Summer Season for New Grads

Monthly Community Service Hours Completed: April 3 hours

Cumulative Spring Semester Hours Completed: 26 hours

May is quickly approaching, and with it comes the excitement of summer — and for many, graduation. In the Emergency Department (ED), this time of year often brings an influx of new graduate nurses. While each new nurse is paired with an experienced preceptor, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information being taught during each shift. I vividly remember starting my own career as a new-grad nurse in the ED. At the time, I wished for a guide — something practical, packed with tips and advice specific to the unique challenges of emergency nursing. That memory inspired me to create a resource for the new graduate nurses joining our ED this summer.

The packet I developed covers common patient complaints, associated symptoms, and typical treatment plans. I also included tips and tricks that were passed down to me by seasoned nurses, such as: IV placement techniques and choosing the appropriate gauge size, best practices for handoff communication, efficient medication administration, and smart triage questioning strategies. One particularly challenging part of the intake process is medication reconciliation — reviewing and verifying patients' home medication lists. When I first started, learning all the different medications and understanding their purposes felt daunting. Using the knowledge I gained through this pharmacology program I condensed a list of commonly used medications to make it easier for new nurses to grasp.

Graduating is a thrilling time, but it can also feel uncertain as you navigate the next steps in your career or education. Whether you’re beginning your first job or continuing your studies, having a supportive guide can make a huge difference. My hope is that this packet will serve as a helpful foundation for our new nurses, boosting their confidence as they embark on this exciting new chapter.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beads, Bracelets, and Bands!

Image
Monthly Community Service Hours Completed: September 1.5 hours Cumulative Fall Semester Hours Completed: 1.5 hours      September 15th was a fun-filled, all-day event hosted by the Menard family to raise money for their sweet Dylan who is battling childhood leukemia. Multiple bands and various children’s activities such as fun jumps and face painting drew people into Pelican to Mars in Baton Rouge to help cover the medical expenses for Josie and Dylan Menard as they navigate this trying time in their life. While monetary donations are needed and appreciated, the Menard family also finds great comfort in art and expression of self as many of them are musicians and artists local to the community. My contribution to this event was making “Dylan” bracelets for her family and friends to wear to show their support.        I truly enjoyed spending the time stringing each bead—especially her favorite colors pink and purple—knowing that wearing these bracelets ...
Read more

MONSTER MODULES

Monthly Community Service Hours Completed: October 0 hours Cumulative Fall Semester Hours Completed: 1.5 hours      October, a month filled with candy, pumpkins, and fright. Often having a stomach ache from snacking on way too many ghost-shaped peanut butter cups, your arm getting sore after carving the biggest pumpkin you could find, and feeling your heart race while watching that classic Halloween horror film. So many “feels” accompany this season and after completing the neuromuscular, autonomic nervous system, and cardiovascular pharmacology modules, I feel as though I have a better understanding of what I am experiencing and how my body responds to the “spooky season” environment.         This month’s course load was heavy considering the complexity of each module; however, beginning with muscle and progressing through to cardiac conduction, it laid a good foundation that ended with the full understanding of the processes that allow our bodie...
Read more

"M" is for March...and MCAT

Monthly Community Service Hours Completed: March 0 hours Cumulative Spring Semester Hours Completed: 13 hours The spring semester always seems to fly by—perhaps it is my anticipation for my favorite season which is summer. Nonetheless, the transition into spring is always something I cherish. March brings about many changes—the days are longer, warmer, and you can feel that summer is just around the corner. Just like the transition into spring, we have also experienced a period of transition in school. This past month, we completed our last module in Medical Pharmacology and Principles of Pharmacology and are now focused on studying for the comprehensive final. Though we still have one last exam in Cellular Control at the end of April, I am finding myself with much more free time. This has brought me to a personal transition of devoting more time to studying for the MCAT and preparing for my next steps after completion of this Master’s of Science program.  I have previously begun s...
Read more