The Culture Shock
A great culture shock awaits the nursing graduates as they move from the student nurse to registered nurse. New nurses envision grateful patients, easy-going doctors, and helpful, supportive co-workers awaiting them at their workplace. When they realize the responsibilities are greater, the pace is faster, and some attitudes are negative, they are left feeling overwhelmed, disappointed, and frustrated.
The "culture shock" is awaiting new nurses at the door of the hospital or clinic. If they are not ready to handle their new emotions they will experience a longer healing period recovering from the stresses from the transition. Every nurse can name that moment when they thought this is not like nursing school. Help these new nurses brace themselves and move from clinicals to "real world" nursing.
1. Initially, when you transferred from nursing school into your nursing unit you had developed some expectations of how things were going to be and flow. What expectation of yours was not filled and became your biggest disappointment?
2. Name an instance or situation you did not anticipate or expect to encounter.
3. As a new nurse, learning has to happen at the speed of light, tell of a situation when you realized your learning pace needed some speeding up.
4. How did you remember and organize all that information you were supposed to learn for your job?
5. What’s your coping defense in preventing information overload?
6. One must quickly learn to deal the two forces in nursing if they want to survive. They are defined as “what you want to do vs. what you can do”. Tell me how this true in your nursing practice and if you struggled with this when you first started in nursing.
7. Were you shocked when you became aware of how many tasks needed attention, and all at the same time? How did you handle yourself and recommend a new nurse to do?
8. Describe the actual attitudes and personalities of your new coworkers, how were they different/similar than you expected?
9. How about your expectations of “team work”. Better or worse? Please explain.
10. Each nurse has their own limits concerning patience with patients, what weaknesses or strengths did you discover?
11. It can take several weeks to several years before a nurse grasps the concept that he or she is the one responsible for the patient’s life. When and how did you realize this?
12. If you could tell a new nurse the range of emotions they would experience on any given day, what would you say?
The Culture Shock
A great culture shock awaits the nursing graduates as they move from the student nurse to registered nurse. New nurses envision grateful patients, easy-going doctors, and helpful, supportive co-workers awaiting them at their workplace. When they realize the responsibilities are greater, the pace is faster, and some attitudes are negative, they are left feeling overwhelmed, disappointed, and frustrated.
The "culture shock" is awaiting new nurses at the door of the hospital or clinic. If they are not ready to handle their new emotions they will experience a longer healing period recovering from the stresses from the transition. Every nurse can name that moment when they thought this is not like nursing school. Help these new nurses brace themselves and move from clinicals to "real world" nursing.
1. Initially, when you transferred from nursing school into your nursing unit you had developed some expectations of how things were going to be and flow. What expectation of yours was not filled and became your biggest disappointment?
2. Name an instance or situation you did not anticipate or expect to encounter.
3. As a new nurse, learning has to happen at the speed of light, tell of a situation when you realized your learning pace needed some speeding up.
4. How did you remember and organize all that information you were supposed to learn for your job?
5. What’s your coping defense in preventing information overload?
6. One must quickly learn to deal the two forces in nursing if they want to survive. They are defined as “what you want to do vs. what you can do”. Tell me how this true in your nursing practice and if you struggled with this when you first started in nursing.
7. Were you shocked when you became aware of how many tasks needed attention, and all at the same time? How did you handle yourself and recommend a new nurse to do?
8. Describe the actual attitudes and personalities of your new coworkers, how were they different/similar than you expected?
9. How about your expectations of “team work”. Better or worse? Please explain.
10. Each nurse has their own limits concerning patience with patients, what weaknesses or strengths did you discover?
11. It can take several weeks to several years before a nurse grasps the concept that he or she is the one responsible for the patient’s life. When and how did you realize this?
12. If you could tell a new nurse the range of emotions they would experience on any given day, what would you say?
school daze,
i thought i rally wanted to do oncology nursing and be there to help people pass, when I finally got into that field I realized my I was more sensitive and was not able to be comfortable.
speed of light
My very 1st week on the floor, i was discharging two and getting three all at the same time, when i broke down and cried.
I switched floors.
Stay away from negative nurses, their attitude is contagious.
The New dependence
as i was going through the normal shift, getting comfortable with my nursing career when my patient went into resp distress, i realized that I needed to be more ready for the unexpected
Posted by: melissa | Dec 18, 2009 at 02:48
TOO TRUE!!! I can give you many instances where experienced nurses intimidated me ALMOST to the point of being afraid to ask a question that could have made the difference in life and death for my patient. But, eventually you just have to get over your fear of asking and realized that You are responsible for that life lying there. So what if you tick someone off for asking a question!! The reason they probably don't want to help you anyway is because they are afraid they will have to answer "i don't know".
Posted by: shannon mcghee | Aug 05, 2009 at 21:52