Help! I'm sinking!!

Nurses New Nurse

Published

Hi everyone. My name is Paula. I've been registered to this forum for a long time, but could never get it activated for some reason until today. I was wondering if any one is experiencing or has experienced some of the same feelings I am having, and if so, how did you deal with it and can you offer some advice? I am a brand new grad and today was my 3rd day on a medical/hematology oncology unit. Even though my preceptor and I only had 2 patients, I felt a little overwhelmed, mostly over the little things. For instance, in nursing school, I have never had a patient with anymore than one primary and one secondary line running at once. The patients I have now can have up to 5 infusions. I was a little frustrated with the infusion pumps and what lines to use for which drugs. Then the worst was yet to come. We were administering blood products (RBC) which is a competency I need to be checked off on. So when I spiked the bag, it punctured right out the side of the bag and punctured into my wrist. I felt so awful! My aplastic anemia patient had to wait another hour before new blood could be transfused. I have really been beating myself up over these mistakes, so much that I was supposed to work a 12 hours shfit, but they sent me home at 3pm. Can someone over me advice on how to handle stressful situations. When will I really feel like I'm a "registered nurse" and not a student anymore? Also, I still feel so shy and timid around patients. Can someone offer advice on how to break that? Thanks for listening to me. Every now and then I think I made a mistake by going into nursing because I feel as if I am not organized enough, or have the critical thinking skills. I hope as time goes by, I'll gain these skills as well.

Healer,

You work on a tele floor? I think I misunderstood your post the other day when you said you were a 'baby' nurse and I invited you to stop by the NICU Forum. Anyway, just didn't want you to think I was crazy. :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hang in there! The skills will come. Let your preceptor know how disorganized your feeling, and be willing to ask ANY question you have. It is better to ask then to come off as you know everything and then make a mistake, especially considering how we as nurses tend to "eat our young"! As far as getting more comfortable talking with your patient, sometimes it helps to "put yourself in their shoes". How would you feel if it were you lying in that bed? Try to be yourself and show the caring you have. Whenever I ask my patient how they are doing, I try to make sure that it's not just a casual question, but one of true concern. And remember, they are not just a diagnosis, but a person with multiple concerns such as family, finances, jobs etc. You will have good days and bad days, but usually the good ones outweigh the bad ones!! Don't give up yet!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'm a new grad 8 months into my first year and I have to say, it does get better. There were days I was sure I would never "get it", and there are still days when I wonder if I'll ever be where the experienced nurses are. I had a variety of preceptors, some with completely opposite styles (the perfectionist vs. the minimalist) which didn't help. Equipment doesn't always work right, and just like fussing with computer problems at home (for instance), sometimes it's just trial-and-error, so I needed to figure out several things to try. Sometimes supplies aren't where they're supposed to be, or I have a skill/procedure that I'm rusty on because I haven't done it for a while. Sometimes I forget to open a roller clamp on a piggyback, or a key sticks on an IV pump and I'm delivering a very different dose than the one I thought I was. I'm a naturally anxious person, especially when it comes to people's health, but I'm learning and I'm becoming more patient with myself. I stick around for a few minutes after hanging a new IV bag for instance, because it tends to cause air bubbles in the tubing, or perhaps a new bag of a vasoactive drug (in the same concentration, at the same infusion rate) inexplicably has a different effect on the patient's hemodynamic status. Your issues may be different, but some patterns will begin to show up that are little messages to you about what you need to watch for. I've also found that I needed to find my own style. I started doing things the ways my preceptors did, and with time, I discovered time-saving measures and routines that work better for me. I had the busiest patient assignment of anyone for the last 3 nights running and I could see my progress. This morning, I actually left on time. It'll come. I didn't think how to organize my time would be such a huge issue, but it is. Watch and ask your colleagues for tips on how they do things and manage their time. Keep a journal of what went well, what you wish you'd done better, and how you're feeling about the whole thing. And be good to yourself--you will survive this!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thank you all for your advice. I know I am jumping the gun, but I guess I am one of those people who are so afraid of failure :( I really want to shine and do the best I can with this profession (especially when people's lives are at stake).

I know that I am only human, and I will make mistakes. Today wasn't so bad, I suppose. I spiked a bag of blood properly today! Woo hoo! I know things can only get better.

:)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Ortho/Neuro.
I've been working for 6 months (3 in ICU and 3 in ER). I understand being overwhelmed with all the drips. The monitor, the vent, and the 5-6 drips a patient can be on in ICU/ER was very intimidating but we all get used to it. We have to not be afraid to ask questions when we're in doubt (no matter how silly the question sounds to us) and be willing to triple check what we're doing. Always, always check. I've made plenty of mistake, but I've managed to learn from them and not repeat them. My favorite so far is when I gave myself a heparin bath. *grin* My patient was on a heparin drip and the bag needed to be changed because of the date and was half full. I hung the new bag and popped it open, went to pull the spike from the old bag but didn't consider the fact that if I didn't remove it from the hook it would drip. The second i pulled the spike I saw the fluid coming out head toward my patient, I redirected it to myself in the process of taking it down and ended up bathing myself in about 50 ccs of heparin. Not fun and I was extremely embarrased. Nobody saw it and my patient was not with it so there are no witnesses but I did tell my preceptor afterwards and we both laughed about it. Since then I've remembered to take the bag down *before* I take out the spike.

I gave myself a Vanco bath the other day. I forgot to clamp the tubing when I hung the piggyback and all down my arm and into my scrub top! That Vanco, gets you fresh and clean, as I am sure heparin does too! :chuckle

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU, Research, Corrections.
I gave myself a Vanco bath the other day. I forgot to clamp the tubing when I hung the piggyback and all down my arm and into my scrub top! That Vanco gets you fresh and clean, as I am sure heparin does too! :chuckle[/quote']

Last week I had a vial of Mucomyst explode on me :jester: I learned to never inject air into that vial :nurse: It was early in the shift and I stank all evening!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment