A Nursing student about to graduate and am completely terrified. Anyone else???

Ruby Vee, BSN · Apr 6, 2017

Hello everyone! So I'm a senior nursing student who is about to graduate soon and to be honest, I am completely terrified! 2017 hasn't been a great year and so I'm afraid this year will be reflected in my job hunt (if that makes sense?). I just feel like I am so unprepared and that I know nothing. Right now, I am grateful to have a preceptorship where I have to complete 12 shifts following a nurse and I have a lot of hands-on learning opportunities. But I am just not 100% there, like I am unable to answer my nurse's questions and I forget how to do something and my nurse has to reteach it to me over again. It scares me so much because I am trying so hard to remember nursing skills and to expand my nursing knowledge. I really want to do my best but I feel like something is holding me back and I don't know what that is Is it just me or does anyone else feel/felt the same way? Any advice? I recently signed up for a Kaplan class in the summer and I also bought a Saunders NCLEX prep book, so I'm hoping those will help me.

Nursing school doesn't really prepare you to be a nurse; it just prepares you by giving you the fundamentals so you can learn on the job and understand the rationales for things like sterile technique. Since diploma programs have mostly gone the way of the dinosaurs, no one emerges from school knowing everything they need to know to be a nurse.

Take the job with the most orientation, the most clearly defined goals and feedback process. That means that you'll be asking about those things in your interviews. Know that the first few months of your first job are going to be a lot like school. There will be classes, exams, and homework. (One reason new grads fail is that they fail to take seriously the idea of homework for their job.).

And remember this: No one scares an experienced preceptor as much as the new grad who thinks she knows everything. If a new grad isn't scared of making a mistake, I don't dare trust them as far as I can throw them. It's the new grad who is feels stupid and unprepared who we most like to see coming. A scared new grad is someone who is amenable to teaching. The others end up writing to allnurses.com, complaining about their mean preceptors and how they were fired for no reason.

pro-student · Apr 7, 2017

I second everything Ruby Vee said. Imposter syndrome is very real and it is total normal to come to the end of nursing school and still feel unsure of your ability to function as a new grad. The key is to know when you are in over your head or need to ask for help. It happens to all of us, experienced or otherwise. Nursing school prepares you to be a competent clinician at the basic level. Only by practice can you advance beyond that. It's a bit uncomfortable at first but getting out there and gaining experience is the only way to advance your knowledge and skills. If you can, consider applying to formal residency programs that will include both didactic and clinical education specific to your specialty as well as a generous preceptorship. Don't stress too much about the NCLEX, for most people one comprehensive review (either a book or class) is sufficient. Do as many practice questions as you possibly can and carefully read through the rationales of any you are unsure about. Best of luck, I'm sure you'll be great!

BlueHearts53 · Apr 7, 2017

Nursing school doesn't really prepare you to be a nurse; it just prepares you by giving you the fundamentals so you can learn on the job and understand the rationales for things like sterile technique. Since diploma programs have mostly gone the way of the dinosaurs, no one emerges from school knowing everything they need to know to be a nurse.
Take the job with the most orientation, the most clearly defined goals and feedback process. That means that you'll be asking about those things in your interviews. Know that the first few months of your first job are going to be a lot like school. There will be classes, exams, and homework. (One reason new grads fail is that they fail to take seriously the idea of homework for their job.).
And remember this: No one scares an experienced preceptor as much as the new grad who thinks she knows everything. If a new grad isn't scared of making a mistake, I don't dare trust them as far as I can throw them. It's the new grad who is feels stupid and unprepared who we most like to see coming. A scared new grad is someone who is amenable to teaching. The others end up writing to allnurses.com, complaining about their mean preceptors and how they were fired for no reason.

Wow! I definitely needed to hear this. Just reading this made me feel so much better, especially the last part about the preceptorship. Thank you so much! Also, thanks for the advice about what I should ask during my interviews since I'll probably be interviewing in the next few months and interviews make me nervous! Always good to prepare questions and it's good to know that I can ask about their orientation.

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Apr 8, 2017

I was terrified as a new grad, and rightly so. It took a couple years, but the terror mellowed into anxiety. I felt like I actually knew my stuff after about five years. I was so wrong...I didn't know how much I didn't know. Transferred into a new specialty and started learning all over again, but this time I knew I could succeed.

If you are frightened, you are a safe nurse, and one that will take time to look things up. I would take you over a confident new grad any day. Just keep working, ask questions, and forgive yourself for something every day. You can do it.