Do things get better?

Comfort comes with experience, but also keep in mind you never stop learning.

Are you a new nurse?

I am. Just graduated in May.

My advice to you is to communicate with your preceptor. I currently am precepting a new graduate nurse. Communication is the key. The current new graduate that is with me is very quiet and it can be hard for me to know what she is feeling or thinking.

Codes should be scary for you right now. If they weren't scary, it would be concerning. A new nurse who walks into a code with no fear is a scary thing for experienced nurses! Typically the first few codes that I have with a new graduate nurse, I want them watching, doing simple tasks such as compressions or giving medications or shocking with me. ACLS definitely helps to pull everything together and helps with understanding why we do what we do and a code. After a code, it is good to debrief with your preceptor. This allows time for explanations of things that occurred and also allows time for you to express how you're feeling.

Keep sticking it out! I still can't believe that I'm at the point in my career where I am precepting new nurses. It seems like just the other day I was shaking in my shoes as a new nurse. It really does get better with time and experience. Emergency nursing is great! Continue to study and learn and grow and your patience will reap the benefits!

It does get better! You're just literally at the very, very beginning- not even off orientation! I would say any new job, let alone a completely new career and specialty, takes me probably 6 months to stop having at-least-once-a-day "oh god, what am I even doing here" moments, a year to feel comfortable, and two years to feel confident that I probably won't have anything completely new thrown at me. And in the ER I'm still sometimes wrong and DO get something new thrown at me, because- it's the ER! You never know what's going to walk through the door (or be shoved bleeding from a moving car in front of the door).

I still hear ER nurses and docs with decades of experience say "that's a new one to me" pretty regularly. It takes both time to learn and sheer repeated exposure to get comfortable with the common things, and even more time and exposure to feel confident about tackling the uncommon things.

Don't think of it as "There's so much I don't know." Think of it as "There's so much I'm going to learn!"

I can only imagine that this kind of thing takes lots of time to adjust to. I don't have any experience with people coding but I do know what it's like to feel absolutely out of your mind.

I am not a nurse yet but I did work as a dental assistant for a while, which is what made me go for nursing. My first real job I took was at a HUGE corporate dental office. I was working 10-11 hour days on my feet, 5 days a week. I was doing everything from chair sidetracked dentistry, to mopping the floors. I was COMPLETELY overwhelmed. I had no idea where anything was, I knew nobody, and although the staff was friendly I had no friends yet and I felt intimidated and alone. My back was killing me, I had never been accustomed to being on my feet that long before. I was given 3 days of orientation and that was it. I was slammed with back to back patients flooding in every 15 minutes. By the time I took ones X-rays, there'd be a free room I had to flip, set up, and it was immediately filled again. I was assisting both the dentists and the hygienists and each one had their one personal working style I was not yet accustomed to so I felt like I was slowing the entire facility down. Non stop work, non stop to-do lists. Somebody above had mentioned that it feels like somebody tied your smart hand behind your back and you have to work with only your dumb hand. That is exactly what you feel like. A dumba**. I was so totally overwhelmed that I cried from the moment I got off until the moment I clocked in. I went home and fell asleep and no matter how much sleep I got I felt exhausted. I quit 3 weeks in and kind of wish I had stuck with it. In hindsight, 11 hour days, 5 days a week would be exhausting for ANYONE much less a 19 year old working her first real job. I was underpaid too. I make way more now. But...I do know what you're going through.

Thank you so much for all the help, support and advice everyone. I feel like I have more hope now. It's scary, but I'll stick it out and try my best to learn everything I can.

I actually had an instructor in nursing school who told me "The first year in your first nursing job, you will constantly think 'what did I get myself into?!." He wasn't kidding.

Definitely concerned about this too

Hey just curious if you are feeling better about working in the ER? I just started an ER job four weeks ago and I feel like I'm drowning in a sea of unsuccessful IV starts, intimidating docs and a crazy hard computer charting system. Trying to hang on but my grip is weakening.

Hi OP and GaJen! I just returned to the ED after a hiatus of 8 years on a PCU unit. I am copying down all the wonderful comments here and from other threads to read when I have my OMG moments. I keep saying "I know enough to be dangerous" but I need to stop that. I ask a ton of questions, even as an experienced nurse, and I'm learning who the go-to-gurus are in the unit. Hang in there, it does get better, the brain needs time to digest and store everything we're encountering.