Does or did anyone feel like this about clinicals?

Published

Whenever I'm at clinical I feel like I don't know anything. I've been a nursing student for 7 months now and I just feel like I don't know a darn thing. Now I know that I know a lot more than I knew when I first started out but still... I dunno. Sometimes when I ask nurses questions they seem kind of rude, cocky, or stuck up and act like I should know the answer. When I ask my instructor she says LOOK IT UP. And I feel like she's judging me too, and also thinking I'm stupid for asking certain questions and all that. Is this just a typical feeling at clninicals? My instructor is kind of intimidating so maybe thats the reason? I'm scared to even ask her questions cause she kind of gives me an "are you kidding" look. For ex. at pre clinical on wed I was looking at my pts Kardex and I asked what DM was because I momentaarily had a brain freeze. This was funny because just 2 weeks ago I took an exam on diabetes mellitus. My teacher just said "are you serious?" I don't even think she told me the answer I think another student did. Things like that make me scared to ask her any questions because it feels like she will be judging me and thinking "wow, how did she make it this far without knowing that", or she'll say Look it up, or give me and "are you serious" look. Its just so frustrating. I don't want to fail this semester because I'm supposively doing "bad" on clinical. Maybe its just because I'm unsure of myself? Isn't it better to be unsure of yourself than to be sure of yourself and do something drastic like commit a med error, or something else that could harm the patient? On mid term evaluations my instructor did tell me that I need to become more sure of myself at clinical but I just don't know how to do it. Ahh this is so confusing and stressful. Anyone have any advice... or feel the same way I do about clinicals?

If you *know* deep down that you're doing a good job as a student and haven't made any major errors, I'm confident your instructor won't fail you. She'll probably end up praising you in the end for your committment and willingness to learn and excel. Hang in there and just be confident in your own abilities. Only 4 more weeks.....

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ob/gyn; med-surg.
I'm in my last semester, and today a bedside table got the best of me :roll

It happens...unfortunately :chuckle

Yeah, for me, just last week, it was the Pyxis...could my instructor have made me feel any more stupid?? I could feel the tears just brimming, and for the first time asked myself "why am I doing this?" and I am graduating in May!!! Yikes...most days are ok, though, and you will get through this.

Always consider what might be going on with your instructor...I think mine gets really stressed out, and turns her anxiety outward (well on to me anyway :chuckle )

Hang in there, ok? It will be so worth it!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I feel like everyone knows more than me ! :(

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'm laughing...I totally understand! I'm 3rd semester, saw AMS in the chart, and typed up the pathophysiology for Acute Mountain Sickness. Everyone got a hoot out of it though. (AMS is Altered Mental Status, or Acute Mountain Sickness). Most of the time...you can safely assume that AMS is Altered Mental Status...especially in Florida! lol

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Well thanks for sharing thatwith me because I had no idea what AMS was... lol

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Yeah, I've felt this way on clinical days - I'd get to the point where I started to feel it in the car on the way there. I started adopting a policy of jotting down whatever it was I had gotten "schooled on", as they say, which thankfully because we had a good instructor was always part of a large-scale, conceptual, critical-thinking piece that I'd want to know more about anyway, and this would cement the idea in my head more.

This semester, I seem to be getting "schooled" more, but that's mostly because a couple of my friends in the group are LPN's, and where they work they do some nursing chores better than their RN's do (of course, that's _their_ account...but they seem very proficient to me). Plus, one girl's got a very strong pharmacological background (no, not illicit - I saw that grin!), so in that area she's got a lot of knowledge. Somehow I managed to turn my previous intimidated mindset into a drive to know more and more, and I've managed to get out of the "confused and inexperienced student"-niche, which believe it or not can actually get comfortable and familiar, and thus harder to escape!:uhoh3:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Sorry, I've actually got more to say!...

Try and bear in mind that you really never know when you might know more than someone else does. Not that it's about competition, but you never know when you might be able to give some guidance to someone else. It just doesn't seem like it because they haven't been "exposed" yet, you know?

You know that saying, "It's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt"? Yeah, well it's a bunch of crap - won't do any of us a lick of good in our learning or professional environments.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

i have 75 days left before i graduate and there is not a day goes by that i don't think they are crazy for putting me on the floor because i don't know anything, and i am terrified, but there are also days when i feel like i am not going to know what i am doing until i do get on the floor and start doing. there are students as far along as me that have done it all. i don't know how to read orders, do an admission or a discharge, i have never even given an IM injection or started a piggyback, i have done one foley on a man, and i was so nervous that my hands started sweating and i could not get the sterile gloves on, so my nurse had to get another pair(larger) for me. then half way thru she told me not to let the tubing come out. well a minute later, i realized i was squeezing so tight that i was actually holding the tubing, and anyway there was some speculation amongst the nurses that day if he would ever be able to function to full capacity again. but i know if i had to do it again, it would be ok...it's the doing that builds the confidence. i have not had much to do. so jump in, ask to go see and to go do. until my 3rd semester i stood in the back and watched, now i ask, can i help with that? i had a great instructor for 3rd semester. she did not give us a choice, she gave us 4 patients and said get to work. i cried and fussed, however, in the end i thanked her for the only real clinical experience that i had gotten. now that it's our last semester, they won't let us do anything for some reason. hopefully during preceptor i will get some hands on experience. but my point is toss aside your fears and jump in with both feet, while you have the safety net of being a student. the one thing i can do is an assessment because that is all the nurses have let me do during clinicals...but you know what? that is a good thing, because i know some students that are scared of assessments....so hopefully it will all click on the floor....chin up, jump in with both feet, and you will probably always feel like you are asking silly questions, but don't let it stop you...:clown:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

i understand where you are coming from. i am in my 3rd semester of a 4 semester adn program and i still have moments when i wonder how i have made it this far..(lol) i have found that if i dont /cant remember something i will go to a fellow classmate(would rather feel like an ass with them as opposed to the instructor) everyone has a bad day..dont beat yourself up over it . you will make it

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

yeah, I have 7 weeks left and I still don't like clinicals all that much. I think it is the whole notion of having someone watch your every move. I will feel much more confident when I actually get my license. :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I atalked to my instructor today and she told me really good news. I was having a good day at clinical so I asked her if I was in danger of failing clniical and she said noooo and she shook her head, as if to say "absolutely not." So I guess I really have nothing to worry aobut. At least I"ve been making sure I've had my act together and clinical and stuff. So everything works out... I'm doing better and the instructor is happy!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I feel you pain too! this sounds like me in my first year of clinical! my teacher was intimidating to me, but every day, since i feel so passionate about nursing, i told myself that she will not stop me.

I got a job as a nurse extern, basically doing CNA work for a cheaper price. But i did get to spend more time in a hospital setting, and it calmed my nerves a bit. I also spent time looking at charts, when i could, and just observering the nurses.

Fortunetly for me, the 2nd year is better. My instructors are not intimidating, and some of them have been laid back and helpful, as if they were not soo above me. I appreciate this, and feel i learn more without feeling like dopey student.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion