Do I want to be a Nurse?

2banurse · Sep 27, 2003

Hi FSUgrad,

I think that first you need to remember that you got through your nursing program...you should be proud of that accomplishment! As you can see from the board, the attrition level is pretty low and many people that have started nursing school haven't even been able to finish the first semester.

Second, many of the practicing nurses on this board will stress to you that it may take a year before you feel more comfortable.

Finally, in regards to the doctors and residents, please remember that they are not superheroes and that they are just people like you are. I'm even quite sure that some of these residents are still wet behind the ears. They are not trained to be patient advocates, to them (a good majority IMO), a patient is a disesase process, not a living, breathing human being.

Don't give up heart. Think about what your supervising nurse said and don't automatically assume that you did something wrong. Unless they were with you the entire time, they are just seeing one dimension. Maybe there is something that the critiqued on that wasn't accurate. If it is a case where you can see what she is talking about, use it as a guideline.

Again! You have made a major accomplishment...be proud!

Kris

Tweety, BSN, RN · Sep 27, 2003

It will definately get better. Everyone who is a good nurse, who cares, who is hard working feels exactly like you do when the first started.

I know I felt disorganized, imcompetent and downright studpid my first year. I was called into the manager's office many times that first year and was frustrated. I came home with those exact same questions, wondering if I could cut it as a nurse.

Many years later here I am. Try to be good to yourself, stay open minded and give yourself a full year or more. If you're still feeling the same way, then perhaps you should reconsider. But right now you are perfectly normal.

Best wishes.

2banurse · Sep 27, 2003

See, I told you an experienced nurse would tell you that this was normal! Keep Heart! You will do it!

Kris

renerian, BSN, RN · Sep 27, 2003

I agree with the previous posts. It took me one year to feel grounded as a new grad. Don't feel bad. I think people graduate think they know everything they need to know but they don't, they only know the basis. Nursing is an everchanging animal and the learning never stops.

Hugs,

renerian

laurasc · Sep 27, 2003

The first year in a hospital is almost always brutal. I know that my first year or so of nursing was horrible. I used to come home in tears more often than not. For me it took moving to another unit with a head nurse that was a little more sympathetic. (my first head nurse was a real bee with an itch, if you know what I mean) After another few months on that new floor I found my nursing legs and took off from there....even went to work in a med/surg ICU.

So hang in there, it's only been 4 months. Nursing is not an easy job but it's one of the most fulfilling and satisfying jobs around.

:kiss

Laura

sjoe · Sep 27, 2003

"I just don't want to feel like a moron."

Probably a good course in assertiveness training would be more useful than anything else, in order to boost your self-confidence. Familiarity with the details of your job will come with time: a year or two at the least.

Love-A-Nurse · Sep 27, 2003

great advice thus far. i only have a ((((((hug))))) to give.

Kaylesh · Sep 27, 2003

Hiya

Aye it does indeed take a while to feel comfortable and speak up to the docs..

Im a RN with 12 years of experience and i this past October took a job as a Clinical Research Nurse as i felt i needed a change from hospital based nursing.. What a eye opener and reminder it was on how it feels to be a newbie.. Clinical Research Nursing is sooooo different to hospital based nursing that i felt like a complete and utter idiot at the job.. like i could do nothing right.. Fortunately some of the other nurses made sure to tell me that it is normal to feel that way.. even though we all had been experienced nurses in other areas .. that even most of them felt like complete and utter idiots at first. Well i am coming up on my one year with the company and i am finally feeling at ease well much more so anyways :-)..

Also have found out that i miss hospital based patient care and am looking for a job back in a hospital..

Soooooooo Give it some time.. take all suggestions and try to look at them objectively and not emotionally(easier said than done i know).. and keep asking for feed back from your supervisors and other nurses..

Good Luck

Kaylesh

FSUgrad · Sep 27, 2003

Thanks everyone for the boost....... I'm just not use to feeling this way, I usually have lots of confidence in the things I do but when I work the floor I feel like such a boob and wonder why i couldn't and didn't see this or that. I take every comment, advice, and critique as knowledge gained... but sometimes it's just so hard to NOT take it personally. Just when I think that I am doing good, I fall in some hole that brings me down. Humility definitely has overcome me these days.

As I work with the experienced (which is everyone) I only hope that someday that I can be half as good as they are. I know that it will take some time...... I just hope that others can understand that I am trying my best. Thanks again, it makes me feel a little better to know those who have been in the profession for years too felt this same way at the beginning :)

Tweety, BSN, RN · Sep 27, 2003

Originally posted by FSUgrad
I just hope that others can understand that I am trying my best.

Sometimes we forget. Especially when the orientation is over and the expectations of you are high. Don't let that get you down. It's not that we are "eating our young" it's that it's tough out there for all of us.

I'm sure they know and understand that you are doing your best.

nurseygrrl, LPN · Sep 27, 2003

It takes a little time to get your feet wet in nursing. I also believe that some of the attitudes of experienced medical staff can contribute to a decline in a new nurse's morale. Some nurses are very conceited and want to act like a 'know-it-all' in front of their less experienced counterparts and, for lack of a better word, it can make you feel like crap! My advice is to stick it out! You are NOT a moron, so you shouldn't feel like one. Nursing skill comes from experience on the floor, and you'll get it. Try and find a colleague who is smart and willing to teach. I hooked up with a wonderful nurse when I first started and she taught me more than I'd ever learned in school! Good luck and keep your chin up!!