Advice about anxiety

[bed head girl]

I am just about to start my second semester of nursing school. I am in a 1 year accelerated program so it is extremely fast paced. I am extremely anxious about starting. I just feel like I won't be able to be a good nurse or know what to do in the clinical setting. Any advice?

[RNTutor, BSN, RN]

The best advice is just to take it one day at a time! I did an accelerated second degree BSN program, and it was 13 months plus pre-reqs. When it comes to clinicals, don't be bashful...jump in and take advantage of every possible experience you can. If you're not comfortable doing a skill, make sure you have supervision while doing it but try it anyway. The only way you will start to feel comfortable is by doing.

And if you don't feel like you're getting enough clinical experience through your program, talk to the instructors to see what they suggest. And you can always look for a job after graduation that offers a really good new-grad orientation program.

It can be overwhelming early in your nursing career because there is so much to learn! But don't compare yourself to nurses who have been doing this for 20 years, and remember that even they are still learning new things all the time. You can never know everything, the important thing is to continue to seek out new learning experiences!