Need to Interview a Nurse

[luvmyscrubs]

Hi everyone!

I am about to graduate from my ADN program and have already accepted a position in a pediatric E.D. I just have one last class and finals then I'm done with school! WOO HOO! For this last class, I am supposed to interview a nurse about reality shock! So, if anyone is willing, please reply and tell me how you felt once orientation was over and you were no longer a graduate nurse but an actual RN.

Thanks!!!!!!!

[fultzymom]

Scared to death!! I was so terrified that I would do something or miss something that would cost someone their life. It was a terrifying experience for me. Nurses have a huge responsibility that I did not totally understand until I was the nurse in charge and I called the shots for my patients.

[SuperStockRN]

Sometimes I wish I knew as much as I thought I did starting out. Yes, as a graduate nurse we were very educated on simple procedures/equiptment, but we didn't actually know how to use the equiptment or know the implication of the diseases we thought we knew so well. With time, you will find that the textbook knowledge that you knew when you graduated will turn into things you know and do automatically. I have seen and felt that transformation and it is very, very rewarding.

I was scared too, and I laugh at some of the things that bothered me most at the beginning. I am excited for you and wish you the best! The best thing you can do is remain open to learning and you will succeed!

[luvmyscrubs]

Thanks so much for the advice! I am done with finals and I even made a 1004 on my HESI! I am so excited. I know that just because I have "passed" the text book part of nursing, that doesn't mean I'll be a good nurse. I want to be the best nurse I can and the fear of falling short is so overwhelming to me right now. I actually sat down a cried the other day just because of the reality of it all. School is out, and now I have to be an actualy nurse!!!! I am scared to death of doing something wrong.