I need some encouragement?

mandy13086 · Mar 25, 2016

This is exactly how I felt for awhile on my 1st nursing job. You should be worried..you'll have lives in your hands. But it'll get easier as you learn more. Hopefully you'll be surrounded by a good team that will help to boost your confidence. I assume you'll have a preceptor for awhile first and will learn a lot from him/her. You'll still be worried, you'll still stress out awhile, that gets easier and better, but it'll take some time. Best advice I could give a brand new nurse, I think, is if you ever aren't sure of something...ask. Never assume. There's always someone to ask so that you do the right and safe thing by the patient.

jchristine89 · Mar 25, 2016

Thank you for your response and advice. I don't mean to sound whiny... I guess it just felt better to express my concerns rather than hold them in. My sister, who is also a nurse, worked on a unit where she was given a large patient load and she told me she would sit on the couch and cry before work and cry coming back home. She stayed as long as she did on that unit because of her supportive coworkers. I really hope that's the case for me as well, that I'll have a good team of people to work with! It would make a difference for sure.

priyaremi · Mar 25, 2016

I am about to start my first nursing job on med/surg too. I can really identify with how you feel but look on the bright side. I am in Ireland and I will be getting one week supernumerary and that's it!!. They know I am a new grad nurse but I will have my own patient load after one week on the ward. I am completely bricking it but this is my fourth or fifth job offer and my anxiety has prevented me from progressing so I have accepted this job.

We can do it!!. I just hate the unknown and not feeling competent but I am sure every single nurse has felt that way. It will take time but so does everything. I am expecting to feel overwhelmed. I am even expecting to dislike it for a few months so anything else will be a bonus. Best of luck in your new job. Rest assured and hugs, there are plenty of us who know how you are feeling right now.xx

mandy13086 · Mar 26, 2016

Competence takes time. You'll get there. Just be humble, realize what you don't know and don't be afraid of asking for help. Eventually you'll get to the point where you won't need to ask for help so much..and then you'll have people coming to you before you know it. On a medsurg floor, you will learn a lot in a very short time. Be open to learning as much as you can from anyone that will help you.

Idk what your religious beliefs are, but I did a lot of praying the night before my shifts to help me keep my patients safe the following day. It helped me sleep some. I still struggled for a good night's sleep for the first few months..and I would come home nervous I might have forgotten something. And it still gets to me when I go back in the following day and learn my patient went to ICU in the middle of the night. That happens..has not been my fault any of the times, but always makes me wonder. Just do the very best you can. Look at lab results in the computer and get to understanding what they mean, what needs to be addressed with the MD immediately vs something that can wait. Don't assume they always check lab work every day..they're humans too and if you feel something isn't right, ask. They may not have seen that result.

Sorry for this being long lol...I just remember what it was like to be so new. What personally worked for me..it may or may not for u, but I asked my boss if I was allowed to come in early so I could look up my patients before I got report. Neither boss I had minded and doing this significantly decreased my anxiety. A lot of nurses don't need to do this, I'd say about half my current floor does...but it's 30 uninterrupted minutes that I can scan all 5 or 6 patients..see what the overall plan is and what questions I have for the off going nurse and/or the MD when he/she rounds. It helps keep me organized. Just a suggestion.

joe a. · Apr 1, 2016

Christine, did you know your fears have been stored in your mind fir years? Long before yiu decided on in nursing, YOUR fears were formed. Hypnosis is a natural and normal process that allows you to change how you deal with situations that frighten you. Often, with just one session, you change your old outdated beliefs, and fears are gone, forever! You have created scenarios that are in fact, unrealistic. It's true. Limiting beliefs have destroyed the career of many fine nurses. Don't be one of them. Empower your potential. Joe a. CH

wutwereutinkin · Apr 1, 2016

Thank you for posting!

I'm starting my first nursing job in a week and I feel EXACTLY the same way! I'll be on a cardiac PCU, a lower patient ratio, but higher acuity when compared to med-surg. My mind keeps reminding me how much I disliked the cardio unit in school, why on earth would I accept a job on this unit?!? Then it goes to how thankful I am to have a job at a great hospital and how much awesome experience I'll be getting. I totally get the rollercoaster thing!

I don't have much advice, but I'm finding myself perusing my textbooks and notes and trying to keep the positive self talk up! Also I'm reminding myself that I was trained to do this, I finished nursing school, I passed the NCLEX, I'll have someone with me for 10 weeks, everything will be okay.

We can do it!

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Apr 1, 2016

Christine, did you know your fears have been stored in your mind fir years? Long before yiu decided on in nursing, YOUR fears were formed. Hypnosis is a natural and normal process that allows you to change how you deal with situations that frighten you. Often, with just one session, you change your old outdated beliefs, and fears are gone, forever! You have created scenarios that are in fact, unrealistic. It's true. Limiting beliefs have destroyed the career of many fine nurses. Don't be one of them. Empower your potential. Joe a. CH

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The things you're describing are perfectly normal and healthy for a new nurse! If you weren't afraid, that to me would be worrisome. The nervous nelly types are better than the know-it-all new grads.

joe a. · Apr 1, 2016

The things you're describing are perfectly normal and healthy for a new nurse! If you weren't afraid, that to me would be worrisome. The nervous nelly types are better than the know-it-all new grads.

No, this is not a "normal" case of new frad jitters. Tes it is perfectly normal and healthy to be anxious. The words used to describe the anxiousness go beyond normal. Words like freak out, scared of what I might do, what if, etc. In my experience as a Hypnotist, these worries are indicative of fears that go back sometime. This is not a bad thing. It is something that can be changed. The Law of Attraction says you manifest what you think snd believe. Why take ta chance with disaster. Change it before you live it. Iam with you on the know it alls. Thank God she has support from fsmily and usvat AN.

willowita, ADN, RN · Apr 1, 2016

Thank you OP! I am in the same boat. Starting my new job tomorrow! My dad, who used to work ER in the same hospital asked me if I was excited. I said I was terrified. I'm working a med/surg floor and I worry about the same things you mentioned. The feedback I get is that it's normal to feel this way. To feel unsure, to worry about your competence (mostly lack thereof). I especially worry about IV skills! I was horrible at doing them in nursing school, which has hurt my confidence in getting good at it. But my parents, both RNs, tell me that I will be fine. And I have to trust that. Good luck to you!