Advice Please First Year NS

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I start NS in less than two weeks and I am SCARED TO DEATH!!! I know and realize that this is all normal, but I am really nervous. My anxiety and stress level is so high that it has taken away all of my excitement. :crying2: I really don't know why I am so nervous. I feel like just sitting down and crying and yet I have not even started my journey yet. One major thing I am worried about is me being shy. Don't get me wrong, I am not shy when it comes to patients or anything like that. I could walk into a hospital or a LTC facility and go into someone's room and start chatting. I am shy/nervous about doing procedures in front of a group and of course the instructor. Sometimes when I am shown something, I just get flustered when I have to repeat it back. I picked up my nursing book bundle for this semester and that didn't help much either! LOL!! Is this all normal or am I just really crazy?

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

Simple: Fear of the unknown. You'll feel better after your first few days. Don't stress out. Enjoy your last few weeks of freedom and you'll look back on this and laugh. I was just telling my husband that I can't believe I used to be one of those first semester students with a gleaming white uniform and bugged out eyes ;) It will pass faster than you know!

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It's funny because I just smile to myself when I comes across a post that says I am a mom, married, been out of school forever, am horrible at math etc....can I really do this?? This was me as well and now those two years of prereqs are behind me. :) I think you hit the nail on the head, it's the fear of the unknown. Never thought about it that way, but your right!

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

Just remember that EVERYONE in your class is going to have to do procedures/skills in front of one another. Everyone else is going to be just as vulnerable to evaluation and critisism as you are! The last thing you will want to be worried about is "looking bad" in front of instructors or peers. You are a brand new baby nursing student. Nobody is going to expect you to do things perfectly or even "right" at first. And if you are too invested in the appearance of perfection, you will cause concern. Ask questions, put yourself out there - the best way to learn certain skills is by doing them. Not only should you NOT avoid it, you should volunteer to do things, even if you are nervous...the more you do them, the more competent you are going to feel. And that means fumbling around with nerves and uncertainty, in front of peers, patients and instructors. Being vulnerable in that kind of situaiton will not kill you or make you look stupid. It will help you learn faster and foster your confidence as you learn you won't die by making a mistake or for having hands that shake.

Your nerves are normal. Just keep reviewing the successes you have had thus far and know that if nursing school were THAT bad nobody would graduate. Yet people do, all the time. Have faith in the abilities that got you this far. I am entering my last semester on Monday, and when I look back to the nerves we all had that first semester, I get a wry smile on my face. It really will seem silly to you within a few months time, yet most everyone feels that at first. One girl burst into tears because she was nervous to even enter a patient's room and introduce herself for the first time - she was sure she'd be "bothering this poor sick man". She cracks up now when we tease her about it. :)

You'll get past this. It is just like a new job - awkward at first, but before you know it, you'll be moving right along. Take a deep breath and walk through the doors. You will do just fine.

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i am the same way and i am 48!!.....my stomach gets all in knots and my just spins....esp when i have to get up in front of the class to speak!!....i remember we all had to stand up at times and read a question from the txt and answer it....i would count ahead to see what one was mine.....the thing i am most anxious about is having to do math in front of someone.....i am not very quick at math and i have a wicked math phobia.....i am referring to LPN school so when I enter RN school i will have a better grip on things..(i hope)

I also can go into a PT room and chat with ease....doctors are another thing...i get all nervous and feel really stupid...another bug i have to work at hard...but it makes us stronger...

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Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.
Is this all normal or am I just really crazy?

Sounds perfectly normal to me. Oh - and crazy isn't a bad thing. Many of us are just that.

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