"Can't be a nurse if you suck as a waitress."

Nursing Students General Students

Published

Hey guys,

I'm in my second semester of nursing school. I just started my first server job 3 days ago at a busy restaurant. During those 3 days, I felt like a complete dumbass. It just seems that I'm not doing things on time, like ringing in orders, filling drinks, etc. I told my family about this and they pretty much told me (^the title of this post). If I keep forgetting things as a server, what's going to happen in life-threatening situations? It doesn't help that one of my managers is really condescending to other servers and me. I just feel so discouraged. I really hope this situation isn't totally applicable to nursing in general.

Like everyone else said, you're new so yes it's going to take a while and I have been a waitress for 3 years and you will be able to multi task a lot better

Hey nursing really does operate like waitressing LOL!! I waited tables all theough nursing school and it helped me. You have to prioritize and learn how to multitask. Keep mental notes of who needs what, getting someone a fork who doesn't have one, obviously comes before refilling a drink, if for some reason you have to choose one first. Also, it will help you learn to delegate, and have a server walking in that direction to drop off your silverware while you refill the drink. It's called organized chaos!!! And every person always thinks their problem is the most important, but you will be the one doing the prioritizing. Just keep them updated and apologize if u mess up. You'll be fine I'm sure.

I've been a server for 7 years. It's hard at first and I felt pretty akward and struggled quite a bit in the first few months. Servers, like nurses tend to "eat their young". I remember leaving in tears after a shift a few times because my coworkers had been so mean to me. Just stick with it, stick up for yourself, try your best & I promise thing at work will get better. I too, have realized that I don't have the best memory, so I've learned to write things down (i.e. EVERY drink order, even if it's just for a table of 3) and repeating things back when you hear it the first time helps too. "More napkins? Sure thing!" The customer service aspect of serving absolutely translates to the nursing field! If you can make a picky old woman happy about the way her eggs are cooked and chat with her about her grandchildren, then you'll be able to relate to your patients too. It takes some serious time management and communication skills to do well serving and the same goes for nursing. Get in your groove and ask for help when you need it!

As a new grad still searching for a job though, I would encourage you to look for a job in a hospital as a PCA. You will get some skills there that you just cant get in a serving job. You'll also have a foot in the door when you start your job search later on. Most of my classmates that have found RN jobs so far either had a friend in HR or a PCA job during school, so I think that says something.

Either way, good luck! You can do it =)

Specializes in LTC.

I was a great sever... About a month or so in lol... It takes time to get good at it, to perfect it. And I'm assuming the family that is talking crap to you has probably never waited tables or they would know that!

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.
I've been a server for years....if you've never served before you need to give yourself time to get into a groove. Don't be so hard on yourself. What I always told myself is to serve my customers the way I like to be served when I go out to eat. Serving is a great way to learn time management and juggling skills, even if they don't directly translate to nursing. Hospitals LOVE applicants with lots of customer service skills, so stick with it as much as you can, because you'll be surprised at how much that experience will be appreciated.

Also, once you're comfortable, learn how to ignore restaurant management. They have the easiest jobs in the world and act like they're most important people you'll ever meet. Good service will be recognized in your tips, not encouragement from your boss. I've never had a nice, supportive general manager of any restaurant I've worked in.

^^^ THIS!^^^^

I am so glad to see that someone else sees the similarity between nurses & waitresses - aside from the physical workload. If you watch a highly skilled waitress at work, it becomes very evident that they are masters of time management, can 'assess' the communication style of their clients very quickly, conduct frequent 'rounds' to make sure you have everything that you need, check 'outcomes' in terms of satisfaction with your food, . . . etc. They can multi-task like crazy. No wasted trips; if they heading to the kitchen, they pick up all the empty dishes, if they are heading into the dining area they take beverage refills, extra condiments, etc. in anticipation of your needs.

Of course, their great work results in a fairly immediate pay-off in terms of tips while we usually don't get a lot (any?) positive feedback during the course of a normal day. Just imagine how our work would change if we got immediate rewards; "Your IV insertion was aces! Here's a $20 for your trouble".. LOL

Specializes in ICU + Infection Prevention.

Waitressing is a considered a job with a partially transferable skillset to certain types of nusing. It is not a prerequirement of being a nurse. I've never been a restaurant server.

It has been 3 days? Tell your family to chill out.

Specializes in Transitional Nursing.

I constantly forget non important things like drinks and snacks at work but I rarely forget anything major like reporting skin issues to my nurses etc. I always say I'd never be a good waitress but I'm. Great aid and I know I'll be a great nurse. You'll be ok hang in there.

"No day but today"

+ Add a Comment