Brand New Nurse Getting Off Orientation....Terrified.

txerrn6942 · Dec 11, 2013

Completely normal! I felt like this for my first year and cried multiple times. It will get easier and better!

Lev, MSN, RN, NP · Dec 11, 2013

(((aweldon001))) You can do this!!! If you want two more weeks of orientation with a new preceptor speak with your manager. You want to do a good job. She will understand this. Ask if you can have one of the night shift nurses precept you.

Swellz · Dec 11, 2013

I came off orientation a couple weeks ago. I continue to be terrified at times but at least I feel like I am hitting my stride. I had multiple preceptors, and yes, a couple left me stranded and overwhelmed. One time, after telling a preceptor I was overwhelmed and needed help, I ended up making a med error and got really upset, only for her to blow me off because I "didn't really hurt anyone". I do recommend giving feedback to your manager about it; I was totally honest about who was valuable to me, and she was surprised by some of what I said. It might be that you need a different preceptor, or a longer orientation, or just time to adjust. I know I personally didn't feel ready, but it wasn't something that more orientation would have solved. I just needed time.

guest744967 · Dec 11, 2013

Hey! I'm in a similar boat. Another new nurse and I wonder if were in the right area. We've had some rough people and it is getting overwhelming. I do get sick a day before my shift and anxious driving in. Once I get there I kick it in too gear. I tell myself I do what I can. Slow myself down to make sure no error is made when I know I'm late certain times but not always. 7 patients some days and I'm ready to cry but I hold it together and weirdly I finish on time. I have a few days left and i'll be my own bird. Am i ready? I have no idea I have so many questions...I'm scared too death..but I do know I'm sick of someone being overly obsessive with what I do instead of trusting me. This questioning your career is normal...the emotions are normal. But take it by the day. Nights may be different! I feel you girl! We'll pass this!! I try to find one thing positive of my choice. I usually see more than one and think of that.

aweldon001 · Dec 11, 2013

Thank you so much, txerrn6942. Glad to know I'm normal and not a complete dunce. I hope it does get easier. Thanks again for the reassurance.

aweldon001 · Dec 11, 2013

Thanks so much Lev

aweldon001 · Dec 11, 2013

Well, I'm glad to know I'm not alone, Swellz. On my good days, I feel like I get in the groove and that I have it, but a bad/busy day can throw me off like crazy. I have also made a minor med error, even after clarifying with my preceptor (she was distracted on her phone). I got blamed. I definitely understand that feeling, it's terrifying. I think I will end up going to my manager about this. I know there's still a few things (picking up babies from deliveries, admits, etc) that I just don't know how to handle quite yet alone, and I know I still need help with. Thanks though for this advice/encouragement. Much needed! :)

aweldon001 · Dec 11, 2013

Exactly! Rough preceptors/overwhelming days are getting insane! I'm the same way. I've had to go to the doctor over my anxiety and stress. I go through the same "self-pep talk," haha. I don't feel ready AT ALL. You're right though. You get to a point where you have to start trusting yourself. Taking it by the day...I really need to work on that and stop bringing my work home with me. I'm with you though. I know we can do this, we have to! We made it through nursing school, we can make it through this! Good thinking though. Thanks for this. :)

nixx7 · Dec 11, 2013

I feel terrified as well! I will be starting my orientation tomorrow with paper works and i will be working in a snf... I was told that orientation will only be a couple of days like 3 days i think... I feel so dumb and don't know what to do.... I thought im the only one who's experiencing this but i'm glad that im not alone so i guess what we are experiencing is normal... Share to us how it goes when you're flying solo for the first time :) good luck and God bless

ParisAntonel · Dec 11, 2013

I am not sure if it's really you in the profile picture , but if it is, I don't think it's a good idea to share it here!

When I was in orientation I felt the same way, I don't think anyone feels 100% confident when they're out on their own! Experience helps you build your confidence, the first year of nursing is a culture shock! Listen to your preceptor, do not show them how things were done in nursing school, you're there to learn from them , you're not there to teach them!do everything they say and the way they want you to do things! Use the techniques you learned from nursing school when you're on your own!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Dec 11, 2013

I know this subject has probably been run into the ground and has probably been discussed a thousand times, but please just let me be an annoying new nurse. I work on a medsurg/postpartum/nursery floor. I've been on orientation for about 9-10 weeks now and I am panicking. My preceptor has pretty much left me hanging the whole time. She gets easily annoyed/irritated with me. She plays on her phone all day while I take care of 6 patients (while drowning and getting behind). I KNOW that I'm supposed to be getting more independent and able to do this alone, but I'm overwhelmed and I feel like I constantly forget/miss things. I am having to learn how to care for and chart on medsurg patients (sometimes total care), postpartum moms, and babies. All three in different charting systems. I'm supposed to go to nights in a week and then I get five more days of orientation, and then I'm on my own. I'm not ready. The end. I know I will never feel 100% ready to do this, but I'm just NOT ready.
I constantly feel like an idiot. I feel so dumb and inadequate 95% of the time, that it's ridiculous. I have blonde moments. Many of them. Sometimes I wonder if I'm cut out for this. I love the job, don't get me wrong. I love taking care of people. I just feel like I don't have the experience or knowledge to DO THIS. I've been told this is normal. I really want to know if it is. Will my supervisor be totally mad if I ask for two more weeks of orientation with a different nurse? I just feel like crap about being on my own. I still don't know how to handle admits or how to handle babies 100%. I just feel overwhelmed and honestly terrified.
Do you guys have any solid advice/tough love for me? I just need to know what I can do to alleviate this. I come home crying sometimes from the stress of this. I just want to do a good job and actually know what I'm doing. Do you guys think I should ask for more time on orientation? Or just suck it up and do the best I can? This stress is INSANE. =/

Some people are better preceptors than others, some are more willing preceptors. It seems that the one you got is either unwilling or unable. It wouldn't be a bad thing to ask for a couple more weeks of orientation with a different preceptor, and if you ask for night shift orientation it will kill two birds with one stone. You'll get some orientation to night shift routines, and you'll probably get a different preceptor. At this point, you should be able to handle an assignment independently as long as your preceptor is there to answer questions, to ask questions to challenge your critical thinking and to teach you procedures, etc. that you haven't encountered. You should also be figuring out what resources you have other than your preceptor: online information, policies and procedures, etc.

Feeling incompetent and inept is normal at this stage of your development; I'd be mighty concerned about you if you didn't! The first year of nursing is tough -- that's been talked to death on here. I was miserable, I felt stupid and incompetent, and I cried all the way in to work and home from work many (if not most) shifts. Unfortunately, a lot of new nurses quit or change jobs at this point. That's a really poor choice -- you still have to go through a year of being a brand new nurse, only you've extended it by that point. Med/Surg is a wonderful place to get your first year of experience because you're exposed to so much. Use the time to soak up as much knowledge as you possibly can.

The first year of nursing is miserable -- and the only way to get through it is to GO through it. We all had to!

Please think about your avatar. While your picture is lovely, you are very easy to identify. Any of your co-workers who are online here -- including your preceptor (the one you're complaining about) can easily identify you. It happens. I recognized an orientee of mine one time, and her posts made me think even less of her than her sloppy practice and cavilier attitude had already done. Don't shoot yourself in the foot with your new colleagues. This isn't FaceBook. Please change your avatar!