[abbynurse28]

I appreciate all the advice given! This site has been wonderful and just the type of advice I needed. Last wk was my 1st wk as a nurse on a med/surg floor and I was totally overwhelmed, so much stuff we didn't even COVER in school, I was starting to think maybe nursing was a mistake and how can I ever learn to be as proficient as the nurses I was working with. So I'm glad to hear that being overwhelmed is normal.

[kenmak70]

Always ask questions, there is no dumb question in nursing because some one's life might depend on the anwser. Don't be afraid to get get your "gloves dirty" and be willing to learn. Take your time when caring for clients, but be organized. As you gain exp, organization is the key to multi tasking.

[Brightside1]

Earle58, that really spoke to me! Great advice...ALL of it!

[rosemarysz]

thanks

[nursegottabe]

Wow, I have spoken to some nurses about working after going to school. They don't teach you everything. This nurse had told me that you don't have to know every little detail right then and there. You will be learning things all along. I was breathing a sigh of relief b/c I don't recall all of this disorders and S/S of everything I've studied. After battling cancer and having chemo three separate times I am worried about my memory capacity. Thank God for Ginko Biloba. I believe in it.

[SparkytheRN]

I'm a new grad RN. I thought graduating from an accelerated RN program was hard enough. Now, my anxiety lies in getting a job as a new RN and practice "nursing" for the first time. But thanks for all the wonderful tips, experienced nurses continue to SHARE YOUR WISDOM!!

[bluecatfarm]

Thank everyone for your encouraging words.

I'm in my 9th week of orientation in a trauma ward at a commumity hospital in a big city. As another poster wrote, I feel like I'm working backward. At the end of the day my brain is like scrambled eggs. I never felt so retarded, incompetent, and insecure. I used to be smart. Now, I'm "too slow", have "safety concerns", "don't focus"... Yikes!.

I come to this site for comfort to find I'm in good company and what I am experiencing is quite normal. Great tips too! I think I may actually make it!

[Sheila1214]

Thanks for all the good information. I'm just gettin in this business and i like to hear what not to do!! LOL

[land27]

10 tips for the new grad:
1. Work in a teaching hospital and ask a lot of questions that start with "why" or "can you explain....".

2. Get 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th opinions if your just not sure.

3. Respect experianced nurses from other areas/specialties.....they are in specialty areas because they are especially trained for that specialty job and will likely be able to teach you something special if you care to listen.

4. Continue to look up meds that are not familiar. Doctors make mistakes, our job is to catch them.

5. Be good to your nurse assistants and unit clerks, and they will be good and to you. Saying thanks and please means a lot. Good rule of thumb....Never ask a nurse assistant to doing something that you are not willing to do yourself, or atleast help with doing.

6. Take the time to talk to your patients....I can gather more assessment data in a two minute conversation with a patient than I would if I did a full body systems assessment in silence....A good time to talk is while your doing you initial assessment.

7. Be proactive....not reactive....the nurse who saves more lives is the one that rarely needs to call a code blue....

8. We all make mistakes....the best way to corrrect them is to report them....A nurse doesn't usually recieve corrective action for making a mistake. However you may well be terminated for making one and not reporting it.

9. Be your patients advocate - you may well be the only one they have.

10. Last but not least...... there will come a day that your on the elevator, about to start work, and realize your not sick to your stomach. That's a good day and a good feeling.

[emetcal1]

That was great! I know I will have that sick feeling like I always did in clinicals, but I will keep striving to get to the day that I will feel good...and by good I mean great!