confidence tips needed

Hi XXXX5. I am a new grad nurse in L&D, so also not experienced, and I feel your pain. I've had days like that, and I just try to tell myself that as long as they don't kick me out (and I feel that I can provide safe pt. care) I am staying! Maybe your charge nurse said what she said because it was the end of a long, tough shift and she was at the end of her reserves. It happens. Try to focus on the positive. I always try to think about what good things happened on my shift, and what new things I learned, and then I go to what things I might do differently next time. Take people's blunt or unkind words with a grain of salt and treasure every positive thing you hear. It's the only way I've been able to survive.

I'm an experienced L and D RN and this situation makes me hurt for you. If the charge nurse felt that you could not handle this patient, then she should not have assigned her to you. The comment that she made was unkind and very unprofessional. To be a charge nurse, one must lead and teach those less experienced, not belittle and discourage them. My advice to you? Don't apologize for a legitimate need, such as needing someone to verify a cervical exam. How else will you learn?We were all new nurses once. Lastly, if the providers are not signing out patients to each other properly, then they are not providing safe care.

I am an L&D nurse who works night shift, and at the moment, there are more new L&D nurses on my shifts than experienced, (which is rare usually) so I've had to deal with newbies quite often within the last year or so. I can say this... never be afraid to ask questions and have someone double check you. Doing so should be respected and desired, not frowned upon. That's how you learn. That's how you give safe care while being new and that's how experienced L&D nurses should prefer It. I would much rather have a newbie ask me questions all the time rather than think she already knows everything. An overconfident nurse is a dangerous one. L&D is a fierce job, and not what most anticipate it to be like. It is challenging in ways people don't understand, but it can be very rewarding. You will have good days and you will have bad days, but you will always learn something. Just never be afraid to ask questions and take something new from every experience you go through. In time, you will get more confident and will become proficient. I've been on L&D for 5 years and still ask questions and bounce ideas off of other nurses. We all do. Experienced nurses still come to me do double check patients when they have someone with a tricky cervix. You never stop learning!