Im scared!! help

bubblymom373 · Feb 22, 2011

You are a new nurse. Comfort level comes with experience. ( Although I must admit I still get nervous in emergency situations.) Educating yourself on things that you don't know is a good step. Take every learning experience you can. You need to be patient with yourself. It sounds like you are heading in a good direction. You will be a good nurse.

P_RN, ADN, RN · Feb 22, 2011

Please take comfort that some 300,000 members here have had these same feelings. You will develop nursing intuition that "something is not right", dont be afraid to go get the RN or the director or call the doctor and say something is wrong the patient is ***, and *** and*** whatever. Then ask what are your orders. If all else fails more and more hospitals and other facilities have what they call a critical decision team. Call them. It doesn't have to be a code, just something not right. You WILL succeed.

noctanol · Feb 22, 2011

Do you work in an ltc? I do and some of these old folks (God bless there hearts) are just super messed up. I once had a recident code and the only useful thing i could tell the emt's is idk whts wrong. He had over 30 active diagnoses, and i aint talking about stuff like difficulty walking and constipation, im talking chf,copd,hypertension, diabetes, hypothyrodism etc, and a list of meds for each diagnosis. Did i feel helpless when i called 911, absolutely. Did the emt's make it any better, no maam. I still have some of those days, with time you will learn wht to anticipateand if people say you are doing a good job already then you will turn out great, we were once there. Remember patience is a virtue, and so is being a nurse

MemorialCCRN-CSC · Feb 22, 2011

Sounds to me like your going through the anxiety fears that everyone who starts out in nursing go through. Hopefully you have a resource person that you can refer to for things that seem "Not Right" to you. Its never wrong to say you don't know and refer to someone with more experience and hopefully that more experienced person doesn't make you feel even more inadequate. It's a shame that nursing tends to eat their young when it's those young that might be caring for ourselves one day. But all in all it sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders and are progressing to becoming an experienced nurse. I'd be more scared if you posted that you felt like you knew everything right out of school then being honest and having the feelings you do. Best of luck to you in all your future endeavors.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Feb 22, 2011

i keep wondering am i really suppost to be a nurse!!! i just graduated in Aug 2010 and i have been working as a nurse since september.. everyone tells me im gunna be a great nurse... I feel like im not a great nurse.. I am an LPn and i try my hardest at my job and i really care about my patients but i get nervous in emergency situation.. i dont always know what is wrong with my patients and i dont always know what to do... is this normal for a new nurse??? i am in an LPN to RN transition course now so may 2012 ill be an RN.. ans that scares me alot too. are these normal fears becuz ima new nurse. please give me some insight...i studied alot and when i dont know something i make ita point to find out.. i just feel scared because i dnt always know why something is going on with my patient or how to fix it..

I don't think being scared or not knowing everything yet means you are not "supposed" to be a nurse. Every new nurse has anxiety about doing a good job. It takes time to begin to see the early signs of a patient going south and intervene before the situation deteriorates into an emergency. Use the expertise of the nurses around you, ask lots of questions, and make note of trends which really are the telltale signs of an impending problem.

If, however, over time, you feel you are continually confused or frozen during emergency situations in particular, that may not be your "niche." Perhaps you would be a great nurse in a setting where patients are not as sick, or where your primary role is teaching, wellness education, or something similar. Not everyone is cut out for high acuity care with lots of patients crashing, etc.

nightengalegoddess · Feb 22, 2011

Normal and common to have these feelings!But there are also options where you can learn and work within an environment which isn't so stressful....how about Med-Surg..( I know, it's stressful too...but usually not so RIGHT NOW dramatic)...I found med-surg was the best place to start because one gets a vast background and one becomes very sensitive to s/s changes...when you get a slower experience learning how conditions deteriorate...then at some point all that will be operative in your reflexes and help you be an excellent ER nurse....Just my opinion.....Some get very calm in emergency situations....others get completely flustered...it is just their natures as human beings. Has absolutely nothing to do with you potential as a nurse....Hang in there!!!!!! Blessings!

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Feb 22, 2011

I think your fear is natural and shows you do care about your patients. If your fear turns to chronic anxiety you will need professional help.

nursemike, ASN, RN · Feb 22, 2011

If people are telling you you're doing great, you probably are. And you do need that encouragement. In the not-too-distant future, you may find some of them telling you you're messing up this or that. Encouragement is fine, but you don't learn much from being told you're doing great. Try to accept being told you're messing up as gratefully as the encouragement, because it actually helps you more. Also means you aren't being seen so much as a baby. And next year, when you find you seem to be getting a lot of the crappy patients, try to take it as a compliment, because you're one of the ones that can handle them.

It does seem like there ought to be a kinder, gentler way to become an experienced nurse, but so far, there isn't. You're doing great. :rolleyes: