Does everyone get this but me?

Stephalump · Mar 5, 2014

Hello! I have a similar problem - lack of confidence in my abilities, which is of course exacerbated when I have an audience or I'm uncomfortable.

I suck at clinicals because, well...I have an audience AND I'm uncomfortable. When I started working as a tech during my third semester, I made so many ridiculous mistakes doing such simple tasks, I thought there was something seriously wrong with me . But it was more a case of my brain being so focused on the overwhelming aspects of the situation (new location, new job, new people, new equipment, people watching) that I couldn't focus on things like remember to remove the patient's blood pressure cuff BEFORE dragging the dinamap out of the room. :)

Anyway, keep your chin up. I don't think you can accurately gauge how great of a nurse you'll be until your out there DOING it. And I don't count clinicals as "doing it."

Sun0408, ASN, RN · Mar 5, 2014

Hanging insulin as in a insulin drip?? Please tell me the RN for that pt was there and not just students.

I think you are being too hard on yourself and comparing yourself to others is never a good thing. Making a 84 on any nursing test is pretty good, don't beat yourself up. Nursing school is overwhelming on its own, give yourself time. Look for a position that has a good orientation for new grads :) Check out the first year threads here, it will give you an idea of what feelings you may have when you start working and that you are not alone. It does get better !!

csmcj, BSN, RN · Mar 5, 2014

Hanging insulin as in a insulin drip?? Please tell me the RN for that pt was there and not just students.

It sounds to me like it was part of a simulation lab, not on a real patient.

Lissla · Mar 6, 2014

I think there's always going to be those people who can't think that fast on their feet or just don't do well in front of an audience. Me and a few fellow classmates are like that, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't be nurses. It just means we probably need to find a slower-paced environment to really shine.

Don't let the other students get you down. Some people seem to be born to be a nurse, but that doesn't mean you can't be a great nurse too. You may have to work a little harder than others but no one said nursing was easy, right?

RunBabyRN · Mar 6, 2014

I think there are multiple factors at work here- insensitive students and instructors and, as you stated, your own thin skin. I have seen students in my class not get things that are like second nature for me, but I also have prior experience, and would NEVER EVER consider saying to someone, "I can't believe you don't get that," unless it's something like checking for pitting edema in the third semester. When you're still learning, no one should be yelling at you (and that includes students, teachers and other nurses) to hurry. Accuracy is much more important than speed, and yelling at someone does NOT increase accuracy OR speed. It's very counterproductive.

84 is a respectable exam grade! I'm sorry to hear that people chastise you for it. Try not to let them get to you- just because they SAY this stuff doesn't mean that they did better. It also doesn't make them better. I don't always score as highly on exams as my fellow students, but I have had several nurses and instructors tell me that I'll be a very good nurse.

Work on that thick skin. Consider criticism as constructive feedback. I have to remind myself that when I get criticism from instructors and nurses that they're doing it to make me a better nurse, NOT to break me down. I have that initial defense mechanism that rises, but I make a conscious effort to remind myself of their intentions, so I take it to heart and reassess myself- they're usually right!

Take a deep breath, and try not to be so hard on yourself. Focus on what you need to do to improve, and consider talking to your instructors to get their feedback on what you need to work on and any tools they'd suggest.

NurseOnAMotorcycle, ASN, RN · Mar 6, 2014

Don't let other people's attitudes get to you. Don't forget that many of those other students are trying to bolster their own confidence with having a superior attitude to their peers. Ignore them, take deep breaths.

In nursing school I had one of those types tell me that I was completely stupid and they didn't even know why the school would let me stay at all. I'm now an E.R. nurse and they are jobless. You can do this. Let the haters hate. Take one moment at a time and no matter how dark it seems, Just Keep Going!

allnurses Guide · Mar 6, 2014

I had self-confidence issues as a student as well. A few things I've discovered along the way...intelligence and seeming to breeze through "skills" often aren't connected and it's highly likely that someone who is insensitive enough to say "it's not rocket science" wouldn't get rocket science if it whooped them upside the head. Ignore them now and forever.

I'm really sorry your instructor chastised you in front of the group and seemed to think yelling STAT in your face is appropriate charge nurse behavior. You may run into people like that in authority after you graduate but usually there are enough managers who know how to teach rather than intimidate so that you aren't held captive while they publicly humiliate you. That is her problem, not yours.

People often begin to freak out about the skills they weren't able to do in clinicals 6-8 weeks before graduation, but keep in mind that 1 time won't make you proficient anyway and your first job will have it's unique procedures...I started in peds so everything was "new".

Far more important is the rationale behind the procedure and general principles that apply to all of them.

A couple of years ago here we had a similar thread where I was shocked to find out who had been told by instructors that they were "not cut out to be nurses" etc...they were some of the top, most knowledgable and experienced nurses here!

If anxiety plagues you...I and many others relate. There are a number of articles written by members you may find helpful. Best wishes!

leekaye · Mar 6, 2014

Thanks, everyone, for the encouragement. I have since spoke with a good friend of mine who is now Director of Nursing who confessed that a professor told him, "You're not smart enough to pass the boards." He was initially very discouraged but decided the professor's comment didn't matter and he went on to pass on the first try.

I take things to heart and am very hard on myself so when others point out my mistakes, I feel doubly mortified. I need to remember that the place to make mistakes is in simulation lab and better to feel stupid there than on the floor. There will be enough instances of feeling stupid when I start on a floor, I'm sure! :up:

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Mar 7, 2014

We are far more likely to learn from mistakes than successes - if we make an effort to do so. Learning happens when we analyze what we did & how we can do better next time. Sometimes, the mistake is so dramatic that the learning is pretty powerful - "OMG, I'll NEVER do that again!!". I have had many of those moments.

Like the time I learned to always turn the a-line stopcock off to patient before I opened to air when re-calibrating..... the resulting geyser of arterial blood that sprayed all over everything making me look like an extra in Carrie.... left a lasting impression. I never did it again.

Another doozy - as a BSN student, doing team nursing (a hundred years ago) I was the 'med nurse' and gave sedatives to an entire hall of ortho patients before someone pointed out to me that the if "9:00" was written in GREEN ink, it meant 9PM. Yeppers - had to complete @ 25 med error reports, gave my clinical instructor the vapors, had to report it to the ortho chief resident (who graciously thanked me for the quiet day since all the patients were sleeping). I never made that mistake again.

If your mistakes are not so dramatic it may take a few repeats to have an impact on behavior, but it will happen eventually.