Any nurses out there graduate knowing everything?

FunkyCat · Sep 26, 2011

Hey

I just started my first job and I am carrying a drug guide in my pocket to check my meds, and taking 3 times longer it seems than any of the more senior nurses.

I loved my placements but found I was overwhelmed at exam time, but I got through it. I love my new job and everyone is really supportive and lets me know its ok not to know everything as long as I ask questions when I'm not sure.

Nursing is the type of profession where you will never know everything, we are all constantly learning and that is ok :)

kwash77 · Sep 26, 2011

Being overwhelmed is normal. Try to set a specific amount of time to study and then take short breaks in between. I found that to be very helpful. Don't try to overload your brain with information.

Personally, nursing school taught me a lot but you never really know what it's really like to be a nurse until you're on the floor. Clinicals is totally different than being fully responsible for your own patients. It took me several months to fully adjust and develop my routine and still I ask for help and input when I find myself second guessing certain things.

I can't stress enough when I say time management is EVERYTHING. It really helps if you have a schedule and routine while in school AND when you're practicing as a nurse.

Just remember, study hard, but don't forget to treat yourself here and there :)

FunkyCat · Sep 26, 2011

So long as you know your basic anatomy and physiology then the way I see it is that you can understand what can go wrong. Know what the "right" way of something working is and you can understand the wrong. A lot comes with experience but no one in the real world will expect you to know everything as a new grad, you will be expected to ask questions and to be learning.

Experience takes time to get, and you will be surprised at how much experience you already have through your clinical placements.

loriangel14, RN · Sep 26, 2011

No you're not an idiot and no we don't graduate knowing everything.Being a nurse is a never ending learning experience.No one knows everything. Years of experience helps but never feel bad or be ashamed to say " i don't know" or ask for help, especially as a green nurse. Even the most experienced nurses will still ask for feedback from peers if they are faced with something they are not sure about.On the floor we still look up things and review procedures that we are not familiar with.Also working on a certain floor means you will learn lots about that type of nursing and be quite good at it but if you took say, a seasoned geriatric nurse and made them work a shift on pediatrics they would have a different skill set than an experienced pediatric nurse.

It is a sign of a responsible nurse to know when they are in a position where they don't have enough knowledge to provide safe care.Never be afraid to ask for guidance.

FLArn · Sep 26, 2011

The scariest thing in the world is a nurse, new grad or long time licensed, that thinks they

know everything. The person who thinks they "know it all" is the most dangerous person in the building. They are the person who tries to use the unfamiliar equipment or give unfamiliar meds sometimes with disastrous results.

I hold the person who asks rather than injure a patient in higher esteem than the one who "bluffs" their way through. My grandma always said "the only stupid question is the one you don't ask."

gymnut · Sep 26, 2011

I'm going to school to be a surg tech and while it's nowhere near as hard as being a nurse I too feel overwhelmed because of all the learning. All the anatomy and physiology that goes with all the surgeries plus all the crazy instruments. I remember when I was observing in the OR the tech and surgeon didn't even talk he would just stick his hand out and she would hand him the right tool. I almost cried because I just picture me standing there with a Hurr Durr look on my face and handing him nothing.

But, you know what? That was probably the hundreth time that that tech and surgeon worked together performing the same surgery so she knew exactly what the surgeon wanted. Just like in nursing you will be getting similar cases over and over with a select few that are out of the ordinary. It's all about routine and repetition to get that knowledge set in place. After your 50th (or more or less) elderly patient with a UTI and CHF you'll know what to look out for and how to assess right off the bat.

Please don't ever call yourself an idiot. I'm guilty of it too I admit but, I'd be very afraid of the doctor or nurse that thought of something as complex as the human body and everything involved with it was simple! So take a deep breath and stay strong. You are part of a wonderful community here that will help you along your way!

SoCal student · Sep 26, 2011

I feel the EXACT same way as you! I'm almost positive the answer is: "everyone feels overwhelmed in nursing school and no nurse EVER knows it all, especially not right out of school."

But i'm interested to read the responses to this...

eslvn · Sep 26, 2011

I dont remember everything I learned in school, but when you use it in real life you think "oh yeah I remember that" then you look it up and next time you will remember it. I could read something a thousand times and it wont stick until I actually do it, and I think most nurses are like that.

HurricaneCasRN · Sep 26, 2011

I knew some student nurses that knew everything. They failed out. The ones that knew MOST everything graduated, but can't pass NCLEX.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Sep 26, 2011

You never know everything...26+years after graduation, and 19 active years of working (7 of a lot of personal medical issues that taught me much more about the individual disorders than school ever did) and I'm still WAY not ok with some areas of nursing (I'd rather eat rose thorns than deal with GYN or cardiac). If you felt like you knew everything I'd hope and pray nobody hired you :)

Bortaz, MSN, RN · Sep 26, 2011

I know everything. I just can't remember it all at once.