AVOIDING LANDMINES: SURVIVAL TIPS FOR NEW NURSES

LANDMINES!!!

New nurses spend the majority of their time trying to survive orientation! However, you may be unaware of the hidden land mines that exist in healthcare. Knowing these land mines ahead of time and learning the strategies to avoid stepping on them are as important if not more important than learning how to complete the OR checklist, document or even pass your meds on time.

To help new nurses successfully transition into professional practice, I’ve written an eBook titled, “Survive and Thrive: A guide for new nurse success.” I’ve devoted one chapter to helping new nurses avoid the landmines that they don’t teach you about in nursing school but could make or break your career.

The following represents a sampling of some of the landmines I include in the eBook:

Landmines

Nurse-to-nurse bullying – Yep. Unfortunately, it exists. The key is to know how to avoid becoming a target of bullying AND what to do if you find yourself bullied by the nurses or doctors.

1.   Speak up – tell someone…don’t keep it to yourself. Chances are, you’re not the only one being bullied.

2.   Confront – name the behavior (“You are criticizing me in front of others”) and then say, “I need your support – not your criticism.”

3.   File a complaint – there is a difference between complaining and filing a complaint.

Social Media – Many nurses have been terminated because of things they post on various social media platforms. Here are a few of the tips I share in the eBook:

1.   Know your organization’s policy on the use of social media.

2.   Don’t write ANYTHING about a patient – not even good things.

Document Dos and Don’ts – Here are the don’ts:

1.   Reference that you’ve contacted risk management or filed an incident report.

2.   Document your frustrations with co-workers or physicians (I paged Dr. Rossi 10 times but he never calls back!!!)

3.   Document a patient complaint without document your intervention.

Remember, you’ve worked hard to get your license. Ignorance is not a defense. Learn what land mines could potentially derail your career and avoid them!

Thanks so much for choosing to become a nurse. I’m cheering for your success!

Renee

For more great tips, make sure you "like" me on Facebook,"follow" me on Twitter and YouTube and subscribe to my blog. Also, check out my new book on nurse-to-nurse bullying and my new eBook titled, Survive and Thrive: A guide helping new nurses succeed!  

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