Help...are these feelings "normal"

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hello...I am a first semester RN student of an ADN program..I really need some help here...I am so confused about my feelings right now...We started clinicals today and we are in a nursing home...we had orientation last week and today we were assigned our patient....the nursing home smells so awful and I am so sad when I see these people...the care they receive there is not up to standard and today I was assigned a patient who is 105 years old and was told to auscultate lung sounds....my instructor listened with me and she could hear them but I couldn't..I was so frustrated I only listened to lung sounds twice in lab and that was on my classmates and she says I can tell some of you practiced and some didn't...I didn't have a problem on my classmates but major problems hearing on my patient ....When we went to bathe her we took her pants off and found a washcloth inside of her diaper (I guess for absorbancy???) for some reason that caught me off guard and really threw me ....anyway I came home crying today as I did the last time I went there ...Am I having normal feelings or am I jsut not cut out for this..I don't feel called to work with the elderly at all it is so depressing to me...I know that maybe this should be on the student nursing board but I am hoping for lots of response..I am so hoping that this is part of the process and I am not some lightweight wimp..:rolleyes: thanks for reading this

Last semester I got the LTC initial clinical rotation and came home weepy after the first couple of days. Understaffed, indeed.

Take comfort in doing something, however small, to help the residents. And remember, this instructor will only be with you off and on along your learning path, not forever. Just figure out what she wants and give it to her even if it's meaningless to you. Make her happy by wielding her little power over you.

If your heart didn't break on your first assignments I'd say you shouldn't be a nurse.

WOW thank you for your responses!!! I called a friend who graduated from the same program and she experienced the same things also....I am so happy to hear that I am "normal" it helps to know that my reactions emotionally are healthy....I was comparing myself to the reactions of my classmates and I was thinking that there was something wrong with me for being emotional when everyone else seemed to be very much at ease

Hi TallyJo,

I am also going through the same clinical rotation, my 1st in nursing school. And I share the same feelings that you do. I can't sleep that well the night before, and I get myself all worked up all week about it. What I think I'm most scared of is seeing things i've never seen before, doing something wrong, or hurting someone. (Can you believe I want to be an ER nurse). And I also feel like my classmates are "at ease." But, the fact of the matter is most of them are not. ANd I've managed to calm myself "slightly" by knowing that I'm not going to kill ;) anyone giving them a bed bath and by me actually being there talking with them and cleaning them, I am giving them comfort. I know there will be times in nursing that are depressing, but probably more importantly, in a couple years, when I've polished my skills (lung sounds are hard for me too) and am confident in my abilities, I will get more satisfaction than anything in providing excellent care and helping anyone that comes looking for it. We can do this!!!

:Snowman1: It's nice to hear from someone going through the same thing emotionally and physically.

Specializes in PACU.

Your feelings are totally normal -- I hated my first clinical experience which was in a nursing home. I did not think I would make it through and had the hours counted down till the end. And my first bed bath . . .what a nightmare!

I think your feelings are totally normal! Your first clinical experience is nerve wracking enough, let alone being in a nursing home. I can tell you that for me that was my least favorite clinical experience (LTC) and I like old people. I just didn't care for the environment we were at.

As for hearing lung sounds, it does take practice, and a good stethescope! I had to get a different one because I had trouble hearing well (I have a little hearing loss in my right ear from scuba diving injury). So practice that, I even got a lung sounds CD to listen to help me. Hey- on my first clinical I tried to listen to lung sounds on a med-surg patient and couldn't hear anything!!! I then realized my ear pieces were in backwards :smackingf To this day I always check.:rolleyes: It gets better. :icon_hug:

Specializes in PACU.

http://medicine.ucsd.edu/clinicalmed/lung.htm

This web site has various heart and lung sounds you can listen to for practice. I used it throughout school and still do if I need to ---

Specializes in tele, stepdown/PCU, med/surg.

My first nursing home clinical experience was horrible. I hated it. For some reason I made it through and it did get better. I must have known that I wouldn't have to be in that nursing home forever.

I also am one who takes nice moments like a elderly person telling you about life in the 20s, a resident giving words of gratitude, and just talking with someone and I savor those. It makes it more bearable.

+ Add a Comment