Advice for an ER nurse

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Specializes in ED.

Hi all,

This is my first post and I guess I want just want some advice from other nurses who understan the struggle! This is my first hospital job as a nurse. I am currently in the ER for about 9 months in now and maybe 5 months off orientation. I have so many mixed feelings about work. Sometimes, I get excited about all the new things I learn and I feel like I'm making progress. Then, there are other times where I just feel dumb or incompetent. For example, sometimes I double check orders with doctors and I feel like I annoy them and I should just know some of these things already. Sometimes, especially now since the winter season is hitting, I feel so incompetent like I cannot get anything done because there is so much to do. It doesn't help that sometimes we get slammed with patients at the same time. It makes me feel like maybe I'm just a bad ER nurse and am not capable of this. I also got into the bad habit of leaving charting for last, which let me tell you is a hard habit to break (any advice on that would be much appreciated!). Any advice from nurses would be helpful. I just want to know if what I'm feeling is normal at this point or maybe is a sign. Thanks!

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

Hello @ea097 and welcome to allnurses.com.

We have moved your topic to the Emergency Nurses forum for the best response. Others will come along with some helpful replies.

We hope you enjoy allnurses.

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Specializes in Emergency.

Never hesitate to double check an order, follow your instincts & remember - we all learn 1 mistake at a time.

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Specializes in Urgent Care NP, Emergency Nursing, Camp Nursing.

I was an idiot for my first year of practice as an Emergency RN - an idiot who erred on the side of patient safety, but I was still an idiot.

You learn and get past it. Thankfully, the docs will probably rotate through locations faster than you do, and the ones who get hired on in two years will think you're an Emergency god who constantly saves their asses.

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On 1/12/2020 at 7:22 AM, ea097 said:

Sometimes, I get excited about all the new things I learn and I feel like I'm making progress. Then, there are other times where I just feel dumb or incompetent.

Totally normal

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