Did I make a mistake by not reviewing before my first job?

[frostrambler]

I finished my BSN nursing program in June 2008. I passed my NCLEX in August 2008. Because of the horrible economy, and the fact that all hospitals in NYC are not hiring, I only got a job last month, and I am starting tomorrow.

I will be working at a North Shore-LIJ hospital on a telemetry unit, most of my patients will be 2-3 day post op. The orientation is 12 weeks, 2 weeks in-class training, then 6 weeks day time with a preceptor, and 4 weeks night time with a preceptor.

Here is my big worry. I have not studied since August. I passed my NCLEX, took two weeks off and then spent Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan and Feb looking for work. So its been six months since I was very familliar with the material. I passed in 75 questions, and I was very grateful for that.

I made a list of items I wanted to review, basic nursing things, cardiac, cardiac meds, also fluids and electrolytes, a bit of respiratory, etc.

I tried studying a bit, and was able to do a small amount. I used my Saunder's NCLEX book, and read over F+Es once, patient positioning, cardiac, lab values, basic nursing things, nothing very advanced.

I know that I know some things, you can't simply forget 2+ years of education in 6 months, but I feel very rusty, and that little part of me, the critical thinking part is pretty dead, I used to be able to make connections between content very easily, it just flowed through me, but now, I feel that I know almost nothing, its hard to explain.

I spoke with many friends and they all told me that while it may be good to review, none of them did, and they just learned as they went with their preceptors. My plan is to go with the flow, ask questions for things I don't know, and if I come across something I think I should know, to go look it up when I get home. Just learn through experience.

So my major concern is still, will I be ok as a new-grad with no studying in such a long time. I did some very basic studying, but very little. Will I have trouble, or is it fine to just learn as I go pretty much?

I know I'm probably over thinking it, I guess that I still have the basics down, but what were your experiences like on this? It used to be with nursing (as I heard) that you got a job as soon as you graduated, but I didn't get that luxury.

[stelarRN]

i'm wondering this too, for myself. i graduated in jan and am about to take the NCLEX RN in a couple weeks, but know that once it's over i'm going to lose some of the information. my advice would be to review areas that you feel weak in, but don't stress yourself out too much. most of the nursing knowledge we get comes from experience and that will come as you start to work. i'm sure your preceptors won't expect you to know everything :)

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

have you ever worked in a hospital? working in a hospital is nothing like the nclex or nursing school! no one is going to expect you to know everything or very much of anything. you will be surprised by how basic information will be given to you by more experienced nurses. just nod your head as if he/she is telling you something you do not know. that way, he/she will be willing to tell you something you actually do not know!

also, if you forget something you get to look it up!!! if you have no time, then ask questions... last but not least, it is important for you to know how to administer medications. period! everything else will come with time, as your friends have said.

i have been working as a tech and as a nurse extern before becoming a rn. as a new grad i have not had to be all-knowing as i did in nursing school even though i have more experience. in fact, it is frowned upon... the rn new grads who think that he/she knows everything are the ones who get a bad reputation by the nurses so keep your mouth shut and go with the flow.

have you ever heard the statement “nurses eat their young”? the nurses who eat their young go after the all-knowing ones first (the sharks circle them as if there is blood in the water). they tend to leave the more humble ones alone. gl!

-new grad nurse... counting down my first year

[caliotter3]

The advice to lay low and don't try to come across as a know it all is good. I know of a nurse who graduated at the top of her class from a very difficult program who went into a job at the local hospital. It didn't take long for the other nurses to get rid of her. She ended up having to go to a nursing home about 50 miles away to get a job.

[llg, PhD, RN]

Most of the time ... it's less about what you know (as in answering test questions) and more about what you can do (as in time management, prioritization, and critical thinking skills). Most orientees who struggle find that their problems lie in their practice abilities more than in their knowledge.

Staff development educators and preceptors can pretty easily teach people the facts they need to know to the job. The hard part is in helping them improve their ability to get things done correctly and quickly in practice. Reviewing your books don't help you much with that. But ... be prepared to do some studying. School doesn't always include everything you need to know.

[NeBin]

HOW DID YOUR FIRST WEEK GO? I'm starting next Wednesday on a Tele Unit and have till then to go over my cardiac Meds!