Stressed

[StudentNurseSteph, BSN, RN]

I had my first med/surg clinical yesterday. I enjoy med/surg because I am a student nurse tech back at my home hospital but it is totally differnt then the city hospital I have clinical at. I feel so lost and when my instructor asks me questions that i dont know i feel like i should know them. I feel like i'm so behind even though everyone else is also in my boat. I get so discouraged at myself lately. I feel like i should know everything even though i obviously couldnt. Just needed to vent a little about my frustrations.

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

Nursing school really can have a way of making you feel inadequate, even when you're working as hard as you can. Just remember that even highly experienced nurses are learning new things every day. It's a career-long process. Hang in there!

[Megsd, BSN, RN]

Eric is right. There are days when I feel like I know everything, and then there are days where I feel like I know nothing at all. I just keep reminding myself that if I knew it all, I wouldn't be in nursing school. Another thing I do is take the initiative to learn things myself. If my instructor asks me a question that I don't know anything about, I will go home and look it up (or look it up right there, if I have the resources) so if that comes up again, I'll be prepared.

I think you will find that your experience as a tech will still be helpful to you in that you are comfortable doing certain skills and know how to effectively communicate with your patients. I think you will find that others in your clinical group who have not worked in healthcare before will be a lot more shy about interacting with patients and other nurses. You'll be fine.. just give yourself some slack and some time to adjust.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

Having the need to be perfect all the time is hard to contend with. Yes, it does make you very stressed. The important thing is to realize that you tend to be this way and, as you already realize, everyone else is in the same boat. This all has to do with having control over our situation. You are going to find that nursing is one of those careers where change is going on all the time. You have to be prepared to switch gears and do 180-degree turnabouts at a moment's notice. The best thing you can do for yourself is to learn to roll with the punches and learn how to get back up on your feet again because this is only the beginning of a long line of stressful situations. The reason hospital nurses make big bucks is because of the amount of stress they endure and work through. One of the ways to minimize this is to go in to each assignment with an idea in your mind of what you need to do and the sequence you plan on doing it. It may need to be revised according to whatever the situation calls for, but at least you'll have had something to start from.

[StudentNurseSteph, BSN, RN]

thanks so much.. i just get so overwhelmed sometimes with nursing..i sometimes forget that the reason im in nursing school is to LEARN.. =)