Clinicals your first semester

[FredPuma]

Did everyone else feel like a completely useless loser their first few weeks in clinicals? I just started school in March, and while I am doing great in my theory class, I feel lost and hopeless at the nursing home we are doing our clinical rotation at right now. I haven't made any big mistakes or anything, I just feel like I have no idea what's going on most of the time and that I'm not being at all useful or I'm terrified that I am actually going to make some sort of terrible mistake. Did everyone feel like that, and does it go away? Or am I weird?

[monkeesilly]

I think that everyone that has had no experience by being a tech or medical asisstant ect, felt like that. I thought I would never stop feeling like that. Now I feel like I know half of what I am doing ha!

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

I am familiar with the field of medicine and have spent a lot of time in hospitals and I STILL felt like that. I am nearing the end of my first semester (5 weeks to go...woohoo!) and just now feel like I have some confidence and familiarity. So yeah, feeling pretty lost, useless, confused, intimidated etc is very normal. It gets better. I never thought it would either but the last couple of weeks have been much better.