Feeling incompetent

[KayceeLeeRN]

So, I have been on the floor almost 6 months. I am finally starting to feel comfortable....getting into my own little routine. I know what is expected of me to get the "job" done (paperwork, meds, etc.) BUT....I am feeling like sometimes, I really dont UNDERSTAND what is going on with my patients physiologically. I feel like I am so busy that I dont even have a chance to think about whats going on. THAT SCARES ME!!!! Another thing is that the patients and family sometimes ask me questions regarding their illness and I dont know how to answer them. It makes me feel so incompetent

Is this one of the things that will come to me in time, with experience? Maybe I should go back to the books...its just that after working these 12's the LAST thing I want to do is open a book and read about nursing. Does anyone else feel this way?

[Leahr]

Im a very new nurse, still in orientation on a tele unit. I feel STUPID sometimes. But I read up on patients conditions and try to ask questions as much as possible.