Inspiring words to the new grad population

[BookWorming]

Hello all, I have not posted since I first was accepted into nursing school. Here's a little summary, I finished school in 2014, passed NCLEX in my first attempt 2 months later, received RN status and was on the floor one week after I passed boards. In school I experienced my first code blue. It was an ER Rotation and it was not my patient. The department was trying to fill out my skills list and I desperately wanted to perform an NG tube. There was a lot going on with this particular patient that I will not mention, but they required a NG. I was first in line. After insertion of the NG, the patient coded. The outcome was negative. I handled that okay afterwards. I did cry in my car for a bit, but I survived and had hope to save all that I can. Fast forward to my first job. This is a very small hospital in a rural area. Our ER and med Surg floor nursing stations are actually combined. Whenever everything was in order on the med Surg floor, we can float to our ER and help. Which I enjoyed because that is my dream. One week into the job, I had a bad day. I made errors, one where if it was missed, the patient could've had a bad outcome. I did an EKG on this patient and missed the MI. It was shocking when a code CVA was called and they stated my patients room number. The patient was okay, but I did go through a big let down. I was disappointed in myself as a nurse. A little more into the job, we had another patient present into the ER With multiple stab wounds. The patient then developed a pneumo and a chest tube was required. At that hospital, we hardly had chest tubes, and I took charge on directing my senior nurses what chambers needed to be filled, the amount, how it should be set, and so forth. Also, I instructed EMTs how to hook up suction. This patient had a positive outcome, and my fellow coworkers gave me a hug in a circle, thanking me for what I did. Still in the same job, I did experience code blues, all with negative outcomes. I moved to a different hospital. A few weeks into the job, my patient had a stroke while on the floor. I noticed defining symptoms, called another nurse and my charge, and a rapid was announced. The patient was transferred to intensive care. I have not experienced any code blues yet, being employed at this hospital for 3 months. Then it happened. My first day off orientation in a big hospital, and a high acuity patient assigned to me. You know that gut feeling they talk about it school? TRUST IT. As soon as I received report, that feeling came. I constantly checked on this patient. I was In that in and out of that room constantly. Early morning, The call light went off. I went In the room, the patient was alert/oriented x4. Then the status changed and they became unresponsive. I did my assessment during the entire process and yelled out the door that we needed a code because the patient was unresponsive. It happened so quick. I was scared and nervous. I mean this is my first day off orientation, I've never called my own code, and this is my patient. I had a moment of panic telling the doctor what happened to my patient. To be honest with yall, I drew a blank when the doc Asked what the patient was admitted for. But it came and I let the MD know. In the end, I am excited to say, I caught the change in time. My team members came in and we worked together, as a team and brought my patient back. The patient had a positive outcome. The family hugged me and thanked me. They told other family members that I am the one who knew there was something wrong before the patient became unresponsive. And the positive feedback from my fellow nurses. They said I reacted to the code well, I did good, and if I didn't catch this, the patient might have had a bad outcome. This is the day where I left the facility feeling like I am in this profession for a purpose. I am proud to be a nurse. I guess my whole reason to writing this long post, I am trying to show the newbie nurses that it will come. I have not been a nurse for a year as I type this post, but you experience so much in such a short amount of time. I went through a period of depression, self doubt and fear. I wondered to myself quite often, why did I do this? And of course I talked myself down thinking, I don't know what I am doing, I'm a terrible nurse. These thoughts will bring you down as a new nurse. I mean, we have not even earned RN, even though the board says otherwise. You have to put that negativity behind you and take charge of your career. It took my fellow nurses to guide my way. I started taking advantage of our hospital classes. Yes I am tired when I go, but I feel that if I did not take those classes, my official code blue would've had a bad outcome. Because this one class taught me certain symptoms and how to assess a change in status. As a new nurse, I can say we are babies. Being a baby to this profession, I do have the opportunity to grow. So I am taking advantage of this. I will not only grow through experience, but also through my fellow nurses and more education. There is hope to come out of that new grad shock and fall into the real world bedside nursing. Do not be afraid. Ask questions. Take advantage to what your facility offers. Listen to your fellow nurses and their experiences and advice. Policies are excellent to review. It will come. Take it from a newbie who learned how to administer phenergan the same day they caught a patient coding and helped save their life. It will come, and it is the most rewarding feeling ever.

[CamillusRN, BSN]

Yes and yes! And that gut feeling is absolute truth! There's no better feeling than when you win over the confidence of your coworkers by quick thinking in very dynamic situations - it certainly does reinforce your belief in what you've chosen to do with your life. Thanks for your post!

[2k15NurseExtern4u, BSN, RN]

This was great to read! Im so happy to hear that you are arriving to a place of confidence. I graduate in December and i can only hope to be able to think on my feet as fast as you were. Congrats on a job well done!