9 Tips With Nurse Brennan: How To Prepare For Your First Shift As A Medliant USRN

Congratulations, you made it! You are now living in the USA as a permanent resident on your Green Card Visa, sponsored by Medliant! With all of the excitement of starting a new life in America, your first day of employment will arrive before you know it. Here are Nurse Brennan’s 9 tips to help you prepare for your first shift as a Medliant USRN:

1. Familiarize Yourself With The Hospital Before You Start

Because Medliant is a contract-to-hire employment based agency, you will have already known what hospital you will be working at, for at least for 2-3 months before you start your first day. This will give you plenty of time to research the hospital and plan on how you will commute to and from it. Before your first day you should either drive or take public transit to the hospital to familiarize yourself with either where you will park or the location of the bus/transit stop so you see how long it will take for you to arrive at and walk into the hospital.

2. Be Professional

A first impression is important! I always recommend having a clean set of scrubs and shoes prepared the night before your shift so you don’t stress looking for them in the morning. Remember to bring your stethoscope and a pen so you don’t have to go looking for them at the hospital.

3. Arrive Early

Plan to arrive early in case you encounter any unpleasant weather conditions or congested traffic. You will need guidance locating the break room, lockers, and unit, so if you plan to arrive approximately 25-30 minutes early on your first day this will give you plenty of time.

4. Introduce Yourself On The Unit

Be sure to introduce yourself to the staff on the unit and learn their roles. Asking for a copy of the unit census for your patient assignment can be a place to write down names/roles and help you become familiar with the staff that you will be working with. Throughout your shift, you will also have the opportunity to meet various members of the interdisciplinary team that you will want to introduce yourself too as well. In US hospitals, each profession is treated as equal, and the various members of these professions work in collaboration as a team to achieve common goals.

5. Be Prepared To Learn

I recommend bringing a small notepad and a pen to have in your scrub pockets at all times. This will be your resource to write down terms, medications, procedures, conditions, etc., that you may be unfamiliar with at the start of your employment, so that you can research them later. Learning more about what you will commonly see or experience will help you adjust more seamlessly on your unit. There may also be important phone numbers that you will commonly utilize (e.g. pharmacy, lab collections, central supply) or codes/passwords for supply carts, for example, that you will want to remember as well.

6. Take A Moment To Explore The Unit

To help you adjust to your new workplace setting, it is important to become more familiar with your environment. Walk around the unit and learn where the supply room is, including where items are located in it, as well as the dirty utility room, tubing or receiving stations, emergency exits, charge nurse desk, managers office, unit kitchen, etc.

7. Be Eager To Help Whenever Possible

Making a good first impression with your peers can go a long way. If you can, make sure to help others when you are available to do so. Changing out linen bags, answering call bells, offering to help turn a patient, witness a co-sign for a medication administration, etc. can help your new teammates begin to establish a trusting and strong relationship with you.

8. Observe How Report Is Conducted

Report can vary from unit to unit. Some units will have the charge nurse read report for every patient to the entire oncoming nursing team, while other units will do a brief 2-3 minute housekeeping talk before you receive bedside report from only the off-going nurses who cared for your patients on the previous shift. Observe the specific information that the nurses shares with you as knowing what nurses want to hear or find important, will be helpful in understanding what you should include when you give patient report or hand-off as well. A common patient report in US hospitals includes discussing the patients name, code status, allergy details, isolation status, team/service following the patient, history and presenting conditions, current problems, system-by-system report (e.g. Neurological, Cardiac, Respiratory, GI, GU, Integument, Psych), review of orders and medications, and any labs, tests, or interventions that are upcoming.

9. Debrief After Your First Day

You will have learned a lot of new information during your first shift as a USRN! Remember that it will take time to adjust to your new workplace setting, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself. To keep things simple, take 2 or 3 new things that you saw or heard (e.g. a medication, diagnosis, surgery, lab test, etc.) and research them so that you can slowly begin to learn and absorb this new information that will help you become more prepared for each shift moving forward. Self-care is important so make sure to separate work from your personal life on your time off and enjoy the many new adventures and exciting memories you will surely make in the USA!