The way to make nurses orienting to your floor is not, perhaps, to look at them and say "I don't want you people touching any of these patients! Not even to take vitals!"
Just wait until they see you touch someone with your gloves off. They will write your ass up. Save yourself some grief, and don't share your thoughts on nurses owing their patients some human touch. Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut, at least until you are off orientation. Sorry, ICU nurses are mean. They just are. It sucks, and it is why I am not an ICU nurse anymore. (However, I do get just a touch more pleasure than I should when I am weighing which PICC line I can start right now, and if the patients come out even, I give the line to the nicer nurse. Nurses who have a nice triple lumen sub clavian line in their patient, and then are mean to the PICC nurse, nope, you are not first.)
Bitter, mean nurses suck. But you will get through it. I love your blog, and you will win them over. Just keep showing up and putting in the face time. It will be okay.
I'm sorry. Not all ICU nurses are mean, but man the ones that are stick in your memory forever. I have been out of orientation for 3 years, I had the best freaking preceptor, and I still remember every shitty thing my cow-orkers said to me and about me when I started.
I make a point of greeting all of our new folks, offering to help them, and hi-jacking them once in a while if I have an interesting patient to let them see-hear-touch.
Just wait until they see you touch someone with your gloves off. They will write your ass up. Save yourself some grief, and don't share your thoughts on nurses owing their patients some human touch. Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut, at least until you are off orientation. Sorry, ICU nurses are mean. They just are. It sucks, and it is why I am not an ICU nurse anymore. (However, I do get just a touch more pleasure than I should when I am weighing which PICC line I can start right now, and if the patients come out even, I give the line to the nicer nurse. Nurses who have a nice triple lumen sub clavian line in their patient, and then are mean to the PICC nurse, nope, you are not first.)
ReplyDeleteBitter, mean nurses suck. But you will get through it. I love your blog, and you will win them over. Just keep showing up and putting in the face time. It will be okay.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry. Not all ICU nurses are mean, but man the ones that are stick in your memory forever. I have been out of orientation for 3 years, I had the best freaking preceptor, and I still remember every shitty thing my cow-orkers said to me and about me when I started.
ReplyDeleteI make a point of greeting all of our new folks, offering to help them, and hi-jacking them once in a while if I have an interesting patient to let them see-hear-touch.
ICU doesn't make someone mean or nasty...an unhappy life does. Some people just suck & have no personality. Don't take it personally.
ReplyDelete