Remember that time long, long ago when you were green and not very confident? Or maybe you still are in that hard situation and want to know yes, it will pass? This article highlights some of my bloopers as a nursing student/new nurse. As you can see, I was not a quick learner but became a confident, content Med/Surg nurse. I think most of my mistakes can top other young nurses' bloopers, and if not, it's something to share.
The worst mistake I made so far...nothing too dramatic. I forgot to re clip my patient's Foley bag so her room was pretty wet with urine. I felt really bad and the house keeping lady chewed me out for it. I was too timid in nursing school to talk so I think I've come a long way on that front.
RNSheri,
As a student nurse, I am continually feeling like my own personal "RAM" isn't big enough to do this job well. Reading your stories above helps me to feel like I am indeed not alone and that, with time, experience and effort, all of us newbies will get there. Thank you for your transparency! Very encouraging.
I am a new nurse myself and can totally relate to this feeling of complete ineptitude. This is a second career for me ( I worked as a Vision Therapist and Optician for 12 years prior to starting nursing school) and it is so humbling and oftentimes frustrating to feel so, well, just stupid after working for so many years and being very competent in another field. I am so busy trying to perform all the tasks that I don't always know what drugs I'm giving are even for (a HUGE no no in nursing school), I've spilled IV bags on myself twice (a little tip- hold the bag with the entry point facing UP when removing the spike!), and I trip over my words and struggle to answer patient questions quite often. I've forgotten to make sure my CNA had emptied a patient's Foley and it overflowed onto the floor (the bag had a faulty connector, but still...), and I've tangled with a doctor several times after having him blow my concerns off (I believe my exact words were something like "I thought 900mg seemed kind of high considering her chart said 300mg. You know, I just don't want to kill my patient because someone put the order in the computer incorrectly). People, the struggle is real- I'm hanging in there and hoping it gets better, if not I'm going to open a coffee stand and forget this whole nursing thing!
My top twenty "oh DUH!" when I was starting out.....Getting all the supplies and clipping the hair on the patient's other arm because the existing IV was occluded and there was an IV antibiotic due....mmmmm, didn't unclamp the existing IV before attempting to flush the lock! D'oH! (P.S. the patient alerted me that maybe I should try to re-flush AFTER unclamping the line!) Of course this was early in my shift, so I had to go back in there, there was no escaping!
I was SOOOOO nervous and was trying to do everything as fast as the seasoned nurses. Thankfully one of them pointed out that you cannot become that fast, safely, until you learn a PATTERN to how you do things, assess things, coordinate things. If you have a solid pattern, you detect when something is amiss, e.g. "walk the entire line from the patient to the pump to the bag" when something isn't flowing.
Wow, its great to see a forum like this and read about how almost brand new still nurses struggle.
I retired at 67 then just went back into part time Home Health Nursing at 72 and love it.
Am glad that I am not in a clinical hospital setting as honestly I to would be afraid that I might kill someone. Nursing can change from a joyful profession( yes you do get to that newbies if you can stick to it ) to a nightmare in minutes and if you are a caring person you just have to put the breaks on and not beat yourself up . Take a deep breathe , get centered and pray or meditate for a moment and get on with it. You are new so ask ask ask and remember those you ask have been there as well. I am so glad I am not in your shoes but can tell you I meet a lot of wonderful young nurses who have survived this most difficult period of time, they make me proud.
Being a dinosaur RN I had a different training system and lots of supervision as a student for 3 years in an acute setting before really taking any ones life in my hands. Almost all of my lecturers where done in my own time and after training I did almost every extra training I could find to continue my study. It was very scary going out into the world after my training was finished. So with training and experience in so many fields home health nursing fits my needs and experience and as long as my antique wheels don't fall off too soon I hope to continue to work another few years.
As a patient myself in 1999 I was having a blood transfusion for acute anemia after chemotherapy, it was 2 am at the hospital and my experienced RN dropped my open IV port on my chest off the sterile field and reconnected without even noticing what she had done. (we both survived)
I'm a new nurse and during my very first shift with my preceptor, in front of the off-going nurse from whom we were receiving report, I had a major brain fart and couldn't figure out how to put our patient's oxygen back on. Two and a half years of nursing school, passing the NCLEX in 75 questions, and .. I stumbled over putting the tubing around the patient's ears and the prongs into his nose. Thank God she was understanding and patient. I can say, it's only been 2 weeks, but I already feel it getting a bit easier. I'm so glad this is a normal process.
1) It took me awhile to figure out how to work a manual BP again on a cardiac patient after having done this repeatedly in my preceptorship.
2) Couldn't figure out why my saline flush wasn't flushing when I set up an IV on a patient before a procedure (turns out I hadn't primed through the hub first like any other time, durrrr).
3) I'll never forget the time I was measuring and emptying a patient's JP drain, and I managed to get its contents all over me (even INTO
the pockets of my scrub top). GROSS.
4) Definitely had an ileostomy leak all over me and the patient's gown when learning to change it in nursing school.
I was a new nurse not too many years ago, but I still remember the stress. I was very shy as a nursing student and as a new graduate. I felt like I was the most hopeless nurse in the world. I had very little confidence in myself and frequently put myself down. I know many students/new nurses feel the same, so here's a little list of my mistakes or mistakes others have made that I am aware of.
The bottom line is that we aren't perfect, but with perseverance even the most awkward, timid nurse can succeed. You learn from your mistakes. You hone your skills with repetition. The first year and a half, I wasn't confident. I now know that confidence comes with experience. So, for those of you who feel stressed, hopeless, and awkward, know that those feelings are shared by many. You're not alone.
About rnsheri
3 year(s) of experience in Med/Surg, orthopedics, urology
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