Can you remember your first day as a nurse?

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Hi everyone. I was wondering if anyone can tell stories of their first day as a nurse. Were you nervous, scared, excited?

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I don't remember exactly what happened my first day on my own - but I remembering being completely nervous and scared. If a family member had a difficult question I could no longer say "let me get the nurse" like I did in nursing school or "let me talk with my preceptor" like during orientation. I remember saying often, "I'm not sure, but let me find out for you." Said that LOTS during the beginning, now I hardly have to say that (at about a year out). I was there forever charting, now I'm much quicker with everything. I was very uncomfortable and unsure and its gotten so much better with some experience and time! I still ask tons of questions though! But almost all of the nurses I work with have 30+ years experience so its great to learn from them. :)

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Thanks for your response. :up:

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Specializes in Trauma Surgical ICU.

All of the above :)

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Yup! Mostly because it was only a few months ago. But I'm coming up on my one year anniversary :) very excited for things to get easier like everyone says!!

My first day by myself was really scary. I had a patient on comfort and the other was a pretty stable liver guy..aka the easiest assignment the charge nurses could muster up for me. The day went on without any drama, but there was just something about all the responsibility I now realized I had. I was so afraid of something going wrong or missing something that I must have made that poor liver patient so annoyed...like I was all over him! Luckily, I was a little less obnoxious with my comfort patient.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.

My very first day as a nurse consisted of filling out a lot of paperwork.

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Specializes in ED.

Scared out of my mind. I work in the ER and I was so stressed out about getting a code or something, but my charge nurse went easy on me and all of my other coworkers kept an eye on me. Went fine :)

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I can remember. I was on the elevator going up to the floor and I was nervous. I texted my husband something along the lines of, "everything has led up to this night... here we go..." Then I got to my floor and I was assigned to float to the most awful chaotic floor in the hospital because the administrator didn't know it was my first day and just saw I hadn't floated lately. I went to that floor fighting back tears during report. Then an older, experienced nurse from my floor called me and said, "What are you doing over there? Come back, I will float for you." She saved me and I am forever grateful :)

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