my-pocket-preceptor

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Thu, 20 Jan 2022 11:33:02 GMT

WE.MADE.IT.

Happiest of New Years to you my fellow nurses, we made it. To commemorate this grad event, I want to share with you 22 things I wish I knew as a new grad nurse and hopefully, this will help you on your journey from novice nurse to experience nurse in the year 2022.

#1 I am my greatest asset, in nursing and in my Life!

You CAN improve any aspect of your life, your career trajectory, your job etc. for the better at any point and it all starts with you. You do not need to look any further.

#2 Invest early, like, as soon as I earn my first paycheck early, invest.

Invest in whatever area you take the time to learn. Stock, bonds, real estate, day trading, crypto currency, a new business, startup businesses, or sales. Take the time to learn and have your money work for you.

#3 when going to buy a car, don’t tell them that you are a nurse

You probably don’t have much credit build up yet as a new nurse, DTI ration may be high due to loans, so unless you go in prepared you will get the higher interest rate for your car purchase and car dealers will think you make a lot of money and will want to upsell you.

#4 Whatever your weakness is a nurse, turn it around to be your greatest strength this year.

Focus on how it is an asset to you and not a liability. For example, if you are detailed oriented, as I am and it would cause me to stay later after work to double check my documentation and make sure everything was done, use it as your superpower and focus on how you get things done thoroughly and will help you to be confident that your license is protected should anyone question your documentation/patient care.

#5 Nursing school teaches you safety, nursing orientation teaches you competency and skills, working independently as a nurses teaches the art and science of nursing.

In every area of the journey, be present and take the value from each experience.

#6 Safety first, safety for yourself, your professional license, and your patient.

Safety is the name of the game, it should continue to remain and pivotal priority and integral part of the care you provide to your patients at all times. If is not safe, do not do it. Period.

#7 Colleagues are going to talk about you and misunderstand you and often misrepresent what you intended, however, let it be.

No one is perfect and do not hold yourself that that standard. They will continue to talk and gossip no.matter.what.

#8 You are more than enough. Always.

#9 Take a lunch break, re-invest time and energy into yourself each shift.

Whether it’s taking coffee break, having lunch alone, or going to a walk to enjoy some fresh air, replenish yourself each shift you work.

#10 Start you med pass / tasks / dressing change / bath / charting etc. earlier than you think;

It often takes longer than you expect.

#11 Drink more water!

Hydration is key, it helps to remain focused and clear, and it’s good for our own bodies.

#12 Talk positively to yourself and about yourself.

#13 Don’t take things personally

Majority of the time, it has very much less to do with you than you think. If you walk into a patient room and the family doesn’t acknowledge you, let it go, it has nothing to do with you. There will be many, many more examples of what can happen in any given scenario, either way. Do not take it personally.

#14 Stand up for yourself

Whether it’s an unfair assignment, micro aggression, pay negotiation etc. Stand up for your rights! Similarly, how we advocate for our patients, at this time in the nursing environment/ pandemic era it is important to respectfully and unapologetically stand up for yourself.

#15 Help your colleagues as much as you can, but not at the expense of not getting your assignment/tasks done in a timely manner.

Often times as a new nurse we want to be liked and feel we always have to say yes to helping other or feel afraid to delegate tasks to others. At times you may feel like you always have to say yes when someone asks “Can I you help me with …” But you do not. if you’re not able to safely help your colleague or do it in a timely manner for your patient care assignment, “no” is a perfectly acceptable answer

#16 Focus more on your strengths.

Then you will become an expert and add more value to yourself and others. Focus on your strength and it may be a way to increase your value to your nursing unit and your patients. For example, if you are skilled at putting in IVs on patient who are hard to get IV access, then consider doing class and getting certified as an infusion nurse or work as part of the PICC team where you can advance your pedigree of nursing skills.

#17 Incorporated so exercise/self-care practice into your day

i.e stretching/strength training/yoga/meditation. It is immeasurable the benefits and it will repay your way more overtime for the effort you invest.

#18 There is a first time home buyer program for nurses and healthcare workers, to provide grants up to $6,000 and down payment assistance up to $10, 681 to purchase ANY home on the market.

Who knew?? Nurse Next Door National Home Buying Program. Check it out at teachernextdoor.us (it was initially created for teachers, but now medical professionals can benefit as well).

#19 New Nurse Anxiety will get better, if you get better.

Each new nurse experiences some for form nurse anxiety as sometime between 0-18 months as a new nurse. Focus on the areas that you can control. For example, time management, If you feel like you get anxious about not getting tasks done in a timely manner and staying late after report to finish tasks then focus on creating a better time management system for yourself. Focus on where you can make a positive change and use your power there.

#20 This too shall pass

Especially a crazy, unpredictable shift. Some shifts are so long, hard and seemingly inexplicably difficult, where it can feel like its dragging on for forever. Thankfully, that is not the case, and you will get though that rough shift. For more tips and trips, check out the previous blog post on 5 tips to surviving rough shift.

#21 You will experience you first code at some point and you will never feel prepared.

Just be aware of that fact. A lot of new nurses I’ve worked with will take on a personal reasoning for why something happened with their patient. Like “I feel so bad that Mr. B is so sick, I thought I had fixed him and then this happened.” You are not personally responsible for how the patient responds to therapy/interventions. As long as you practice safe nursing care under a physician’s medical guidance, you do not have the power to feel as though you dictate the patient/s outcome. Unless you were neglectful and blatantly unsafe with your patient, it is not your fault/control/predict how they respond medically to care order.

#22 Find a Mentor!

Check our first blog #1 reason you need a mentor now for more tips and info?

What was your favorite tip?

Which one would you add?

The #1 Reason you need a Nurse Preceptor…Now

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 20:15:58 GMT

#1 Reason: You have a guide to help you navigate the nursing journey and successfully navigate through all the pitfalls!

So, you completed nursing school, graduated with your degree, passed the NCLEX, and landed your first job as a new graduate nurse. You are feeling excited, but anxious to start putting everything you have learned in your nursing program into practice on your unit.

You may be thinking, how do I make this transition from novice to expert, as smooth as possible?

Here is where your preceptor steps in. An excellent preceptor is a leader who helps you along this journey, by creating a strong professional bond, where you feel comfortable asking questions, completing skills checklists and honing critical thinking skills.

Nurse Tanya has been precepting and coaching for nearly a decade and sees no reason why the guidance into the registered nurse’s role by a seasoned preceptor, must end when you clock out.

As this is the first blog, we will hear from Tanya herself, about her history and role as a preceptor.

Tanya, how would you describe the ideal working relationship between preceptor and new nurse?

Great question! The relationship between the Preceptor and the new nurse is one of a guide.

I am here to walk with you step by step, through your first 6-12 months as a new grad nurse. I will show you how to successfully navigate past all the pitfalls in nursing to avoid. A few of these common pitfalls include unit gossiping, getting involved in cliquish behavior, procrastination, succumbing to new nurse anxiety and self-doubt and imposter syndrome.

I will also help the new nurse to gain confidence in themselves, as a competent nurse, by teaching skills beyond the bedside and how to navigate the nursing profession to their ultimate dream role. The ideal relationship between Preceptor and Preceptee is one built on honesty and accountability.

That’s excellent. Do you feel like you had this experience with your preceptor?

With my Preceptor as a new nurse, I feel I had a lot of guidance as to what skills and competencies to complete, however regarding my ability to be a good nurse and confidence in myself came from within.

Extra Benefits

So, what I hear you saying is that every nurse has the ability and confidence to become a great nurse with a little guidance. With that said, what has been your most rewarding experience as a preceptor?

My most rewarding experience as a preceptor was with one of my previous students, who I will call E.Z. He was in nursing school, and I taught clinical at a hospital in Florida. E.Z. had a Bachelor’s degree, and was a registered dietitian. While working on his nursing degree, he continued to work part-time as a dietitian. However, his ultimate goal was to become a Physician's Assistant (PA).

He came to me and asked for advice on how he should manage his career, because he had applied to multiple PA schools and had not been accepted into any of the programs. The main school he wanted to attend was Miami Dade College's PA program. He had reconciled himself to going to a Nurse Practitioner program instead. After he told me this, I had a heart-to-heart with E.Z. and I told him, "go for what you really want and do not settle for anything less."

A year or so later, after he had passed clinical rotations with me, I received a glorious email notifying me that he had been accepted into a PA program of his choice at Miami Dade College! That to date has been my most rewarding experience because, not only was I able to help someone have the courage to go after his dream, but also to succeed.

That must have been such a great feeling. Now on the other hand, what challenges have you

encountered and how have you managed these challenges?

I find my greatest challenges in working with different personality types and, the different ways in which people learn and receive critical feedback.

Some new nurses are very analytical and feel as though they must do everything perfectly, all the time. Possibly leading to hesitancy.

While other nurses are more laid back, regarding their skills that require improvement. Possibly leading to confrontation when receiving critical feedback well.

So, I have learned to ask. I ask each student/client/mentee, the hard and uncomfortable questions, such as how do you like to receive critical feedback? What are your strengths and areas of weakness? What are your expectations from this preceptorship? What do you want to have gained from our time together?

Asking these questions, and maintaining open communication between both parties, provides for a better outcome overall.

Conclusion

Lastly, what advice do you have for your mentees?

My best piece of advice for my mentees is to learn the value of a mentor before it's too late. You have heard the expression, that you can either learn the hard way or the easy way. I would recommend learning from the experience of someone who has your best interests at heart. You will go down your own path expediently and competently.

Thank you for this insight. If you want to learn more about how you can work with Coach Tanya……

Go to mypocketpreceptor.com