I feel stressed beyond anything. Help!!

Nurses Stress 101

Published

Hello, I'm a Level 1 nursing student. There are a total of 4 levels. There are a total of 3 attempts for each skill. I am on my 3 attempt for vital signs. I practice practice practice. When practicing I nail the apical, radial and blood pressure. During testing I'm off. I'm so stressed beyond words. I feel like giving up. It has chipped away at my self esteem. Other experiences?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
Hello, I'm a Level 1 nursing student. There are a total of 4 levels. There are a total of 3 attempts for each skill. I am on my 3 attempt for vital signs. I practice practice practice. When practicing I nail the apical, radial and blood pressure. During testing I'm off. I'm so stressed beyond words. I feel like giving up. It has chipped away at my self esteem. Other experiences?
how exactly are you filing them?If it's the w/o makes you loosen the stop cock slowly...Make sure you deep breathe a few times before starting.When I get super nervous I tend to breath rapidly and shallow and my ears ring....
Up Vote Up Vote ×
how exactly are you filing them?If it's the w/o makes you loosen the stop cock slowly...Make sure you deep breathe a few times before starting.When I get super nervous I tend to breath rapidly and shallow and my ears ring....

Hi there. What do you mean by "filing"? When my partner took my HR it was 120. I gotta figure something out by Tuesday. Yes, I loosened the stop cock at least 2mm.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

How are you "off" during testing? What do you mean exactly?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
How are you "off" during testing? What do you mean exactly?

Blood pressure off for 6mm and apical 2 mm

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I apologize for not seeing your reply until now. For the blood pressure I am assuming your instructor is listening to the blood pressure with you. Are you deflating the cuff too quickly (more than 2-4 mm Hg per second)? Or too slowly? Where you said "apical off by 2 mm" are you referring to auscultating the apical pulse with your stethoscope? You would be counting the apical pulse rate by counting the number of "lub-dubs" in one minute.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I apologize for not seeing your reply until now. For the blood pressure I am assuming your instructor is listening to the blood pressure with you. Are you deflating the cuff too quickly (more than 2-4 mm Hg per second)? Or too slowly? Where you said "apical off by 2 mm" are you referring to auscultating the apical pulse with your stethoscope? You would be counting the apical pulse rate by counting the number of "lub-dubs" in one minute.

Yes my instructor is listening with a dual stethoscope. Yes 're auscultating the apical. I usually count and 1 and 2 etc. I have to tell instructor start and stop

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Yes my instructor is listening with a dual stethoscope. Yes 're auscultating the apical. I usually count and 1 and 2 etc. I have to tell instructor start and stop

Oops 're apical off by 2mm. I meant off by 2 beats. Sorry.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

If you know the correct techniques, but are unable to perform them correctly because of nerves, unless you are required to perform these procedures in a specific order, perhaps taking the radial pulse first would be the easiest to perform correctly and would help you to feel confident; you could then auscultate the apical pulse next, and then lastly, when you have built on your confidence, take the blood pressure. Do you have a family member or friend you can practice on?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
If you know the correct techniques, but are unable to perform them correctly because of nerves, unless you are required to perform these procedures in a specific order, perhaps taking the radial pulse first would be the easiest to perform correctly and would help you to feel confident; you could then auscultate the apical pulse next, and then lastly, when you have built on your confidence, take the blood pressure. Do you have a family member or friend you can practice on?

Yes I've been practicing. This anxiety is very weird for me. When taking tests I don't have test anxiety but during these check offs my heart rate is 120.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I passed! Thanks for advice.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I passed! Thanks for advice.

Great news! What did you do differently? What made things work this time?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment