ready to quit, need advice
i have been a traveler for 2.5 years with nightingale nurses. i recently accepted an assignment in south jersey. i was told during my phone interview that they do computer charting. i am unfamiliar and said so. their system is TDS.

i was told that i would have 3 days of orientation - A LUXURY!

first day was a stack of paper and tests. second day was on the floor. i was supposed to have computer class but the girl didn't come in. so instead i sat around for the first half of the day until i got a computer code. the charge nurse that i was assigned to (very nice woman) was very busy but tried to show me some things. i was very surprised to find that EVERYTHING goes into the computer. they don't even use MARs. med orders are printed out hourly and it is the nurse's responsibility to check the printer every hour for orders and meds due. the doctors can input orders from anywhere in the hospital that come out of the printer. these orders never get written in the chart! very easy to miss a piece of paper.

third day i was with another charge nurse. at 9am i was whisked away in the middle of patient assessments to "computer class". i was given a photocopied booklet and told to teach myself. i was given her extension if i had any questions. the book was missing pages, was not in any particular order, and only addressed the input of medication orders (the secretary's main duty). it did not address nursing functions such as entering assessments, charting meds, finding labs or test results, discharge paperwork, etc. an expert on the system heard of my complaints to the head of education and spent an hour with me which shed some light. at this point i had 4 hours to go back to the floor and use what i learned which wasn't much. i asked the head of education if i could continue on orientation for the next work day - sunday, but was told no.

i am now expected to take a full assignment tomorrow and be on my own. i dont feel that i have been trained well. i am unprepared. i think it is a danger to my patients and to myself. my agency was notified of the situation as early as the morning of the 2nd day. when i called my agency again friday before noon and was near tears with frustration, i was told to hang in. they chose to have me speak to the DON of my agency after 8pm on friday (last night). instead of understanding, she tried to bully me with the financial repercussions if i don't go in on sunday. fortunately i have my own housing. they clearly are only concerned with the client and losing money. the DON asked me for time to ask the hospital to provide for additional training. i agreed but said that i didn't want to take an assignment until i had that training, stating again that i am ill-equipped to handle the technology required for the job. she refused and basically told me to wing it. she told me to rely on the staff for help. the staff will already be orienting 4 other nurses that day.

if i felt i could do the job, i would go in. i am losing a lot of money! i am the only one working in my family right now. i am also losing health insurance. my fiance and i both have health issues that need to be addressed.

i feel that HR misled me with the amount of training i would get. HR knew the complexities of this computer system, that is is not user friendly or intuitive. their own staff is oriented for 4 - 6 weeks. i feel that the hospital was inept at providing adequate training on their system. the head of education and the computer expert agreed that they could not meet the needs of a traveler. they were in a meeting friday about this same thing. i was told by her that the education dept had been downsized and that they were working on revamping their program but that unfortunately it would be too late for me. both charge nurses agreed that i am not ready to be on my own and told this to the head of education. i feel that having me orient with a charge nurse who also has an assignment was a mistake. on both days they were pulled in so many directions that it was impossible to have more than 20 minutes of undivided attention.

obviously i need advise. i have never been in this situation and am unsure of my rights. i did some research on the ANA's website and found this:

under Provision 4 of the Code of Ethics, it says:
"Nurses are accountable for judgments made or actions taken in the course of nursing practice, irrespective of health care organizations's policies or provider's directives."

any advise is appreciated.

thanks,
karen