New Grad Radio

It’s no secret that starting full time work has been taking some getting use to. A few months in now, I take this opportunity to discuss how I’m still currently experimenting, to find a routine that works for me.

I’m now 7 weeks into my graduate program starting in the ICU. I take this opportunity to reflect on the types of patients I’ve been caring for, their injury patterns, and what my expectations have been as someone new to this high acuity environment.

Even as a student, I never experienced a night shift. As I post this I’m meant to be sleeping, so you can probably tell that’s not working so well. I detail my experiences from my run of night shifts, the patients I’ve cared for, and the challenges I’ve faced getting my body prepared.

From start to finish today, I struggled. Time management was off, I needed to hand over to the next nurse, just to discharge my patient. I share my experience from today, that it really is normal to feel a bit flat when first starting.

I detail an experience I had today, which really outlines the importance of asking for help. It may sound obvious, and can be tough when first starting, but asking for help is an essential trait of a new graduate starting in the ICU.

It’s one thing to read the abundance of information out there to prepare for your Preceptorship Period; it’s another to experience it for yourself. I detail my personal experience during this time, and share what I found useful.

Hello and welcome. My name is Ben Jenkins, a recent nursing graduate. I’ve created this podcast to follow, in real time, my experiences of starting directly into the Intensive Care Unit.

On day 3 I experienced my first major airway emergency. I share how i felt, what happened, and the take aways from how i will learn from this situation.

Just a little update to how I’m feeling both physically and mentally. It’s a bit different to the uni/college lifestyle for sure; and I share my experiences of developing my pre-shift routine.

Two exceptionally different episodes in one: The first being my first major ‘Emergency Buzzer’ moment - The second being a struggle I’ve had with what is called a ‘worklist’.