First day of clinicals .. does this get easier?

anotherone, BSN, RN · Feb 26, 2011

****I cross-posted this in the student forum****
I'm a first semester nursing student and I just had my first clinical day today. I've been doing very well in the classroom, but this is a whole other deal.
I've never worked in any sort of medical or caretaker situation and have never even had a family member in the hospital. I felt very uncomfortable, was nervous, and made several mistakes. Is it like this for everyone?
I'm a shy person, which is part of the problem. I'm not really a "people person". I like people, and am interested in people's needs and desires and right to remain healthy, but I've just never had a hands-on type of situation to play that out in. I like to stand back and observe for a while before I jump in and start doing something, but that isn't going to work for nursing school. I can tell that the learning curve is going to be pretty steep, as far as the hands-on stuff.
I know this is probably very premature, but I'm already thinking maybe I am not meant to be a nurse if I was so uncomfortable around illness and in that hospital situation. It was quite a shock, honestly.
Any advice or word of wisdom are appreciated.

I am a new grad... I dunno if it gets easier. Some things do and when you are the nurse you have NO CHOICE but to jump in and do it. You can ask once or twice how to do something (sometimes less) before annoying all the other nurses, but if you are unsure better to ask a trillion times than to hurt a pt. Eventually you just have to jump in and do stuff. The more you do it, the easier it will be. DOES NOT mean you will ever like it. I just mean with things such as IVs, foleys, trach care, etc the first few times you might be scared and unsure of what you are doing and might prefer to watch someone do it a few times but after doing it numerous times you just do it and become more proficient and comfortable doing these tasks. Things you see in the hospital are VERY VERY VERY shocking esp depending on the area you work in and if it is a Trauma I facility or not etc. I see stuff that shocks me everyday, I think esp because the only illnesses I encountered before nursing were minor compared to some of the stuff I see everyday or so.

neuroms · Feb 26, 2011

It's completely normal to feel nervous you're first go around, especially if you've never had medical experience, but you'll be fine. If you have the brains, nursing needs you and everything else will come with time. There is no one personality type that makes a good nurse, it takes all kinds. Talk to your clinical instructor, they don't bite. Tell her/him how nervous you are, and you will likely get some extra support to help you with the steep hands-on learning curve.

Oh, and always eat breakfast.

JulVaccRN, BSN · Feb 26, 2011

My first day of clinical, I will never forget: pediatric rotation (Peds isn't my "fit" at all...) I had a 12 yo pt with a chest tube that was Spanish speaking only. At this point In my learning, we had only learned the basics: vitals, bed baths, etc. While working around my pts ivs and chest tube to get a bp, (which i had never dealt with before) he started shrieking in Spanish, and i panicked. I called his nurse, and felt completely useless. (he was fine btw, just nervous, and with some comforting and ct site reinforcement was fine)

Flash forward to now: I am a new grad rn that can comfortably deal with trachs, ngt's, pegs, chest tubes...whatever. And I am NEVER afraid to ask questions when needed, which, IMO, is the best lesson to learn.

Neldavi · Feb 26, 2011

Thanks everyone. I understand cognitively that it will probably get easier as everything becomes more familiar, it's just hard to feel that right now.

MaryEMT · Feb 26, 2011

I start Clinicals in a little more than two weeks, so I look forward to hearing how things progress for you. If it's any help I was shaking like a leaf my first EMT call for a patient with severe hypoglycemia, just to take the BP was terrifying. I had support and experienced EMTs and medics that helped and I slowly but surely became more competent, calm and even proficient at emergency patient care. I'm hoping nursing is like that. Some nerves are good it will make you think twice and keep your patient safe and I feel confident it will get better in time.

Neldavi · Feb 26, 2011

Thanks everyone. We are in the hospital, med-surg floor. Our clinicals were supposed to start in LTC, but something happened with that (not sure what, instructors haven't really told us) and now we will just be in the hospital our whole first semester.

