Advice for overwhelmed new grad

[bbnurse17]

Hi all,

My first time posting, but I must say thank you to everyone as I have been reading posts on this site for a while now and I have definitely benefitted from the opinions and support! Such a great community.

I am a new grad RN and have been working in the Medical Float Pool at one of the major hospitals in my city for about 4 months. When comparing myself to other new grads I feel very behind in my practice. I am constantly asking questions, and I still make silly mistakes like calling the wrong doctor. I also have poor critical thinking. For example I did not think to stop an IV infusion for a patient who was getting crackly and SOB.

I am wondering if this kind of thing is normal at the four month mark, or am I really falling behind? And what can I do to improve? Honesty appreciated :)

I did very well in school but now I feel like I am choking. I can't imagine myself doing anything else other than nursing, but I also can't imagine sucking this bad at my job for the rest of my life. And I have not yet made any "serious" mistakes (ie. that caused direct harm), but I hate to even think of that happening. All opinions welcome :)

[SaltySarcasticSally, LPN, RN]

What are your managers saying? Why do you think you didn't stop the IV fluids when you saw the signs of overload? The first year is a learning process and as long as you keep asking questions and learning from mistakes, you will do just fine.

[thoughtful21, BSN, RN]

Hi, bbnurse17! You can do this!

I've heard that it helps to jot down all the questions that you have throughout the day, and go home and look up the answers after your shift - kind of like "homework." (not questions that you need to ask another nurse right away, but for instance needing to learn more about the patho of CHF or side effects of a med)

Sometimes when we compare ourselves to others, we can be too hard on ourselves and get down. I've struggled with this myself. Instead of comparing, we can set short-term and long-term goals for ourselves and work to meet those goals.

When we make real life mistakes, we never forget them. You will always remember to stop the IV infusion for s/s of fluid overload after this! So you are learning and getting better every day! :)

[bbnurse17]

Thank you for the replies! 4 months later and I am feeling a bit better. Not perfect, but better. thoughtful21, The advice about taking notes is super helpful, and I try to look things up on days off so I can stay sharp. SaltySarcasticSally, thank you for the advice also :) Some days are better than others but I guess I just have to keep coming back and trying to do better