Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
So I am about to enter my very last quarter of nursing school and I feel like there is still so much I have yet to learn!
I am passionate about taking care of people and love what I do, but I really lack confidence.
The idea of having patients lives in my hands terrifies me!! Is this normal? I'm ready to graduate and I'm terrified!!
It doesn't help that some nurses make you feel so stupid or like you're such a bother when you ask questions.
Can someone please give me advice or tell me if this is normal?
This is normal; it's even desirable. I'd be terrified of a new nurse who WASN'T terrified! A degree and a license are just a license to learn; no one expects you to know anything. You don't even know what you don't know at this point. Fear is very healthy and prevents you from harming someone.
Asking questions is a normal thing, it's good practice. But please understand that you ARE a bother -- having you around doubles or triples the nurse's workload if she's taking the time to teach you as well. So please try to time your questions appropriately.
Nursing in general is so broad there is no way everything could possibly be covered prior to graduation (otherwise school would never end).
You learn just enough to take the NCLEX, and the minimum to be sufficiently competent to apply for your first job: here is where the real learning takes place. Your employer knows and expects this from a new grad nurse.
Again, back to how broad nursing really is with all the specialties and subcategories - your whole career will be one giant learning curve. You will never stop learning, from the very first day of your very first nursing job all the way up until retirement you will learn and grow. And make mistakes sometimes too. There is just too much information to know everything (And the one's that think they do? Scary). Everyone has something to teach you, and everyone has something to learn. It's all about information sharing.
Each day on the job will add a little more to your knowledge base, as will each new job you accept. Even those who have been a nurse for 40+ years will discover something new everyday. A nursing career is all about growth and change. Even if you worked until you were 100, you still wouldn't know all there is to possibly know about nursing when you finally retire.
Congratulations on how far you've come. You've likely worked harder in nursing school then on anything else you've ever done so far in your life. You will do just fine when you start work if you realize you couldn't possibly learn everything there is to know before you graduate, and that you will never stop learning your whole career.
I think we're all a degree of terrified in the beginning. It's the ones who aren't, the ones who are fully confident that they know everything and are ready to save the world who are dangerous. Fools go in where angels fear to tread, right? Embrace your terror. It will keep you safe. In your first job you will have a preceptor to guide you. You won't be thrown to the wolves with nowhere to turn for help. It will be OK! And those staff nurses who make you feel stupid? Remember they are probably busy, and stressed and their priority has to be their patients, not you. Don't take it personally. You will gain confidence as you gain experience, when the things you have to think hard about now become second nature. School doesn't make you a nurse, school prepares you to become a nurse. Even after 40 years I have occasional moments of terror and learning is a lifelong process in healthcare. Yes you are normal and yes you'll be fine!
You feel there is still so much to learn because there is. The purpose of school is to instill in you a way of thinking about how to approach patient care not the actual comprehensive experience of taking care of a patient. That you will learn as time goes by.
Don't sweat it, your feelings are common but at this stage of the game I wouldn't say you were incompetent because you have yet to even prove you're competent in the real world. But you will be.
Hi op. I once heard a nursing professor reference an Australian study done recently, it came to the conclusion that 60% nursing graduates do not have the clinical reasoning skills to practice nursing safely. It also found that 25%of nurses with 10 years experience STILL dont have the clinical reasoning to practice safely. I think this is very motivating. Practice these skills, know your patho and reason at a clinical level! Best of luck to you!
I took the NCLEX and passed in 75 questions in August. I had a 3.7 gpa in nursing school. I studied the night before exams (sometimes even the day, too) and managed to get medium to high A'S. And you know what? I feel less competent than the nursing students who barely pass. I feel like a moron, like I'm going to know nothing on the floor. My anxiety is so bad that I'm afraid to start applying for jobs. My main issue is that my peers in nursing school never speak up saying "Oh my gosh I'm so nervous!" Everyone tries to play it cool meanwhile my heart is racing. It's not easy to feel this way. I've spent many days sobbing, thinking about potentially killing patients by not knowing what to do, missing something important, doctors thinking I'm an idiot, lawsuits. It's terrifying. Anyway, I wanted to let you know you're not alone. Unfortunately I don't know how to get rid of these feelings other than push through them, be looked down on and feel like crap, and eventually learn enough to begin feeling competent. Good luck to you
Ruby Vee, BSN
17 Articles; 14,051 Posts
This is normal; it's even desirable. I'd be terrified of a new nurse who WASN'T terrified! A degree and a license are just a license to learn; no one expects you to know anything. You don't even know what you don't know at this point. Fear is very healthy and prevents you from harming someone.
Asking questions is a normal thing, it's good practice. But please understand that you ARE a bother -- having you around doubles or triples the nurse's workload if she's taking the time to teach you as well. So please try to time your questions appropriately.