can’t do it all. You are a welcome asset to your employer, but first and leading an embodiment of all that Florence Nightingale stood for. Best wishes on your journey.
Learn more about nursing instruction at The Net Study Guide.
Reality Shock For Graduate Nurses
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