[Tuddy]

I am an older new grad working on a tele floor since October. I was hoping to hear how others felt 5 months into their RN career. I feel I have learned so much over the last 5 months, but at the same time leave work more days feeling like a failure than a competent RN. I learn by doing and with each new experience I gain more confidence, but on the days when I'm experiencing something new I can't help but leave the hosp feeling like a failure. I am still very task oriented and find that I don't have time to use critical thinking. I am also still asking a lot of questions. Thankfully everyone on my unit has been EXTREMELY supportive and say that if I wasn't asking questions they would be nervous. With 5 months in is it normal to feel this way?

[Spatialized]

At 5 months in you're still getting into the flow of things, especially as a new grad. You feel like you're getting there, then a patient throws something at you that makes you feel totally incompetent, right? It happens all the time. I've been on my unit not for 15 months and still have days like that. I think everyone does. It's not because you're incompetent, it's because you haven't seen that particular thing yet. No shame.
It takes awhile to fine tune that critical thinking side, but you're probably already doing it at least subconsciously. And never worry about asking questions. The only dumb question is one not asked.

Good luck!
Tom

[valkyria]

You never stop feeling like that. I still feel that way, everyday. If you ever stop feeling like you have questions or think you have all the answers, you need to get out. Every day should be a learning experience, a thing of wonder, that is what keeps us coming back. If everyday was the same ole same ole, would you love it so or work so hard to get here and to stay here? Nah. You are fortunate that you are in an enviornment that welcomes your questions, that is a great thing. This is not just a job, it is a passionate adventure.

[SinusRhythm]

Tuddy-Everything you wrote is perfectly normal. You and I are very similar. I am on a tele floor and just completed 6 months. I posted a thread about it saying that it DOES get better. I still feel like you do, but it does lessen as time goes by. You have to keep asking questions. It shows that you are willing to excel at your job and that you care. Newbies that don't ask questions are setting themselves up for a lawsuit. Your supportive co-workers are more valuable than you think. Keep doing what you're doing. You're on the right track. You're NOT supposed to know everything. After all, it's medicine. No one knows it all.

About being task-oriented....I'm still task-oriented too. But not as much as in the beginning. You just learn how to let go of things naturally because your prioritizing skills develop.

Two more tips for you: If you're a nerd like I am, write down and review the things that you've experienced at work. I guarantee you won't forget them ever again. For example, certain meds that stumped you, various drips, post-CATH vs. MI patients, whatever you want. Because when you see those things again it's a piece of cake.

My second tip: Learn how to give a great shift report. This was my "a-ha" moment. How valuable is this? As soon as I learned how to report the RIGHT WAY, I understood each and every patient I had much more clearer. Because if your reports are all over the place, you will be too.

Good luck to you. You sound like you will be a great nurse!

[Tuddy]

Thank you for all the encouraging responses. Believe it or not shortly after I posted things began to click at work. I guess folks were right about that 6 month mark!

[Gennaver]

Originally Posted by Tuddy

I am an older new grad working on a tele floor since October. I was hoping to hear how others felt 5 months into their RN career. I feel I have learned so much over the last 5 months, but at the same time leave work more days feeling like a failure than a competent RN. I learn by doing and with each new experience I gain more confidence, but on the days when I'm experiencing something new I can't help but leave the hosp feeling like a failure. I am still very task oriented and find that I don't have time to use critical thinking. I am also still asking a lot of questions. Thankfully everyone on my unit has been EXTREMELY supportive and say that if I wasn't asking questions they would be nervous. With 5 months in is it normal to feel this way?

Hi Tuddy,

I'm a relatively new grad and been on my unit off of preceptorship for five months now...however I am not on a tele floor. I feel like I have learned ...nothing...at all...in five months. My unit is an ortho floor, (initially I requested a tele floor). So, I suspect you might want to count yourself lucky, hard as that might sound. It sure seems to beat being bored numbingly out of your mind, right?
Gen