I want to become a great nurse but I feel terrified.

[aspirational_]

Hello all! I am writing this because I am terrified, but still want to become a great nurse... I apologize ahead of time for the anxiety in this post.

I am in an accelerated one year program that started in June and have just finished the second/fall semester. The only classes I have left to take are Med Surg 2, Community, Transitions, and OB. During the summer, I had clinical on a med surg/tele floor and this semester had clinicals in peds, med surg, and psy.

Although I put in a lot of effort and try very hard while juggling a lot of difficult life situations that I have been going through in the background, I feel very behind compared to my classmates.. and can't really tell if it's just in my head. I do volunteer to help out with anything I can during clinical, but feel that I have only dipped my feet in a couple of times.. having only been exposed to things like trach care once, having only assisted in changing a foley twice, and having only changed an IV bag by myself once. And I truly do not believe this is because I do nothing at clinical... it's just with the nurse I end up precepting, I mostly do vital signs and assist with administering medications.

This terrifies me because I realize I am basically graduating in a few months - and cannot imagine being prepared to be a nurse on my own, when I barely have done the basic essentials by myself.

It is winter break now and I am trying to figure out ways to prepare myself better - besides wanting to take even more advantage of every single clinical hour next semester and I don't really know what to do... I am using PassPoint to do practice questions and was going to brush up on old stuff by reading over past lectures/the Fundamentals/Med Surg textbook.. but I really don't know what to do. I just feel afraid.

[Accolay]

Just breathe.

You wont be Super Nurse once you graduate. You will probably be at least "adequate" once you're done with your first job's orientation. There is no way you can know everything about every nursing specialty even after being a great nurse. Get the book learning done in school, continue to use your clinicals to their best potential.

Once you graduate your real education will begin. It takes time. Have patience. First nursing job is challenging for anyone.

[malenurse69, MSN, NP]

You'll get trained on the job. Have fun getting kicked out of the nest, it's a helluva ride!

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Excellent nurses are a matter of experience, not just education. You are getting the education part now. Toe-dipping, unfortunately, is all the current nursing school system is set up to offer. It is very normal as the weight of what you are about to embark upon for a career settles on you to develop anxiety that can be, for some, nearly crippling.

Listen to your instructors. Listen to your preceptors. Take every opportunity you have to practice new things as a student and continue that determination into your first year of nursing. Recognize that the first couple of years of acute care nursing are very different from school and for most are pretty tough psychologically and physically.

You can be a great nurse. Hang onto that desire tight and dive in. It will take time, patience and humility to get there. Best of luck.

[aprilmoss]

Yep, it sounds like you have the right attitude. Never shy away from any "extra curricular" experience. I got to assist a ER physician put in a central venous catheter once. This is not something I'll likely ever do again, but it was interesting. Of course, getting your scrubs "dirty" is what they're for. Frankly, after the first foley, I was happy to move on to a specialty where I'd not have to do that again (though even though I'm a school nurse, I'm back to that on occasion).

[JadedCPN, BSN, RN]

Also to help put your mind at ease, your classmates who may have had a few more experiences with some of those technical skills are likely feeling the exact same way, and if they aren't they will be in for a rude reality check when they start as a new nurse.