Nursing orientation

Nursing orientation can be described as a combination of all the boring nursing courses you have taken over the past few years, plus some embarrassment as to what you have forgotten and are now reviewing.

This orientation is no exception, although it's nice to finally get paid to sit, study and review!

The first day was corporate orientation. This is the organization, this is where to get your parking pass, this is where you park, you need to get an ID badge here, these are the corporate values, this is the corporate image, these are the foundations associated with it, etc, etc, etc. 4 HOURs of time I'll never get back, especially since I have worked at these hospitals before as a grad student.

Anyway, that day finally finished, and then all the nurses in the group (including myself) u78went to central nursing orientation. What that does is review all the generalized nursing information that we should know that is specific to the organization. Examples include crash carts, oxygen administration, glucometers and diabetes, the IV machines, infectious disease precautions and the policies surrounding isolation, code whites, restraints, wound care, lifts and carries, and much more. If you are working in a more critical care area, you get another 2 days that include chest tubes, telemetry, ABGs, etc.

Not only do I get this centralized training, I also get Emergency specific training. Today was triage, airway and breathing.

I can understand how triage can be both easy and extremely difficult. Although I won't be doing triage for a while, and have not taken a course in it, we need to know how it is done so we can understand the priorities, and fill out the forms if a triage nurse takes the patient right to the back. We had reviewed some case studies together, and sometimes I triaged down when I probably shouldn't have, and triaged up when I didn't have to. I guess I'll have to keep on working on it.

My take: I love getting paid to sit and learn. This is great material for the nursing exam, and it's also good to know that things are common between the rural hospital and the big city hospital. Tomorrow is advanced cardiology and circulatory disorders. Wish me luck!