We didn't get a patient assignment for our first day, it was just a day to get acquainted with the floor and the other nurses and aides while doing baths and bed changes and things like that. We were expected to just jump in and start doing stuff. I'm not good at that ... especially when there are 9 other students doing the same thing. It was easy to feel like I was just in the way. All this while dealing with the emotional shock of the new environment and all.

I understand cognitively that it will probably get easier as I get more familiar with everything, but in the meantime it's easy to think that I'm just going to be a bad nurse.

neatnurse30 · Feb 26, 2011

Clinicals at nursing school are usually horrible ( from my experience and other nurses saying the same). This is because the clinical instructors somehow expect students to already know those clinical skills and this can be very frustrating. Nursing is very hard, especially in the hospital on the floor ( as you can see) and usually not worth the money. Most of my coworkers come to work because they have to ( they have families to support, debt to pay off, mortgage etc.), not because they like the job.

With time and experience, your skills will come, but the job itself will not be easier.

chulada77, ADN, BSN, MSN, APRN · Feb 26, 2011

You'll be fine!! I loathed the entire 1st semester of clinicals but decided that I would complete the program even if I never decided to work in the nursing field. Once we got into the specialty areas (OB, ICU, ER, OR etc) I finally liked it. As for the mistakes, naturally the further along you get, the comfort level will increase and you won't make as many mistakes. The entire point of clinicals during nursing school is to make mistakes so by the time you get an actual job the mistakes are fewer and further between.

Keep your head up and keep plugging along!! :yeah:

MassED, BSN, RN · Feb 26, 2011

first day jitters. It'll get better. Wait until your second year clinicals and see if you still feel this way. If not, you can always do something else. Many people do.

MamaSquared · Feb 26, 2011

Hello! I'm a fellow 1st semester RN student. We had our second clinical day this week and I can honestly tell you, EVERYONE was nervous. Even people who've worked as CNA's were worried about clinicals. I would at least go to the end of the semester before I thought about quitting. If you are still so uncomfortable, then you might give social work or something like that a thought. There are lots of ways to help people be healthy without being an RN!

Don't give up just yet! It may get better or it may lead you to what you really are meant to do! :yeah:

iPink, BSN, RN · Feb 26, 2011

I've actually had 2 clinical experiences so far. My first day was actually last week and felt like I didn't know anything. However, I was prepared with my pen and pad and wrote down things I didn't know and reviewed them when I got home. This week was clinical #2 and really enjoyed it. I even offered help to the other nurses, which they appreciated. Of course, that was another opportunity to learn. My documentation was great and now ready for next week's clinical.

OP, don't throw in the towel so quickly.

bustthewave · Feb 27, 2011

Wow, OP don't worry! I can totally relate, and just had my first day of clinicals, and my second day (pre-nursing, so nursing fundamentals, CNA stuff).

The first day was really tough, and I felt REALLY awkward because this work is so new to me! It's like that first day of class where you don't know anyone and you can't figure out where to sit at lunch. The only way you can get anything accomplished on your first day of any new job, is if someone holds your hand every step of the way, and that is a terrible feeling (and always makes you feel like you aren't good, or going to be good at the job).

My first day of clinicals, all my basics just went right out of my head. I didn't know how to start up conversation when feeding... I was so nervous about performing the actual skills (like bed bath) that I barely remembered to wash my hands! At one point I had everything read, gloves on... and I had to stop and say "I haven't even washed my hands..."

I found it really hard to keep basic things in check like cross contamination and such.

But day two the job and it's expectations came together MUCH better. Because some of the awkwardness went away, the basics returned, and little things like hand washing and glove removal were second nature (and not things that made me feel absolutely stupid).

The point is... your at that very, VERY awkward stage of dealing with that 'first day.' But you made it through! Be proud of yourself! It will only get easier, and that "new" feeling, will only subside. I would most certainly stick this out.

The big thing here is - don't make this issue bigger than it really is. It's not about how good you will be as a nurse, your social skills, or even your ability to think on your feet. None of these things can possibly be tested on your first day of clinicals... because if they were, no one would pass!