career questions

[texasnursingstudent]

Hi all,

I will be graduating from nursing school in about a year and a half. I am highly interested in starting as an entry level (graduate RN) in the Emergency Center/Trauma Unit. I live in Houston and plan on working here for a few years, so I will have no trouble finding work. My question/inquiry is in regards to myself and the ability to handle things:

I tend to get really worked up when I get busy for faced with a situation -or several situations- all at once. I have trouble keeping things straight sometimes, such as what I need to do first. In the past I have dealt with this problem by taking a few steps back to evaluate the situations (s). I am currently working as a sever in a busy restaurant for this reason-so that I could learn how to do many things at once, i.e., multi tasking. Is there any advice anyone could give me in regards to handling lots of things to be done at once....and how to "learn to think" like an ER/trauma nurse? I am specifically interested in trauma, so learning to do this is important to me for both personal and professional growth. Thanks!

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

hi, texasnursingstudent!

based on what you've written i have a feeling you will become the er and trauma nurse you see yourself being. the reason i say this is because you are challenging yourself and you are aware of something within yourself that you know you must improve. that is always the first step in making changes. i have no doubt that you will conquer your tendency to get "worked up". the other important part of this is actually learning the nursing skills. once you learn the nursing theory and nursing skills you will have more time to focus on working to keep your emotions in check and learning to prioritize and multi-task. it takes time to develop these skills. just as you weren't the most efficient server your first day on the job, the same is going to hold true in nursing. it will take many weeks, months and perhaps years before you will finally feel satisfied in your ability to multi-task efficiently and keep a calm, cool head during a medical crisis. keeping calm during a crisis also involves being confident in knowing what needs to be done. it takes most nurses several years after graduating from nursing school before they begin to feel like they real have a handle on their job as an rn and begin to feel a real solid confidence in their nursing ability. you have the right attitude. all you need to do now is to persevere, be patient, and let time do the rest.

welcome to allnurses! :welcome:

[texasnursingstudent]

what a nice reply. thank you :) i really appreciate that! :wink2: