First day and STRUCK DUMB AN AMAZED!!!!!!

EmmaG, RN · Sep 6, 2007

This pretty much says it all :

time4meRN · Sep 6, 2007

It's OK, take a deep breath, re organize your thoughts, many have done it before you. If you made it this far you'll do it. It may suck but you'll do it. Hang in there, don't jump ship yet, it may not his the ice berg ahead.

deeDawntee, RN · Sep 6, 2007

Just take it one day at a time...one chapter at a time (or one page), one skill at a time, one care plan, clinical etc (you get the idea). You will freak out if you try to comprehend it all at once. We can only feed our brains information linearly...and our minds are trying to take it all in at once. Just tell yourself to relax, you WILL learn and retain what you need to know. You only have control over what is on your plate now, in this moment in time. Let tomorrow take care of tomorrow. Focus on now! A relaxed mind will retain information a lot more readily than a stressed out one...so there is benefit as well. Tell yourself that you will learn EVERYTHING you will need to learn, to back-off now and BE PATIENT!! Sometimes you have to set limits with your own inner voices! ...like a small child or even a screaming one!!...

:yeah: :yeah: :yeah: you can do it!! Calm down and chillllll..........;)

Becca608 · Sep 6, 2007

Hey--WE ARE STUDENTS!!!!!

We are here to learn. It is overwhelming, but all my instructors seem to have the same catch-phrase:

WE DIDN"T KILL ANYONE AND EVERYONE LEARNED A LITTLE MORE ABOUT BEING A NURSE, SO WE HAD A GOOD DAY!

If you are following your nursing department's guideline, your clinical instructor's guidelines (whose license you are 'practicing' under) and carefully review what you are expected to know, then you will be fine.

If you are uncertain, talk to your clinical instructor. Its her/his license on the line.

Use what you have learned in class. Telling your instructor that you need help because the chest drain spilled over is not the same thing as getting that chest drain upright and sticking the open-to-atmosphere chest tube end into a bottle of sterile water. And then asking a classmate to inform the appropriate channels (instructor, an RN on floor, charge nurse) depending on institutional policy and your school's chain of command.

You'll be fine!!!!!!!!!!!! :welcome:

Becca608 · Sep 6, 2007

Oh...and get a 'pocket' version of clinical procedures to stick in your clinical bag. Mosby's has a good one. Great back-up for insecurity! You can sneak in the break room and quickly review a procedure with no one being any wiser.

Joe NightingMale, MSN, RN · Sep 6, 2007

:yeahthat: NS starts next week for me, and I'm already worried because I have to move at the end of the month. But I figure I'll just work at it all, little by little...

Tweety, BSN, RN · Sep 6, 2007

It is indeed overwhelming when you look at it. My only advice is to just break it down to one day, one assignment at a time. Do only what's in front of you and don't waste energy freaking out. :)

ICRN2008, BSN, RN · Sep 6, 2007

I also felt overwhelmed when I started nursing school, and I sometimes doubted whether I would be able to become a good nurse. I was terrified to speak to patients, and the first time I did discharge teaching I actually read the handout to my patient because I froze up and couldn't think of anything else to do !

I think that these insecurities are common among most students, or at least the good ones! (There is nothing scarier than a student or new nurse who thinks that he/she knows it all!)

When I look back to two years ago when I first started clinicals, I am amazed at how far I have come. I am now able to function independently in a clinical setting, taking 4-5 patients by myself each shift.

There were a few "ah hah" moments along the way, but for the most part it has a slow progression. I am still learning something new each day.

Take each day as it comes, rely on experienced nurses and your instructor, and be open to every learning opportunity. A few years from now, when you are working as a nurse, you will look back and realize how far you've come :)

Good luck!

jjjoy, LPN · Sep 6, 2007

The reality is that you don't need to know EVERY LAST THING that is covered in nursing school to graduate, pass boards and be a good nurse. No one seriously expects you have every page of those monstrous-sized books memorized.

I had a hard time initially because I tried to come at it like a math or science course where each chapter and skills usually builds upon previously studies materials and you can't move on without mastering the previous material. Many nursing courses are different than that. The books cover a wide range of diseases and conditions, each with their own pathyphys, symptoms, treatments, etc. It's unrealistic to expect you to remember them ALL clearly. So you study A LOT and learn A LOT and remember A LOT - but not everything. And that's enough to do VERY well.

After the first tests, you'll have a better idea of where you need to focus your efforts. Sometimes, NCLEX review books that separate out questions by topic can be a good way to focus one's study efforts. Ask senior students for tips, too.

AnalegnaRN · Sep 6, 2007

Thanks so much everyone for the feedback. I was having a panicked moment. I am back to reality and really all I need was a :trout: ...

It will be done 1 DAY AT A TIME.

I can do this ...

I think I can

Thanks again everybody