I'm a second degree ABSN student in my 3rd month of a 12 month program. While I'm doing well in lecture, the practical skills are KILLING me! Everything seems so much harder for me to learn than it does for everyone else. For example, I'm STILL having problems getting accurate blood pressure readings. I've ordered a new stethoscope (which I can't afford, btw, lol), but I'm not certain that will help much. I've practiced relentlessly on my boyfriend and occasionally on my classmates when I'm able, but without someone going behind me to tell me if it's right, the practice seems somewhat futile. The program I'm in doesn't help much, either. We learned on manikins (which is deceptively easy...not at all like real people!), and never had the chance to practice on real people with a dual stethoscope (like I've been told they do regularly in many CNA programs!!). The difficulties don't stop with blood pressure, though. I have a hard time finding pedal pulses, and today when we learned to do IM and SubQ injections I struggled with bubbles in the syringe and bent a needle! To put it simply, I'm clumsy, anxious and disorganized learning these new skills, and I feel so stupid! I try to watch You Tube videos in an attempt to self-tutor, but that only goes so far. As of right now, we've only had clinicals in a LTC facility, but I feel so incompetent in that setting, I'm terrified that it will only be 10x worse at the hospital.
Any advice that anyone could give me would help. I just don't want to be a horrible nurse, and I'm afraid it's looking like I might not be cut out for this. I don't want to give up, but I also don't want to try to force a square peg in a round hole at the expense of the patients, you know?
