Do things get better?

Specialties Emergency

Published

Hey all, looking for some advice today. TL;DR at bottom

Just got hired in the ER and so far I'm loving it. Recently, I was trying my best to handle two codes (not at the same time) and I felt so hopeless. Granted, I'm only in my third week of orientation, but I feel like I'm dropping the ball in a lot of places. I ended up trudging the rest of my way through my shift since the codes were so emotionally exhausting. My preceptor, of course, was busy handling those situations. I don't feel like I'm getting much feedback from her. She has told me that I'm doing well on my paperwork, which is a relief. My patients like me, and they tell me they do, so that makes me feel better.

What I'm wondering is how exactly do you know what to do in the chaos of a code? Will this get better once I'm ACLS certified?

TL;DR - I feel like I'm doing a bad job and codes are scary please help

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

Are you a new nurse?

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Specializes in Med-Surg/ ER/ homecare.

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

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Are you a new nurse?

I am. Just graduated in May.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
I am. Just graduated in May.

You can expect to feel very uncomfortable for a while! You are going to feel like your smart hand is tied behind your back and you have to do everything with your dumb hand. It gets better. :)

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

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!

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Agree with above posters: you should be scared and feeling kinda funny about things.

However, like others too have stated - it will get better.

I worked level one trauma center for 10 years - took me two years to feel competent, 5 years to feel I could tackle anything (but I'm a slow learner - lol). You'll do better I'm sure!

Best wishes - keep a sense a humor, be humble and ask questions....

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Specializes in ER, Med-surg.

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!"

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Specializes in Hospital medicine; NP precepting; staff education.
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!

Exactly. Last year I mentored a new graduate nurse and I clearly remember her first code. She wanted to watch. I let her, for about 3 minutes, then I made her get in there and do compressions. She is glad I did and now does quite well in these situations. I don't let my newbies drown, but I give a long leash and a watchful eye. I throw them in the deep end with swimmies.

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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.

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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.

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Definitely concerned about this too

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