Advice For The New Nurse Entering Med-Surg

Specialties Med-Surg

Published

Here is your chance to give some advice and counsel to new RN's and LPN's entering their first clinical job as a nurse. What advice would you give them?

I am going to make this a sticky so that it is always available on the top of the forum for our newer nurses to see right from the start. Looking forward to seeing some of the great advice that our experienced nurses can lend to the newer nurses ..... :balloons:

VivaLasViejas,

Thanks for the down-to-earth and amazing post that you shared it is helping me right now as I am job hunting!!

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Hello everyone. I am so surprised to hear that I am not the only one scared to death!! I graduated in '08, passed the NCLEX in '10, had personal issues, and am just now going to start applying for my first LPN job. My CEUs have been completed, and my license has been renewed, but I am so scared!:uhoh21: I only have clinical experience from 2008 and 6mos CNA experience.

I know that I just have to go out there and try, but I feel like I've lost all the information I've learned. I keep trying to remind myself that I did, indeed, graduate nursing school and I PASSED the NCLEX, but my worrying is eating me up!

Any advice for interviews with my situation/circumstances? I read this entire thread and took notes. I thank all of you for the information and advice you've posted.

I desperately want a nursing job, and I know I can do this. I just need to spread my wings and fly...

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One more thing. I have my resume completed, but I am stuck on the cover letters. As a brand new baby nurse without experience under my license, what would be the best thing to say? That I am highly qualified, eager to learn, highly adaptable, etc? Any advice will be sincerely appreciated!!

I'm applying for jobs right now, but I need to get these cover letters done! I have a membership with a resume service and they offer templates, but I need to know exactly what to say regarding my lack of experience, but also mention my strong drive and desire to care for people!

Thx.

KK

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I am so relieved to hear from others exactly what I'm going through! I'm a new RN with 8 weeks into orientation and I can't help it but feel overwhelmed and incompetent. I would only be able to sleep for more than4-5 hours/day whenever I'm scheduled to work (due to anxiety) I always forget to do tasks, and when I perform interventions, it would take me 30+ mins to pass out meds...for 1 patient! I'm thankful to all the veteran nurses who posted on here. Thank you so much!! My fellow Newbies, we have to endure! Lol.

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Overwhelmed and incompetent sums it up pretty well! I'm headed into week 4, and I feel the same and struggle with being slow and inefficient. I had a mini meltdown last week when my first patient of five was in pain and needed help (to the bathroom, cleaned up, sitz bath, radiation sores addressed, cream applied, new pad- and then she had another BM) I called the NA and asked for help and she didn't understand why I needed her (bc I hadn't passed meds, taken vitals, assessed, etc). That first experience of the morning had me flustered and set me up for mistakes. So my advice to others is to regroup and be flexible. I should have asked my preceptor for more help, but felt that I needed to practice without her help bc I will be alone soon. Yikes! Reading about other's experiences and feelings is invaluable.

I would look into doing something to get more sleep if you can. Not being able to sleep is quite a bit of anxiety, there's help if you need it. I feel better just having PRN Xanax available, even though I do not use it often. Good luck to you!

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Don't get so hung up on passing medications. I understand that some medications are time sensitive, but if the pharmacy profiles your sliding scale insulin for 1130 but lunch trays are late and don't show up until 1300 you insulin will just be late. Make a note reflecting that. I see too many of our new nurses and even nursing students so fixated on timing that they are unable to make adjustments when unexpected things happen. ASSESS your patients first thing! If you become so fixated on passing the meds that you haven't assessed your patient until after med pass, I guarantee you that's when something will change with your patient or the physician will ask you how their lungs sounded and you won't have a baseline. BE FLEXIBLE. Nothing in the nursing real world works quite the same as the nursing books taught you.

And when you think the world is crumbling around you, take a deep breath. I promise your more than likely doing a better job then you think you are. And find an appropriate healthy method of stress relief outside of work. Reading, exercise etc.

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Specializes in APRN.

Amen to that !!! lol! :yes::):);)

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Specializes in Med-Surg, LTC, Psych, Addictions..

Tips:

1. Don't act like a know it all. Be confident, but humble to those with more experience.

2. Don't be afraid to call Docs. They're a means to an end.

3. If you don't know a procedure, look it up. Don't try to "wing it".

4. Everybody have bad days, nurses included. However, when you do, remind yourself of 2 things:

A. It could be worse. YOU could be admitted to the hospital!

B. Your pt is the reason that you even have a job. Be thankful. :)

5. Come up with a good "brain sheet" to keep yourself organized.

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Tips:

1. Don't act like a know it all. Be confident, but humble to those with more experience.

2. Don't be afraid to call Docs. They're a means to an end.

3. If you don't know a procedure, look it up. Don't try to "wing it".

4. Everybody have bad days, nurses included. However, when you do, remind yourself of 2 things:

A. It could be worse. YOU could be admitted to the hospital!

B. Your pt is the reason that you even have a job. Be thankful. :)

5. Come up with a good "brain sheet" to keep yourself organized.

I keep reading throughout ALL NURSES about brain sheets. I need an example or examples of a good brain sheet.

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Specializes in Cardiac Nursing.

Love the posts above. I'm only a few weeks in but here is a few:

I have found that arriving early and preparing before getting started will help to reduce anxiety everytime.

Take the opportunity to jump into do something as a 'first' as much as you can.

Find someone to communicate with as a mentor.

Start to go over policy and procedures a little at a time and keep reviewing meds a little at a time.

Give yourself Grace and be patient with yourself as you learn. This is not an easy job.

You can do this. Have Faith in yourself.

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Specializes in Med-surg,icu,er,surgical floor,recovery.

These are very good tips.

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Specializes in Cardiac Nursing.

Thank you so much. It's been quite the uphill battle for me but I really do love nursing. This past week has been especially challenging.

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