RN Student Question

[rthornton07]

Hi, I'm currently an LPN, and getting ready to go back to school for RN. I had tried to decied between massage and RN. I chose RN because I heard massage has a short career, is hard to make money in this economy. I start taking my basic classes this summer for RN. However, here is the situation that I face.

I'm a very shy and anxious person (which I have currently started getting help for). But while in LPN school my nursing instructor said that she worried about me, and wasn't sure if I would be a safe practicing nurse. The reason she said this was, in one of my clinicals she asked me to do something that I had never done before. I asked her if she could walk me through. She asked "did you miss the day in class we went over it?". I told her no. But it had been several months since we discussed it. So because of this and my shyness (which kept me reserved and nervous when I firs met patient's) she made that comment. So I was able to keep my confidence enough to graduate and pass my boards. But since then I have worked in two nursing homes and quit because I keep thinking about what she said. I tell myself I'm not meant to do this, I'm a bad nurse, I'll get fired because I won't know how to do something. I love nursing, and helping people. But, I have this fear that she was right and I'm a bad nurse, and am making the wrong decision on getting my RN. So, I would like to get some opinions.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

if you are seeking the right kind of psychological counseling help, you will obtain better opinions there than we can give. if you got a tactless remark from an instructor that long ago and quit two jobs because it affected your confidence, you need professional assistance to help you get past that. seriously. good luck, and let us know when you feel better!

[Autymn]

It is possible that instructor decided she had insight about you after observing you over the time you were with her.

I would like to point out to you though -- you did not 'just go on to finish the n.s.' AND to pass your board exam and receive your license only because you pushed yourself to have enough 'confidence' -- girl you had/got/used KNOWLEDGE. Knowledge you studied for, knowledge you gained in your clinicals practicing, knowledge you got from associating with other good students and knowledge you learned from teachers also.

While you may find ways of feeling a little more comfortable with patient contact and being able to be assertive etc, you need to keep working and gaining experience! Thats how one gains success and ergo, gets more confident.

Perhaps you valued that one specific teacher's opinion so highly as to have let her really shake you -- you aren't in school now though. You did it. You may have to do some nursing job shadowing and research to find out about other kinds of positions which you may enjoy and feel more comfortable doing etc. We often read posts here on allnurses.com from people who remind us -- your first or even maybe second nursing position will not necessarily be our 'dream' job! True in most industries.

Not sure how long its been since you obtained your license, but aside from specific incidents occurring which made it unsafe or dangerous for your patients -- don't give up! Try and find a mentor-figure where you work that you can talk to. And if you do some research, shadow a nurse for half a day in a specialty etc. If you find out that there is absolutely no other 'kind' of nursing position you think you would be happy doing day in and day out; well, that is a career decision based on several different modes of comparison...but don't do it based on one teacher's comment.

Square your shoulders, be proud of what you have accomplished...and light a bit of a fire in your confidence!

Best wishes as you continue gaining that experience and look at various other paths for your working life.

[MN-Nurse, ASN, RN]

I asked her if she could walk me through. She asked "did you miss the day in class we went over it?". I told her no. But it had been several months since we discussed it. So because of this and my shyness (which kept me reserved and nervous when I firs met patient's) she made that comment.

Many, many student and working nurses have felt the way you do.

Whenever I precept (student or coworker), I almost always hit a place where I have to say, "Yes, you can do this. Now do it." With some students, you hit that place when they have to take a temp.

Only bad students blunder their way into any situation with no regard for whether they think they can do it or not.

Learning your way through these situations is something everyone goes through.

Good luck!