Starting clinicals in August....getting nervous!

fourblessings · Jun 17, 2004

You aren't alone! I, too, start in Aug, and feeling nervous...I'm trying to read over this pocket book I just bought "Math for Nurses" and don't understand a thing...LOL. :crying2: Hang in there, and just know I feel like a nervous nelly, myself!

Saved_by_Grace · Jun 17, 2004

I feel the same way...in fact visited my sister who had a hysterectomy in the hospital today and just being in there made me feel nauseous from my nerves. I kept watching the nurses and thinking can I really do this? I hope these butterflies go away soon.:uhoh21: There are times when I just really feel inept.....*sigh* I guess everyone gets nervous before it starts because it is a big responsibility. Good Luck.

AgentR · Jun 17, 2004

Me four. My mom asked me on the phone when I'd start the clinical part. I said a few weeks after classes started. She told me not to kill anyone. Thanks for the vote of confidence, mom!

J Lynn · Jun 17, 2004

Clinicals made me soooo nervous that I had to get on a mild antianxiety med to keep from getting sick to my stomach. I made it, but the hardest part is about to start for me............actually being a nurse........no more playing nurse.

Roxie187 · Jun 17, 2004

I start in August too but I haven't gotten nervous yet. I think it's because I'm taking Micro this summer and can't find the time to be nervous. I'm sure it'll sneak up on me pretty soon. Wonnabe, don't worry about the CNA's knowing more than you, I'm sure they'll help you out if need be. I'm a CNA and if there's things I already know, I would be willing to share that information to my classmates. Good luck everyone!

jschut, BSN, RN · Jun 17, 2004

I promise you, all of you....you will all be fine. The instructors are there to teach you EVERYTHING you need to know!

A little anxiety is good for the soul, just don't let it be overbearing and you will do well. If you learn what is right, you will do it right...

So stop worrying so much! :)

Energizer Bunny · Jun 17, 2004

My clinicals start at the end of October and we have eight weeks of lab first where we are taught most of what we need to know to start. I am sure that by the time clincals actually start, I'll be feeling much more confident in my skills.

Mandylpn · Jun 18, 2004

Wow, I can't believe I start clinicals in August! I'm sooooo incredibly excited but at the same time, the more I think about it, the more nervous I get! I guess part of what makes me nervous is that I've always been the top of my pre-nursing class yet I know there are several people who will be in my nursing and clinical classes that are CNA's and who will know a lot more than I do already about what we'll be learning during that first semester. I KNOW they're going to be better than me at it and I'm nervous as heck about that! I almost feel like I'm gonna get left behind! I have NO idea how to change a patient, which you'd think I'd be comfortable with since I have 3 kids but I'm sure it's different with adult patients...no idea how to check a bp....I'm clueless:rolleyes: ! I know they'll go over it and teach us how to do it...but I'm afraid I won't be able to do it. OK, now....having said all of that, I also know that it is just nerves and that I CAN do this......But is anyone else feeling the nerves yet? Please tell me I'm not alone!

Didn't you have to pass skills in the nursing lab before being able to go to clinicals? We worked on the dummies and on each other. At my first clinical the instructor checked you off on Bp's, P&R, etc. You had to get three in a row correct or start over. Don't be nervous, we are all new at this! good luck! :smokin:

RegisteredNurse06 · Jun 18, 2004

Didn't you have to pass skills in the nursing lab before being able to go to clinicals?

Yes, we will have to do that....I guess I wasn't very clear when I said that I start clinicals in August....Around here, they call "lab" clinicals too..I guess in many other places they simply call it "lab" but here, they say "clinicals" when referring to "lab" as well.....And that's what I start in August and then at the end of Sept./first of Oct. is when we start actual clinicals on real life patients.

wonderbee, BSN, RN · Jun 18, 2004

Six months ago, I felt the same as you. No bedside experience... zip, zero, nada. I'm here in the cyberflesh to tell you that you will survive as I did. So did the patients. You may even decide to jump into the waters and take employment as a nursing assistant if the opportunity presents itself. It occasionally happens that first semester students are recruited. The exposure to the routine of patient care does a lot for the confidence level. :)

The best of luck to all of you who are starting in in the Fall.

stressgal, RN · Jun 19, 2004

I was going to suggest the same thing. We are required to obtain a nurse aide certification prior to applying for the ADN program. I did so, and through out clinicals there was no way I wanted to work in a nursing home. But I am also a believer that you must experience the things you do not want to do....so........I took a job in a very small nursing home. Every resident was on govt. assistance, had no family to speak of, and were psych patients as well. Let me tell you, I loved the job. Maybe not so much the duties, but the residents were the best! It was the most wonderful experience I have had to date. You have three months to gain experience. Go for it!