Happy New Grad RN

Published Jan 31, 2016

1 Article; 186 Posts

Specializes in Tele, Interventional Pain Management, OR.

I graduated from nursing school in December 2015, started my first nursing job on January 4, and passed NCLEX-RN on January 16.

I am in a nurse residency program on an adult cardiac floor in a busy/growing hospital in a busy/growing city. Can I just say that I LOVE my new job? I have an amazing preceptor and great coworker/unit support. I've learned more in the past 4.5 weeks than I did in all of my nursing school clinicals (and my program was good--95% NCLEX pass rate).

Do I have stressful shifts? Sure. YES. But more accurately, I have stressful moments every shift--like the new admission/blood transfusion during 0900 med pass with five other patients. But I'm not a walking stress ball 24/7. I work on a unit that fosters a culture of helpfulness, lunch breaks, and pee breaks.

I'm putting my experience out there to counter the many, many overwhelmed/crying new grad stories we see on AN. It doesn't have to be that way. I think the biggest key is maintaining composure on the outside even if you're freaking out on the inside. That doesn't mean not asking for help. It means inspiring your patients' confidence and contributing to a positive work environment for yourself and your coworkers by staying upbeat, asking questions, and being open to constructive feedback.

As a new grad RN, you have more control over your experience than you may realize--attitude is so important. I fully realize that I have SO much more ahead of me. But so far it's been fantastic and I can't wait to see what comes next.