Transitional Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not

Transitional Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not

 OR

Casual Meanderings of a Feeble Mind

I am a Transitional Nurse. This means that I have very recently graduated from nursing school and am in my first year of employment as a Registered Nurse.

This is both a very exciting and frightening time in my life.

I attended a prestigious nursing school and graduated Magna Cum Laude. I was inducted into the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. I passed my NCLEX (National Council of State Boards of Nursing) licensure exam on my first attempt and in the minimum allowable number of questions. I was immediately hired at the hospital of my choice, which also happens to be a Magnet Hospital (http://www.nursecredentialing.org/Magnet.aspx) and happens to have a highly sought after program for new graduate nurses. I was one of 8 new graduate nurses hired out of over 800 applicants. (Okay - I have a friend who works there who put in a good word for me, so I may not be entirely "all that".)


Anyway, given all the above, one might think I'd be well prepared to enter this massively diverse field.


Well... one would be massively wrong. At best, nursing school can only prepare nurses in the most basic way. We learn how to take vital signs: temperature, blood pressure, respiratory rate, heart rate, oxygen saturation, and pain level. We learn some of nursing's most basic skills: how to assess a patient, how to insert a foley catheter, how to do a sterile dressing change, and how to safely administer medications, to name just a few.


Here's what we don't learn, and you will note that this list is MUCH longer:


1. How to deal with the hierarchical bureaucracy that exists in American hospitals

Meandering Moment: I have an Aunt who is on the Board of Directors at a nationally known hospital in the major city in which she lives. She has a high school diploma and an Associates Degree in Dental Hygiene. Someone died and left her a boatload of cash. She donated some of her windfall to the hospital Et Voila! She is now qualified to play a role in making major decisions regarding hospital finance and patient care.


2. How to deal with the insane time crunch under which the vast majority of nurses work. More on this at a later date.


3. How to deal with patients who are afflicted with psychological disorders. One semester of Mental Health class just is not enough and yet, at the same time, is entirely too much.


4. How to deal with doctors afflicted with psychological disorders (OR, Why you should really be required to obtain a PH.D. in psychology prior to entering the field of nursing.).

Meandering Moment: Is it wrong to have a double period here? Situations such a this are exactly why I am a nurse, not a novelist. In medicine, we abbreviated EV.THG!


5. How to not get frustrated at the ridiculous number of unnecessary tests and procedures American doctors are forced to put patients through because we live in a ridiculously litigious society.

6. How to deal with mean charge nurses. We are told to go up the chain of command until our concerns are heard, but it's amazing how many of the links in that oh so proverbial chain are so broken that you can't even begin to reach the next in the chain. Example: Mean Charge Nurse - go speak with assistant manager. Ooops - the charge nurse and assistant manager are best friends, only you didn't know that because you're new! Okay - try your manager, only to be told that you need to work it out between your assistant manager and the charge nurse because, after all, we're all professionals here, right?


Meandering Moment: Nurses are famous for "eating their young." There are actually scholarly articles about this subject. You can "Google" it if you don't believe me.


Well, anyhooo... I could go on, and on, and on... but I think you get the idea.


The purpose of this blog twofold.

First, I want to share my journey with anyone who cares to meander along with me. If you stick with me, you will learn a LOT about the inner workings of the American hospital, including how to protect yourself and your loved ones while hospitalized, what to expect and what not to expect, et cetera, et cetera. We will explore the many mysteries surrounding the hospital environment, such as: What is your nurse doing when he or she is not in your room? Why are so many American hospitals dark and scary? Why does  no one ever seem to know when your doctor will round or what time you are going to have that procedure? And the granddaddy of all hospital related questions: Why does hospital food suck?


Second, I desperately need to vent and my husband and girlfriends are already sick of listening (and I've only been a nurse for 5 months!), so you're it!


Thanks for being here for me, whoever you are, and I hope you enjoy the journey!


Regards,
Lady Sybil