I Don't Get the Anxiety Part of Nursing

[missmollie]

I see these posts where people complain of anxiety. Crying before work, crying during work, dreading going into the hospital.

I'm just thankful that I'm not the patient. I split my weeks into what I want to accomplish. One week, it was to ensure that I checked the orders every half an hour. The next week, it was that I's and O's were okay. Focusing on one item at a time allowed me some mastery over it. Granted, it was during my orientation, but I've built on that, and I don't look at work as something to be dreaded, but rather as an experience to get it all right. I'm at that point.

Nursing is overwhelming. Focus on what you can change at this time, and those tasks that have an immediate effect on your patient. Look at your weakness, and improve it. Work is a challenge, but it's one I'm prepared for. I finished nursing school, I passed the NCLEX. I'm not going to know everything, but I will get better as I go. Much like the dreaded care plans, have a plan for yourself.

Know the areas you need to focus on. Make a list. Get good at the things you occasionally miss. The most important things. When you have that down, go to the next item.

No one expects you to know it all. It's okay that you don't. Don't cry after every shift, because really, what is that accomplishing? Nothing. Have a plan. Become the nurse you want to be in small steps. That's okay.

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

Well, I'm glad you (OP) don't have a problem with anxiety.

I'm glad you are able to even "plan " out your job. You must work somewhere where you have good support.

Kinda hard to "plan " out your day when you are constantly being pulled in 100 directions, every one of your patients is angry , and takes it out on you ( after all, they came there for the hotel experience; that's what they were told on admit BTPTB) and its hard to provide that when you are toileting others constantly( 2 assists on lasix, for example),performing customer service, arguing with Dr.s, running drips, keeping other patients stable and not dying, trying to get dietary to get the food orders right, etc, etc.

Sometimes the anxiety comes over a period of time, when you have tried and tried , and tried to do right by the patients, and you have NO SUPPORT. The stress build up, and you know going in that nothing you do will be right for your patients. That is, the ones who are well enough to complain of things.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

Your message is well intentioned for sure. If you could just reword it with the info in your 2nd post it would be much better. There you state what you meant about "being your patient" and your also having struggled with anxiety much better.

[Nursetk4]

I think nursing school curriculum needs to do a better job in addressing the transition period from student to new grad. Coping skills need to be taught. Learning how to care for ourselves is vital. Some employers are better at taking care of their staff than others. However, many areas of nursing are short staffed, have high acuity patients, long shifts and so much more that add to the stress level. Telling one not to be anxious or stressed is a slap to the face. Crying is a release mechanism. Usually the tears happen at the most inappropriate times. All this being said. Nursing can be one of the most rewarding jobs but also one of the toughest.

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

No one expects you to know it all. It's okay that you don't. Don't cry after every shift, because really, what is that accomplishing? Nothing. Have a plan. Become the nurse you want to be in small steps. That's okay.

Yes, you are expected to know it all.

That one sentence stuck out. If your have excellent ancillary staff, and management support, you don't have to worry about knowing it all. If you don't, or there isn't enough staff, you do.

Therein lies my personal anxiety.

[Everline]

As if...

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

Dear OP, I'm just D*** (all letters capital) glad that you had an immense luck to be able to concentrate on one thing a week and thus get some mastery over it.

You never had to work in place where there are people watching your every action under electronic microscope and not letting you concentrate on anything. People who knowingly sabotaged your job. People who bite behind your back at any moment. People who tell lies about you, slander, demean, shame. Trust me, with my level of organization and knowledge I never had any problems with mastering I/Os, orders and stuff. The people were those who made me crying before, after and during shifts.

Your post probably was put with good intentions but came out ridiculously ignorant. Count your blessings and remember that not everybody enjoy hothouse conditions allowing them to concentrate and develop skills. For most, it is sink or swim, and for a few, it is worse than that.

[Libby1987]

OP, how do you not get anxiety when you're actually taking medications yourself for it?

[ambr46]

Are you still in orientation? If not give it some time and I am sure you will have a day where some anxiety is inevitable, if not then you are simply not human.

[ambr46]

Get some time under your belt and then come back and see us again.

[ambr46]

There will be days that you are pressed to your limits and even the coolest cat is gonna feel the pressure. Emotions are what sets us apart...from the robots

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

Easier said than done. I'm glad that you don't suffer from this "anxiety." (really!)

I'm not a new nurse. At one of my previous jobs, I was the head charge nurse of an ER and in addition to charging I would also take my own patient assignment or float the ER - anything to help reduce the stress of my fellow coworkers. And in addition to that, all of my CN duties - the census reports, dealing with issues and putting out all of the fires, EMS offloading, answering EMS calls, etc etc etc. It was a very stressful position. Aside from that, I thankfully didn't deal with a lot of anxiety because my coworkers and I all worked well as a team.

At another job as a staff ER nurse, I would constantly get 2-3 patients at a time, some of them very sick. I know it's the nature of the ER and you have to be able to turn your beds over quickly but the biggest issue I had here was the complete lack of support. Then factor in angry patients/family members, docs getting upset with you because the labs aren't back on their patient or you're taking too long to collect that "liquid gold," management ridiculing you on why you didn't fill out your whiteboards or "round" on your patients like you're supposed to. You're pulled in a bunch of different directions at once on top of the stress of taking care of your patients. It really takes a toll on you. I suffered from anxiety at this job - many sleepless nights on the days I had to work, palpitations, GI issues. Even my husband could tell that everything was taking a toll on me and that I seemed so much happier on my days off. Sometimes I couldn't even enjoy my days off because I knew I had to return to work. I would come home crying because it was so bad. And I'm not saying that only the ER is like this, all areas of nursing can be just as stressful and hard.

You can't simply say "cheer up" in these situations.

[SmilingBluEyes]

And may you never know what it's like ("anxiety").