uggh i soo want to give up right now!

[erin01]

Hi,

I am a new nurse in a ccu step down. My floor is known to be hard, but said if you can make it here ...you can make it anywhere! I find myself from day to day feeling out of sorts. Some days i am amazed how much i know! Others i find i feel like a complete babbling idiot! I think also sometimes since its 4 am its so hard for me to think strait! I feel like i am always asking questions if i have never seen it before. Like i had a pt who k+ was 7.4, 6.8 and had to push d50 and insulin..I wanted someone to be with me while i did this, since i never did it before. I asked the clinical nurse specialist why this was done, and it was explained. But since i never did it i wanted some one with me. But now i know, i would not need help with that again. Ugh sometimes i feel like a baby..with all the questions. I had a really bad day last time i worked, and if it wasnt for another amazing nurse helping me with all the new stuff i had to do, and helping almost tranf my pt to icu!!!!!!!!! that patient was really sick and i felt like i was in there with him all night, She looked at me and was like you know you had nothing to do with this . IT was like she read my mind, cause i was standing there with tears when they said he need to go to the unit. I am not sure what i would have done if the nurse was not on, Not everyone is as helpful as she is. I was an amazing student, strait a's honor roll...but here i fell like a dumb blonde idiot. Sometimes i question my decision on becoming and nurse...maybe i am not cut out for this =(Any suggestions?

[Scrubs911]

Hi,

I am a new nurse in a ccu step down.

Hey cheer up. Like you said, you're new, new people ask questions. New people feel silly for not knowing everything they think they need to know. It's okay to feel incompetent when about to perform a new task and very wise to ask for help or guidance with the procedure. New people like you are good news.

Now if you were new and felt like you had the whole unit pat down... there'd be a problem.

Hang in there.

[SoundofMusic]

Well, it sounds like you're really on an advanced unit, and that in and of itself can be hard for any nurse, experienced or not. Give it time. If you have a bad day, do what I did -- just keep coming back. Whether or not you do perfectly doesn't matter -- just don't give up. In time, it will click.

I'm at the 2 year mark now and it's radically different for me. It just starts to click and you just develop these weird little sixth senses.

[NewTexasRN]

Please don't give up! I know it's hard but spread some hope out there for the rest of us. Good luck.

[BunnyRN]

It is better to ask questions. Then, just working, without knowing rationales. Newcomers will be overwhelmed, it is expected. Don't be intimidated by people who may look down upon your curiosity for knowing more. It is great, when you are working among a great nursing team. It's unfortunate, that not many newcomers ask questions, simply, because they are afraid.

When I first started, I asked many...questions. When I felt that I was more comfortable, I referred to my Palm PDA, and the company POLICIES on their network.

No question is silly, Clinical and Theory very different in nursing. It takes time to adjust to policies, procedures, systems, patient conditions. A great thing that I did when I first started, is to read more on the diseases, diagnostic exams, and nursing interventions, that I'd come across more on my unit. That helped so much!!!

Stay strong!!!

[WishfulThinking9]

Yes I agree, it's better to ask questions than to guess or not know! Just think about it though, every job reguardless if it's nursing or anything else, it will be hard and from time to time you might FEEL like you don't know what you are doing. Take each day as it comes and you'll find out that you know more than you think!!!!