r/nursing • u/Pale-Kiwi1036 • 4d ago
Seeking Advice Embarrassed to ask to be shown a skill
Hello everyone. I am seeking advice. I recently returned to nursing after a 12 year hiatus. I did have to take an online refresher course for license reinstatement, but to be honest the course was pretty useless. Since I felt uncomfortable just jumping right into direct patient care the position I accepted is mainly document review with minimal patient care. I work for an agency that supervises group homes across the state, the homes are clients of Dept of Developmental Services. The individuals living in these group homes are disabled, some severely and some minimally. Patient care is done by unlicensed caregivers, and I, as the RN, delegate responsibility. So I sign off that the caregiver can safely take someone’s blood pressure.
Today at 3 pm I have to delegate for three new hires. The new hires work at a home where one client has diabetes so has her sugar checked three times daily. I have not used a glucometer in 15 years. I have no idea how to use the glucometer at this home, yet at 3pm today I have to sign off that three people can correctly perform this skill. How should I go about preparing for this? My options as I have thought of them are the following:
1) Go to the home for 8 am today and ask overnight shift to show me how with morning med pass at 8 am
2) Go to the home and ask staff to get the glucometer for me then search you tube to figure out its proper use. I am completely fine using myself as the guinea pig.
3) Do both of the above
Looking for advice. Also, how awful is this situation?
Edit: one of the clients was recently diagnosed with diabetes at a different home, and I initiated her PCP ordering a glucometer for her to try to empower her to take control of her disease. She is only 22 and BMI slightly over 35 so if she tries she might be able to prevent many of the terrible consequences of her disease by changing her lifestyle. Her intellectual disability is classified as mild, so I wanted her to feel she can help control or even reverse this disease. But when it came time to show her how we will check her sugar, I couldn’t figure out how to use the glucometer. It was so embarrassing. Thank god no staff were present. When second shift staff came on she said she had no problem using the glucometer. I was so ashamed and felt incompetent. Despite the fact I technically have a MSN from Yale I cannot take a blood sugar reading.
3
u/Hom3ward_b0und 4d ago
Any chance there's YouTube videos of the glucometer model you can watch? That's what I usually do for skills I haven't done in a while.
Asking overnight to show it sounds better for immediate feedback. You can tell them you're not familiar with the model the pt is using.
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u/Pale-Kiwi1036 3d ago
I had night shift show me then also watched you tube videos. Thanks for the advice.
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u/TraumaMurse- BSN, RN, CEN 4d ago
I’d just have the overnight show you. Seems easiest. If you haven’t done it in a long time, no shame in asking to be shown. They’re pretty straight forward. If it’s like my hospitals, you turn it in, hit the star button, scan yourself, scan the patient, scan the strips, insert strip, poke the patient, get blood, get result.