feeling discouraged

[all4ofus, ASN, RN]

I am just now finishing up my first semester of an RN program, and my bubble has been burst. I felt that we were totally unprepared for the most basic tasks in clinical (changing diapers, for example), and completely unsupported. I try to be the first to volunteer for anything new, but I quickly learned not to do that at this hospital, because as soon as you volunteered, the staff left you by yourself, even though none of us knew what we were doing! I personally find that the best way for me to learn is to do it myself, with supervision/help, but the supervision/help was absent, so I just felt lost. Is this normal? If this is how it is going to be, how will I ever know if I am doing anything correctly? Not to mention the potential for patient harm! My clinical instructor was not organized and was split 10 ways, and the RNs on the unit didn't have the time of day for us. I am not scared to work with patients when I feel confident in what I am doing, and I enjoy helping others, but at this point I am questioning whether nursing is for me, due to the lack of guidance in learning. Our skills lab was a joke and the lecture course is just completely impractical as it applies to the hospital.

[whodatnurse]

I think you must be in the ABSN program I graduated from.

Yup...to me, this is, unfortunately, quite 'normal'.

[semester1kid]

It is natural to feel that way at times - but one thing to remember is that a majority of your classmates feel the same way. We've had three clinicals so far and I was starting to feel embarrassed that I was having trouble with SOAP notes...until I brought it up during one of our briefings. It turns out everyone in my group felt the same way. They don't expect you to have 10 years of experience overnight:)

[greenfaery]

I feel the same way. I think feeling unsupervised/unguided during clinical is the norm these days. Nurses are very busy and often don't have 1 minute to speak to a student, and some don't really want to teach students anyway. Clinical instructors are pulled in 10 different directions and can only do one thing at a time. So in my program it was expected that we "acted like real nurses" and had to be 100% prepared for anything that we may be responsible for, that includes all skills, meds, teaching, etc. I am now about to graduate in May, and I feel like overall it has been a bloody nightmare and I honestly don't know if I want to be a nurse anymore. I still feel unpracticed in many basic nursing skills and scared to death that I will not get any help IF I get a nursing job. I love nursing, but I hate that things in the hospital are not the same as what you read in your textbook. I just wish nurses and instructors would understand that we are not exposed to so many things on the hospital floor that we have never seen or heard of in our textbooks or skills lab and not accuse us of being incompetent if we are confused about it! IT IS SO UNFAIR AND FRUSTRATING! Sorry, I really needed to vent...

All I can say is it helps to be very self-motivated and to bring a skills book with you to clinical in case you need to look it up. You can buy little clinical versions of skills books, I have one by Potter and Perry that I carry with my "clinical kit". Also, don't forget to ask other students for help, they are often very supportive if you are too. Our groups have become very attached to each other and always back each other up if needed. Good luck!

[all4ofus, ASN, RN]

At least I know it is not just my school or my clinical class. I have vowed that once I am a working nurse, I WILL try to help or at least encourage students, no matter how busy I am. Everyone was a student once, after all! :)

[kcochrane]

It is normal. The instructor just has too many people to watch over with their license on the line. When you get to your last semester, you will be surprised on just how far you have come.

But you will still not fell ready and you won't be. A big part of learning to be a nurse comes with orientation and your first job.

Just keep on going - you will get there. :)