Kind of new to ICU

[ICURN2B]

Hi! I've never posted before but i've been following this site for many years and I want to say thank you for all of the great info! I love allnurses!So i've been externing in the ICU for 10months once a week and I'm a very recent new grad scheduled to start as an RN on the unit where I've been externing!! I'm so happy, excited , greatful... (You get the idea lol) but also petrified!!! I feel so lucky that I've had the opportunity to become oriented to the unit as a student so at least I wont feel totally clueless when I start my RN orientation but i cant shake this feeling of "will i really be able to do this on my own when i dont have a preceptor to consult?" sometimes I feel that I will be able to and that I just need to always learn as much as I can and that confidence will eventually come as I gain more experience but other times I feel so scared and like I may be incapable of making such autonomous decisions as I've seen the nurses that I work with make. I also can be neurotic at times and can become worked up at work if something is going on with the patient and I may alert the nurse and it turns out to be no big deal and would have been easy to correct possibly on my own, but I'm always worried what if it is a big deal and I don't let the nurse know and I jeopardize a patient's safety. We get level I traumas, neuro and medical/surgical patients so there is always alot going on and I can't help but to always second guess myself. Sorry that i'm rambling. Pretty much i'm just wondering A. are these feelings I'm having normal? B. if so, is there anything I can do to help alleviate these feelings of terror so that I can focus more on learning, such as maybe better prepare myself?(currently i'm reading paperwork we must fill out during our shift at home, going over drugs commonly used, taking general training classes at the hospital, and reading icufaqs.com) is there anything else i can do? Any input is very much appreciated and i would love to hear anyone else's experience. Thank you for listening :)

[RNJohnny23]

I've been an OR Nurse for 9 years and just started in a rural, 11 bed ICU (there are no specialty ICU's, just us). Even though I've been a RN for a long time, it's different and stressful! There are definitely situations that I haven't had to deal with or haven't had to deal with in quite the same way, everyday. But I want to go to CRNA school and I had to start somewhere. Everyone on the team and the manager is really supportive. This is the most important thing about any unit anyway and especially important when you're new and learning. Just study things you don't know (I really like ICUFAQS, too) and ask team members you trust for help. Be humble, gracious, and do what you can to help others when you can. That's all any of us can do.

Good luck to us all!

[NewbieNurse78]

I'm a new grad who was hired right into the ICU and yes this is totally normal. You will begin to learn what things are relevant and what things you don't have to stress over. But the fact that you are stressing is a good sign it means you care about your job and I would rather work with a nurse like that then one that is blase about stuff.

I suggest you use the resources around you. If you have a preceptor pick their brain like crazy, ask "why" whenever you get a chance. If you have doctors that like to chat ask them why, I had a great hospitalist who LOVED to teach, when I asked him why that was his eyes lit up. He actually pulled up a chair and sat with me and gave me a 30 minute long lesson, it was awesome. But ask ask ask! Don't be afraid of looking dumb, you're brand new and most nurses prefer a newbie who asks questions as opposed to one who doesn't.

If your employer has resources use them! We have a Pharmacology app that tells you about compatibilty or drugs and all sorts of good stuff. I spend hours on that thing just playing around.

Also, spend the money and become a member of the AACN, they send you tons of great articles and have resources that are SO helpful for a new nurse. Also check into continuing ed, the community college in my area does tons of great courses for con ed and one of them is a critical care course that is basically a primer for nurses who have zero experience heading into the CC world.

Hope that helps and good luck, it's going to be a blast!

Kitty

RN: Real Newbie, a nurse's blog