The training period was bad. I was thrown into an emergency shift because someone didn't show up and the other shift had been blank (for weeks from what I heard.) The person who "trained" me was newer herself, there < 3 months. (The training period was supposed to last for 8 shifts but diminished to nothing more than three when no one was able to train me.) Because we were so short on help, the pets care in ICU suffered. Treatments weren't done and if they were, I was told it was okay to "consolidate them when you're able to do them" and to write it in as completed at a time I never did it. I was basically told to falsify the medical record and that it was "acceptable." Although one section of the hospital was extremely busy, I witnessed another employee watching a movie and dozing off with the lights dimmed. Another took a few hours off as he slept in an exam room after doing intensive care treatments twice for the entire night. In the 7 months I worked, I was never checked for credentials either. I witnessed hostility by doctors toward employees, quite vicious groups who displayed high school level drama and bullying, and care of the pets seemed to be the least of the worries, especially on the night shift when nurses commonly slept and socialized. Although I left on good terms, the stress of the job and the drama was something I've never seen before. I'm in a better place now and the outlook is much brighter. I was offered a transfer to the state I moved to, but weighed out the possibility of it being the same and spared myself the agony. Thank you for showing me what I never want to experience again. For being right out of school, it was a complete shock to my system. There was really no opportunity to better myself, only to make lateral moves throughout the hospital.
