I am nervous....Can I do this?

Trauma Columnist · Jul 30, 2007

Hi and congrats on school! Going into a new field is stressful and filled with doubt. Once you get to school and start clinicals you will start to have a better idea of what you want to do.

I'll be honest too - your first nursing job might not be where you stay. As you get older, things change, you change. You might change your mind and decide that you really like a different type of nursing. That is the beauty of nursing - there are always opportunities.

RachelLVN · Jul 30, 2007

hi Michelle,

Welcome to the field! Nursing is definitely one of the greatest fields you could ever go into - I absolutely love it. You've already had a career, so you understand that all jobs come with frustration, and you have worked with MR patients, so you understand working with people who don't always know the whole of what is going on.

I think you'll love it, but don't worry if you don't love every aspect of it. Classes are frustrating sometimes, so are clinicals and instructors. If you do clinicals in areas that you hate (and you will!) just focus on getting through and learning everything you can while you are there. We've all had doubts, there are still days when I wonder why I'm doing this, but what profession doesn't have that?

Anyway - welcome to the health care field! We're a diverse group, but I think you'll love it =)

HM2VikingRN, RN · Jul 31, 2007

I haven't even been accepted into the nursing program yet but my head is swirling! I think I want to be an OB nurse but how do you know if you are cut out for it? I am a 32 year old mother of 2 and currently work as a Social Work Supervisor working with adults with a diagnosis of Mental Retardation.(I have been working in Social Services for 8 years) I love my job but I just feel very passionate about going into nursing and I am applying for the nursing program for next year. I really love women's health...especially the postpartum aspect. I would love to work in mother/baby. I feel that I would be an excellent nurse but how do I know? I just want to do a good job. This is someones well being and I definitely know how important it is. I have had good nurses and not so good nurses during my hospital stays with both of my children. I think L&D would be awesome too but I am thinking that I may need to shoot for starting out in postpartum. I don't know that I could jump right into L&D....what do you guys think? I know I am ahead of myself. This board has been awesome...the threads are definitely giving me some idea of what you guys go through. I know there will be clinicals and much to learn but it is good to have an idea (even though I am sure it doesn't even scratch the surface) before jumping in. Did any of you have doubts when you went into nursing? Or fears? Is this normal? Any feedback or advice would be appreciated!
Michelle

Michelle,

I think you will make a great nurse just because you are asking the right questions about yourself and your motivations. Your experience in mental health will stand you in great stead throughout your nursing career just because you will be able to offer patient education using a wide variety of formats. Best of luck in your new career.

HopefulMichelle · Jul 31, 2007

Thanks for all of the replies! I am sure what I am feeling is normal. I just want to do a good job....I know that I will be continuously learning. What are your experiences in working with doctors? Are they generally easy to get along with? I know that there are probably nice and not so nice like with anything but as a whole what are your experiences? My dh keeps drilling in me that doctors are not so nice, hehe. I guess one of my biggest concerns is being knowledgeable which only comes with experience. I know that you don't know everything off the bat. I just don't want to come across as an idiot or miss something really important. I guess you can see that I am really hard on myself. I guess nursing to me just seems so overwhelming right now. I am like how do you ever learn everything you need to know? I would assume you need to be able to anticipate what "might could happen" also. I probably sound crazy to you guys since I haven't even started school yet and I am already worried. I really admire all you nurses...you are the eyes and ears of everything in my opinion.

Michelle