first day on floor - will I get better???

zamboni · Apr 15, 2008

:wink2:

Yes. It will get better. In fact, you will feel a little bit better in a few shifts, maybe even your next one. Then you'll have a shift where you wonder if you can even be trusted with a sick houseplant. But your next shift, you'll do something clever, and think that maybe you're starting to figure things out. All of the sudden one day, you won't know which end of the stethescope to put in your ears.

I believe this pattern will repeat itself throughout your career, albeit with those bad days being further apart, and the good days in longer stretches. :smokin:

I really hope that they aren't sticking you solo with 6-8 patients, and that you have someone guiding you as a mentor. If they are, then you may need more than a cyberhug and a pep talk. But that's another story...

You're brand new, and no one should expect you to be SuperNurse, especially yourself. Anxiety is normal, and I believe it's good if it's properly used...it keeps your senses heightened and one your toes, and you can take in far more details of learning your new environment. If you remember to breathe.

Two little gems I use when my job is freaking me out...one was told to me by a very gifted coworker who trained me as a medic, "Remember, it's the patient that's having a medical emergency, not you." Another was written by a wise nurse, "You only have two arms, two legs and one head."

Good skill to you and your new career. It will get better. Come here to vent about the bad days, and also share the good ones. You'll be amazed by yourself.

JRD2002 · Apr 15, 2008

No you are doomed and you will never get better. Quit now why you still can. Just kidding! Congrats on finishing your fist day. Some words of advice. Things will be tough for a while until you start to get your bearings and slowly become more confident in your nursing abilities. Take it one day at a time. Learn from the past but don't dwell on it. At the end of each shift on your way home think of a positive and ONLY ONE negative experience during the shift you just worked. Think of a way to do the positive more often and think of a way to improve the negative. Realize that you can be a really good nurse and still be inexperienced. You don't have to have all the answers. When you don't know the answer or you are unclear of a procedure ask for help and don't be ashamed of it. If nursing were easy everyone would do it.

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Apr 15, 2008

Yes, it will all get better. 6-8 patients is a lot. I work in telemetry and freak out when I have five. Sometimes three is too much, depending on how busy they are. You are going to have some rough shifts. Work on developing a support system to help you get through this phase. One day, you will be the experienced nurse that the newbies come to for help, and you can be a part of their support system.

petrymomRN · Apr 15, 2008

Thank you all for your words of encouragement!!! I think I really just needed to know htat I am not alone in my fears and you have shown me that my feelings are okay and I can look forward to it getting better.

I will certainly stay in touch online.

Kristie

PS - not all 6-8 patients at once are mine quite yet - but someday!!!

Longie · Apr 16, 2008

Here's the mantra my preceptor beat into MY head:

I am one nurse

I can do for one patient

At one time

When everything was (and still does) come at me at once, repeating this in my head helps me to focus and prioritize:wink2:and take a deep breath and plunge back into the meelee:chuckle

november17, ASN, RN · Apr 16, 2008

It takes experience to get your time management skills down. Once you get that, you will find ways to improve in all the different areas as you learn better ways to do things. Everyone on our med-surg floor does things differently. Yes, all our charting is the same, but we all have different ways of doing things that work for us. You may learn from more experienced nurses, but your style is all your own.

Once you get over the initial anxiety, you will do fine. This is a true story (yes, about me).

The very first day on my own, the very first patient I assessed. I was so nervous - When I was young I used to stutter, and it was something I overcame when I was 9 or 10, but I started stuttering. I just took a "get it done/task oriented attitude." Patient was in tons of pain. I just ad-libbed, I told her, "Our goal tonight is going to be p-pain c-control, and getting you...uhh... moving again. We'll worry about getting you m-moving later, but for right now I'm gonna get you some pain medication." I ran out of the room post-haste, and practically snowed the lady. Repeat this throughout the night, but I did manage to get her up to the bathroom and even out in hall walking. I never mentioned it was my first day as an RN, I didn't want to scare her or anything.

After that, I totally forgot about her. All the different faces, all the different names. 2 months later my nurse manager called me into her office. I thought I was in trouble. It turned out that patient had written a letter to the hospital praising me for being the only one that seemed to really care about the fact that she was in pain. It took me 2 days to remember who she was, but then when I did I was like, "Holy crap it was that patient!!"

You are in a unique position as a new RN. Yes, you can make a difference for your patients, even if you are nervous and or don't feel like you have your skills down quite yet. I'm actually kind of jealous, because it was an exciting time for me. I'm not saying it is all downhill from here, but you will eventually become a slave to routine. If you keep it up in med/surg though, there are always variables that will happen that will spice things up though!! Like when a pt suddenly goes into CHF or has a seizure or something...you may have reservations about those kinds of things, but you'll know what to do when it happens...somedays you will probably feel like you muddle through things. If you have supportive co-workers the problems you run into won't be that big of a deal. At the end of the day, if all your patients are alive and healing then you have done your job correctly...even if you forgot to put that bacitracin on Mr. X's butt...oops

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Apr 16, 2008

Each day/week/month gets better and better.

You won't always throw up before going into work.

You won't always feel like "today's the day I'm going to quit because I can't stand another shift in this place".

You won't always feel stupid and incompetent.

You won't always want to cry.

You won't always wish you were one of the cleaning ladies instead of a nurse.

Yes, it gets better :)

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Apr 16, 2008

Each day/week/month gets better and better.
You won't always throw up before going into work.
You won't always feel like "today's the day I'm going to quit because I can't stand another shift in this place".
You won't always feel stupid and incompetent.
You won't always want to cry.
You won't always wish you were one of the cleaning ladies instead of a nurse.
Yes, it gets better :)

OMG, how did you know exactly how I feel? It's like you were right there....(and I thought I was the only one wishing I was a cleaning lady).

nursemike, ASN, RN · Apr 16, 2008

OMG, how did you know exactly how I feel? It's like you were right there....(and I thought I was the only one wishing I was a cleaning lady).

I think we've all been right there--except, before I became a nurse, I actually was the cleaning lady (well, I'm no lady, but housekeeping was one component of my job) and that wasn't exactly always a picnic, either.

Which isn't to say I've never been nostalgic for my old job. But, even then, the patient care aspects were a lot more satisfying than cleaning toilets. I used to say my old job would have been the best job in the hopital--bar none--if it only paid twice as much. Now that I've been a nurse for awhile, though, I wouldn't go back, even if I could keep my same pay. Being a bedside nurse really is the best job in the hospital, except, of course, when it isn't.

Freedom42 · Apr 17, 2008

This is a great thread. I'm a student, and I've had some days that made me wonder if I'd made the wrong career choice. Those are the days when I remember one of my favorite quotes from Woody Allen:

"Eighty percent of success is showing up."

I also remember what my instructors keep telling me: It'll take about two years of working full-time for you to become well-organized and confident in your skills. But it will happen.

imanedrn · Apr 17, 2008

I remember feeling that I'd NEVER survive. (I'm a CONSTANT worrier and totally self-deprecating.) I came on this site on every day off to read posts from people for reassurance. I was simply convinced I'd never make it...

I'm 1 mouth off orientation now (3 months as an RN). I can't believe how different things are. Yes, I still have to ask for help with procedures / tasks that are new or I've forgotten how to do, but -- overall -- I feel like I'm made at least a 160 degree turn in how I feel.

I don't feel anxious or panicky over going to work every day like I used to. I don't cry like I used to. (In fact, I haven't cried in a while! ) I don't things as personally as I used to.

I still forget to do things sometimes. On days, of course, we have to make sure EVERYTHING is done before handing off to nights. Unfortunately, that's just not realistic for me at this point. Some days, I don't have enough time. Others, I just forget. As long as my patients are safe, though, I know it's ok. If something is critical, I stay over to make sure it gets done.

I remember HOPING there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I'd read other posts for encouragement. I just prayed and hoped... Now I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel -- and I've only been doing this for 3 months!

Just remember, there is a HUGE learning curve in nursing. Most of what you're doing you did NOT learn in school. Sure, you have the meds and pathophys down (most of it, anyway). You know not to give a BP med when the pt's SBP is

Other things, you have no clue. I didn't know that when a heparin drip was ordered that I should start it at the "standard" rate of 10 ml/hr & wait until all the other stuff is done to change the rate. I didn't know I had to call the doc for a reading cardiologist when an ECHO was ordered. (Why don't they assign one to begin with?!)

The point is... there are MANY things you just don't know yet because there is simply NO way they could have taught it all to you in school. On the flip side, nursing is all about OJT. You will learn it. If you don't know it, ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS! If people give you a hard time for asking questions, remind them that you're new, and they were also new once, and there's literally no other way you can learn!

Remember... it's ok to cry. Shrug it off and keep going. If possible, find a mentor to rely on. I realized my preceptor wasn't great, so I usually go to another nurse for assistance now that I'm on my own.

Just remember: You will probably feel terrible on more days than not... but it does get better! And even the more experienced nurses have days from heck. The only difference is that they've been doing it so long that they know how to shrug it off better than we newbies do :wink2:

Hope that helps in some way, and good luck to you! :icon_hug: