Thank you so much for addressing the clash between experienced nurses and new graduates ("Removing Nurses from the Menu," Editor's Note, June 2004). As a new grad, I started work at a skilled nursing facility. My excitement was tempered with a great deal of fear that I wasn't fully prepared for what was ahead. Yet I plowed forward, knowing that if I had any questions about a procedure or medication, all I had to do was ask. The director of nursing had told me never to implement a treatment or dispense a medication if I had even the slightest doubt. She assured me that no question was silly.
Sadly, most nurses I turned to on the floor weren't willing to answer my questions. I was told to "figure it out." After 7 months of such treatment by experienced nurses, I quit my job.
An experienced nurse should remember being a new grad and be willing to help new team players. After all, we're talking about giving quality care to our patients, aren't we?
-LOUISE WALDON, LVN
Perris, Calif.
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