I would really appreciate some advice/suggestions

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Ok, so i am a BScN student in canada, just finished my last clinical of year 3, one year left and i can take the CRNE (and NCLEX as i want to work in the states). in march, for the whole month, every thursday and friday we were on a cardiovascular floor for 8 hour shifts. now, mon-wed we had regular classes, and i work part time mon-thurs 5pm-9pm. this means basically i was chronically tired the whole month! lol. but in my evaluation, the instructor said i needed to work on time management skills, although i had shown a good improvment by the end of clinical. ok i have no problem with that. however, she also said that i sometimes appeared 'frazzled' and that with experience i would learn to look/project more confidence.

then i went to a full time clinical on an ortho floor for the last 6 weeks, again still working the part time job. this instructor (i told her what the previous instructor had said) agreed that i did at time appear to be frazzled/stressed, but there had only been one day in particular that she noticed and that was in the early days of the rotation.

now here's my concern: although i apparently have a tendency to appear (and certainly feel) frazzled/stressed, i have confidence in my skills, i am very matter of fact about asking for guidance/suggestions when i'm dealing with something new, and i always managed to get the work done. i really would like to work in the er when i graduate and i'm starting to feel my self-confidence get knocked around a bit. i fully expect that the orientation period up to at least the first year would be absolutely crazy and intense, and i know i'll look frazzled, but looking frazzled doesn't mean i'm not competent right? not to mention, working a job, clinical and classes plus the fact that you're new on the floor, don't know where things are, each unit has their own little ways of doing things, and new pt conditions, i kinda feel happy all i appeared was frazzled! i'm not really sure what kind of responses i'm looking for. maybe just someone to agree that sometimes feeling/looking frazzled shouldn't stop me from trying to be an er nurse?

i really appreciate anyone's advice/comments. thanks in advance! LT

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I believe that you will do just fine. Nursing IS stressful, and at times you will look the part. If you are confident in your skills the patient will see that, they won't care what you look like. If the patient feels that their life is in good hands then it won't matter if you look stressed. See if you can take a 15 minute break, that may help you out a lot.

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Personally, I would prefer working with someone who appears frazzled on the outside but is basically in control where it counts rather than the other way around. Besides, in this job, those frazzled days just come with the territory and they don't make you a lesser nurse. If you want to do er- then do it. Keep up your confidence and stop worrying about those naysayers- give it a try and good luck!:loveya:

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Specializes in Trauma/ED.

I know plenty of ER nurses that look frazzled on a daily basis. I believe if you are able to get your work done, your skills are good, and you have a willingness to keep learning daily, you will be fine in the ER.

Being "frazzled" can have more than one meaning, it can mean that you are completely lost and have no idea what to do next, it can mean that your thoughts aren't organized enough to prioritize and you can only see the whole picture so you freak out (ie my wife...lol), or it can just be your personality to appear a little "frazzled" even when you actually are organized. So in my opinion if you are the latter than you will be fine, if you are unorganized than you can work on that with experience on a med/surg or tele floor. Just try to prioritize your tasks and concentrate only on the next task at hand. We as nurses are forced to have many many things in our heads at one time, if I were to think about how many things I have in my head at once then I would be "frazzled" right along with you.

Congrats on your accomplishment in finishing up your degree and please do take the NCLEX even if you don't plan on working in the states, it's so much better to take it right out of school.

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the best reply i can think of if someone tells you that you look "frazzled" is to say: "thanks! that's the look i was going for today." go for your dream & don't let anything or anyone get in the way. you will do fine. use humor as much as you can :jester: it definitely helps.

xox

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Specializes in ER.

Heck, my instructor used to say she knew I was stressed because my nose sweats. I would stay awake looking at the ceiling trying to think about how I could stay calm, and it would make me that much more stressed. FYI after 19years my nose STILL sweats, and my patients don't seem to care. It actually works for me because no one ever has gotten after me for not working hard enough.

IMO if you are a nurse and you don't look a little frazzled sometime during your shift you either are too spaced to know whats going on, or you don't give a rip. Don't worry about it.

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Thank you to everyone who replied! it's been rough few months (well, it's been a BAD few months, and a rough 3 years! lol) almost done though. our big job fair is this sept and i can't wait!! and i'm doing a 10 week full time co-op experience (i think in the states you guys call them externships?) with a nurse on a cardiology/heart transplant floor, so i'm really hoping that by the time sept rolls around, my skills and time management abilites are rockin! although since i'll be doing my first night shift in 6 years i'll probably be looking a little frazzled before the night is thru! (and god help my roommates if they decide to be home and loud during the day...) but again, just wanted to say thanks so much for the encouragement and kind words, and i'll keep y'all posted! lt

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