Anyone else here feeling unsure?

Lmomma · Jan 18, 2015

No one?

anh06005, MSN, APRN, NP · Jan 18, 2015

I'll go ahead and chime in...

As a student and new nurse you should feel nervous. Acute care can be a bit overwhelming at times with passing meds, assessments, coordinating care, getting patients to CTs/cath lab/PT, etc., post op vitals, bed alarms, and the list goes on.

If I had a nursing student who didn't ask questions and didn't seem to want help from me cause they knew it all I'd worry.

Lmomma · Jan 18, 2015

I'll go ahead and chime in...
As a student and new nurse you should feel nervous. Acute care can be a bit overwhelming at times with passing meds, assessments, coordinating care, getting patients to CTs/cath lab/PT, etc., post op vitals, bed alarms, and the list goes on.
If I had a nursing student who didn't ask questions and didn't seem to want help from me cause they knew it all I'd worry.

Thank you. I guess it would be foolish to not be a little nervous.

smmctowelie69 · Jan 19, 2015

I'm starting my second semester and I've never been in the hospital setting very much I work in a rehab nursing home and I feel very nervous. I think if you have confidence in yourself and remember what you were taught you should be fine you could always talk to your advisor or instructor about your feelings because they were students once too

allnurses Guide · Jan 19, 2015

Perfectly normal nerves. Lots of times the nerves start to kick in as you get closer to finishing rather than the other way around because you're about to successfully achieve the goal you've only thought about for so long...

You like patient care, you enjoy interacting with families and developed a particular thing that you are interested in (wound care).

You sound perfectly normal to me! My opinion only....but not everybody "feels like a nurse" even when they are one. For me, it's been a process and one that I wouldn't change. We've signed on to a profession that challenges us mentally, emotionally and spiritually no matter how long we're in it.

It may help to analyze what exactly is at the bottom of your jitters and attack it that way. For me, social anxiety was a problem. I remember the first time I walked into an actual patient's room I had tunnel vision. I was hyperventilating. It was awful. But it got easier and easier as time went on.

For others, getting organized was a problem or communicating effectively is a problem. In any case, you are not alone! All the best to you!

Nienna Celebrindal · Jan 19, 2015

Hang in there, what you are experiencing is completely normal. I've been an LVN for 12 years and am now a new grad RN and sometimes I still have moments when I feel this way. Everyone does. You will never know it all, and thats okay, neither will anyone else.

My two best pieces of advice for any student seem very relevant for you.

1) Do everything you can in clinicals, and if it scares you volunteer to do it first. Get it over with. It will not get easier, it gets harder. Students are supposed to not know what to do, now is the time to have someone hold your hand through it. It only gets harder with a license.

2) Know when to ask for help and ask. If someone gives you crap they are just as a jerk. I've heard people as what I felt were stupid questions, but I applauded them for knowing they didn't know the answer and seeking it out, not just making it up or letting something slide. I think most of your coworkers will be the same. Ignore the ones who aren't.

Also remember you will never be perfect, none of us are. Just do your best every day. Sometimes your best will vary, thats okay. Just keep at it. Good luck!