How long did it take....

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How long did it take for it to "click?" As a new nurse, I feel like things haven't really clicked yet. I still feel so slow and not quite sure what to do some days.

How long did it take you to have the confidence in yourself everyday that you did your job?

When I graduated from college and nursing, I was in total shock over that surprise. I think the reason is because I had some issues and problems that I had to work out first before I could get the degree. I digested the fact that I was a 4 year college graduate and a nurse at the same time. My first job was at Leewood Healthcare Center Adult Day Care Center. I worked there for five years and I worked upstairs in the assisted living at the same building for about one year. After I worked at Leewood for that many years, I felt like I was a nurse because I got on the job training. It was an experience that I will never forget.

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It took me years in order to find out that healthcare was the career for me. After I graduated from my college that I attended for four years, I then worked in the healthcare field for about six years and then I decided that I needed to become a teacher. So, I became a teacher and taught for about six years and I also was the school nurse there as well. After all of that experience, I then went to a preschool setting and became a preschool teacher for about three and a half years. Toward the middle of the preschool teaching, I decided to get my masters degree in special education so that it would enhance my nursing skills and capabilities. Now, I am a tutor and I do nursing as well. So, you just never know what will transpire out of one thought or action into a career path.

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It took me years in order to find out that healthcare was the career for me. After I graduated from my college that I attended for four years, I then worked in the healthcare field for about six years and then I decided that I needed to become a teacher. So, I became a teacher and taught for about six years and I also was the school nurse there as well. After all of that experience, I then went to a preschool setting and became a preschool teacher for about three and a half years. Toward the middle of the preschool teaching, I decided to get my masters degree in special education so that it would enhance my nursing skills and capabilities. Now, I am a tutor and I do nursing as well. So, you just never know what will transpire out of one thought or action into a career path.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

I have it heard that it takes one year to become competent, two/three to become confident and five to be considered an expert.

Sounds about right.

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It took me many years in order to become more comfortable in doing patient care. In fact, as a nursing student, I could not even imagine how I would be able to do this type of work; caring for sick patients and doing these special types of assessments. I got out of nursing school around 2000-2001 and it was not until 2005 that I really felt like I was confident and I could become a more qualified and confident nurse.

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It took me awhile for everything to click that I learned from nursing school and from my health science degree. Some of my friends took far less time than me to adjust and learn all of the jargon that they needed to learn. The thing that I had the hardest time with was remembering about the assessments and all of the steps involved in doing the assessments. Now that I have experience, I can do the assessments and remember the steps.

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It's all relative. I was young, quick and smart. It took 2 years to be somewhat confident. Five years before I felt I knew my stuff.

Learn which nurses you can count on for guidance. It's always okay to ask for it.

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I always said one year to get comfortable and five years to be an asset to the hospital, where you are pretty confident and proficient at what you are doing. One day at a time, you live through it and have one more day of experience and then go on to the next day.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
How long did it take for it to "click?" As a new nurse, I feel like things haven't really clicked yet.
Personally, it took about one year for things to begin clicking. In addition, after 11 years in this game, I am still learning clinical pearls of wisdom as time passes.
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It took me a long time to be where I am today and I did not get there overnight. It took a lot of planning and researching. I also was told by some of my nursing student friends that I would make a great geriatric nurse because of my disposition and how I treat my patients as a nurse. So, I am back now as a geriatric nurse/activities.

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I'm 14 months in minus a couple month break from the hospital and still feel rather hopeless. Everyone tells me I'm too hard on myself but it's really difficult not to be when there are such sick patients under my care.

What I could also really use advice about is how to get over the sometimes paralyzing anxiety that grips me the day and night before a shift - I fear the unknown assignment that awaits me the next morning and, more often than not, barely sleep at all... no way to start a 12 hour day. It's been an exhausting journey.

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Specializes in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.

I'd say it took me about a month, maybe a little less for things to "click." I do know what you mean about sometimes just not knowing what to do or start as that's how I felt when I first was on my own. About 6 months in I was pretty comfortable with my tele unit but still had some anxiety here and there, especially with calling docs late at night. Now I'm about a year and 3 months on my own and feel even better. Work is work, slight anxiety is still there, but I'd say I'm pretty used to everything now. Kinda routine one might say.

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