Does anyone ever feel like..

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Does anyone ever feel like mabye this was the wrong choice to be a nurse. Mabye I cant handle it, Im scared that I am going to miss something or do something wrong or forget something and end up in trouble or killing someone. Do you think it might be better to get a desk job because I seem to be worrying ALL the time about this?

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Specializes in NICU.

Oh yeah, I used to feel like that all the time when I first started working as a nurse. In fact, it was so bad that I used to look at the cleaning staff with jealousy because I'd rather be taking out the garbage and cleaning the toilets than doing what I was doing.

Now, almost 3 years later, I don't feel that way anymore. Really after the first year I felt a lot better ..... it gets a little better each day. Just give it time :)

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Yup. Almost everyday I have that feeling -- like I really better think about going back to my old profession, or go be a really good secretary somewhere. A cush job -- anything right now would just seem like easy street.

I'm worried I'm ultimately going to kill someone. Being fired is the 2nd fear, although not as large as the first. I could deal with being fired ...just not with having killed someone off -- and even on a med surg floor, it's a possibility if I'm really not paying attention - so frightening.

I find myself checking, double and triple checking everything -- it's ultra nervewracking. Then I see other nurses sitting around on their phones, laughing, joking, shooting the breeze, and I wonder if they even care anymore ....it's a weird thing.

I suppose if I did something that put a pt in jeopardly, I'd just have to call the doc, tell someone, and we'd have to reel them back in. I'm sure it would be entirely possible to do that -- so I try not to worry too much -- but it's hard.

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I felt the same way. I felt like I had made the costliest mistake of my life. I used to dread reading my work email because I was afraid there was going to be a nasty gram in there about something I didn't do. I also used to envy the cleaning lady.

I am coming up on the 2 year mark. I still sometimes dread going into work, and I still ask questions of my coworkers. I realized the other day that it had been a few days since I had asked a question. I no longer fear nasty grams, if I get one, so be it, I can either learn from my mistakes or not learn from them.

It really gets better, just keep chugging away. I used to search the want ads every day looking for a doctor office job. Now I only search them once a month or so.

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Specializes in LTC, Alzheimers unit.

I know how you feel, when I started working as an LPN I was so scared. But as it turned out I was actually a pretty good nurse and I started to feel better, and yes there were a lot of days I did not want to go to work but it got better.

I am awaiting my RN board results, I should know in about 10 minutes, so I am sure all of these feelings will start over again. But I believe what everyone says I think it will get better and I think it is good to worry because it means you don't know it all. I think what makes the best nurse is knowing what you know and knowing what you don't know. Never be afraid to ask questions, the most important thing is the patient!

:yeah:

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At least once a week.

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Specializes in Operating Room.

I questioned ability before I even started nursing school...glad I didn't listen to my fears. :)

Good luck to you.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

As the other posts in this thread suggest ... many, many people feel that way. I've seen it in most new grads as I have worked with orientees over the years. They say, "I just don't feel comfortable with that ... or with the responsibility..." ... or with whatever else they feel insecure about.

The real question is: "Can you tolerate a career in which 'feeling uncomfortable' is a routine part of the job?" If you are looking for a job in which you always feel comfortable and confident, then nursing is not for you. You are going to have some of those feelings of doubt and insecurity periodically throughout your career. The question is not "Will they ever completely go away?" The question is: "Can you live with that?"

Those feelings DO ease significantly as you get more experience -- but actual experience is the only thing I have found that will make them diminish. You just have to learn to work in spite of those feelings until they ease up enough that they are no longer as bothersome as they are in the beginning. But understand that they do crop up again and again periodically throughout a typical nursing career -- just not as strong.

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Specializes in NICU.
The question is not "Will they ever completely go away?" The question is: "Can you live with that?"

As always, you said it perfectly and hit it right on.

It's true that once you get more experience you'll feel more comfortable with doing things. But you still have doubts and questions at times, as there will be times when you encounter things you don't feel comfortable with or you run into something new in which you have little to no experience with.

The thing that helped make me feel better about going to work was that I realized it would BE OK. It really will be ok. For me, the biggest fear I had was of not knowing how to do something. I would always think "what if I go into work tonight and I have to do something I don't know how ..... what if they write me orders that I don't know how to carry out?!?!" Then I came to realize that I could just ask. I had incredibly supportive co-workers that helped me out, if I had to do something I wasn't familiar with, then I could just ask, I wasn't expected to know everything.

It's good that you have a fear of "killing someone", because that keeps you on your toes and it will make you double and triple check things. As time goes on you will gain confidence. But llg is right in that it's a way of life ...... you will never be 100% totally and completely comfortable, because peoples' lives are at stake. But it is manageable and a lot better as time goes on ...... you won't feel like throwing up before work every shift.

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Do you think it would be better if I was not working in a critical area? Just seems like my patients are all on the BRINK OF DEATH!! Mabye If worked in med surg I wouldnt have to worry about it so much?

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Specializes in Neuro.
The thing that helped make me feel better about going to work was that I realized it would BE OK. It really will be ok. For me, the biggest fear I had was of not knowing how to do something. I would always think "what if I go into work tonight and I have to do something I don't know how ..... what if they write me orders that I don't know how to carry out?!?!" Then I came to realize that I could just ask. I had incredibly supportive co-workers that helped me out, if I had to do something I wasn't familiar with, then I could just ask, I wasn't expected to know everything.

Totally agree with this. I feel like every day I am confronted by some new order or procedure or diagnosis or policy I've never seen or heard of. But I ask questions and figure it out. Last week I took care of a pt with a nephrostomy tube (which we hardly ever get on a neuro floor) and I had to figure out how to flush it. It took asking 3 different nurses, but someone taught me how. Today I got a frantic phone call from a nurse with a few years' experience, asking me if I could show her how to flush her pt's nephrostomy tube, since she remembered I did it last week.

So in a week, I went from being the clueless one to the person with the answers (at least on one topic)! And it showed me that sometimes my more experienced coworkers still are confronted with new things too, and also need help to learn.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
Do you think it would be better if I was not working in a critical area? Just seems like my patients are all on the BRINK OF DEATH!! Mabye If worked in med surg I wouldnt have to worry about it so much?

Perhaps ... but remember, med-surg units are often EXTREMELY busy ... and many of the patients are sicker than one might think ... but on a general med-surg unit, you won't have the same resources that exist in ICU. So, it can be really scary on a general med-surg unit.

If you decide to leave your current job (which may or may not be right for you. I don't know you well enough to say that.) ... I would suggest you do some real research on any new job you consider. Shadow for a few hours if you can so that you will have a good idea as to the stress level before you committ to anything.

But then ... you might just need to "suck it up" and give it more time. Be strong and give yourself some time to get the experience that you need to get more comfortable with your current job.

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