My biggest FEAR after I graduate..

allthingsbright · Mar 30, 2006

Yes, I hav ethe same worry--that I will get out of school and forget everything or really screw up in my new job.

I guess I will just have to wait and see-LOL! Ya know, I think we will be ok if we find a good ghospital that has a preceptorship program--somewhere that really trains their new nurses. Be picky!

TexasPediRN · Mar 30, 2006

...is, will I be able to put it all together?! Sure I am getting clinicals hours and i am doing well in school. But, what if I can't put it all together once I get out there? I fear that!! I certainly do NOT want to kill anyone, i just don't want to and have no idea how I will feel if that happens.
This is normal, right??
Any advice??
Thanks:)

If you didnt feel this way, I would be worried about you.

This is completely normal. Dont worry. Just work hard, always ask questions if you arent sure of something, and always look up drugs that you dont know.

Good luck :)

jillyk*rn · Mar 30, 2006

it is soooo normal to feel that way;).

that is why there is not 1 nurse on a unit. you will be precepted and there are always resources around.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2006

If you didn't feel that way, I'd be seriously wondering about you. You just keep trucking along like you're doing now. When you get your first job you don't do much of anything differently when it comes to checking and double checking to make sure you giving correct medications and are doing the correct thing to and for the correct patient. The difference is that you won't have an instructor by your side and you will need to depend on your own good common sense to help you through any questions that might come up. There will be lots of other support staff around to help you out and answer questions that come up. Most staff are very helpful to new grads and want to see them succeed. Most of us haven't forgotten how stressful it was for us as new grads ourselves.

I suggest that you keep your textbooks and notes available for awhile because there will be many times when you come home from work that you will want to spend some time looking up information because you didn't have time to do it at work. This is how you will reinforce what you learned in nursing school but may be rusty on. It would be very wrong for you to think that your learning activities have ended on the day you graduate. Your first year out of school and working on a nursing unit is going to be one of the most intense learning experiences you've had yet. The nice thing is that you will be getting paid for it!

K_A_T · Mar 31, 2006

This is all reassuring. I mean, learning from a textbook and doing well on a exams and quizzes is so much DIFFERENT than the actual application on a human being. I just have the WORST habit of doubting my smarts. I really want to be a good nurse and a strong advocate for the patient. It's just those days when you think "oh my God, there is sooo much information. How am I suppose to remember and know all of this?" Thank you for the support:) :nurse:

~Kat

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Mar 31, 2006

The fact is that you can't remember everything. But, you can remember that you were exposed to it and where to find the information about it. Many years ago one of my instructors told me that what nursing school gave me was a bag of tricks. And in that bag was the knowledge of where to look up information I needed to know. Whatever area of nursing you end up specializing in for whatever period of time you stay working at it, you will become familiar with the most commonly performed procedures and treatments in that specialty. You will be exposed to hundreds of patients with the same types of illnesses and you get to know, from hands on experience, what is probably going to be ordered and going to needed to be done for them. You get to that point by initially having to review many of those procedures when you first start working with those patients. Makes sense, doesn't it? And, I have no doubt that it will be the same for you. Have faith in your ability to find the answers you need. So much of what we do in nursing is similar because it all follows basic nursing fundamentals. You'll see.

student4ever · Mar 31, 2006

So many people have posted that "they'd be worried if you didn't think that way." Sorry, but I'm NOT in the least worried about whether or not I'll be able to put it all together. I KNOW I will be - not because I'm so smart or not succeptible to making errors - but I know enough to ask when I'm not sure about something, and I know where to find resources to help me - drug books to look things up, websites, more experienced nurses who are willing to help a newbie get things together. I know that I've worked long and hard to get into the nursing program to begin with, and I must have what it takes to put up with school 5 days a week, working 60 hours a week as a tech in a BUSY Emergency Department, and obviously, a good work ethic. If you can make it through nursing school and the NCLEX, you can make it in the real world of nursing. You just have to have faith and work hard at it. That's my philosophy for everything. So now will I be a potentially dangerous nurse because I believe I will do well once I graduate and am not nervous about "failing to put it all together?" I hope none of you think that... I just get tired of hearing experienced nurses saying "I would be scared for you if you weren't _____" fill in nervous, scared, afraid, overwhelmed, etc. etc. Is it so wrong to be confident in your ability to do good work and to learn something new when you aren't sure about something? Gosh, no wonder so many new nurses have such low self - esteem when they get out of nursing school if experienced nurses make it seem like you SHOULD be afraid. Am I just being cocky or stupid here? I'm not saying it's not okay to be a little nervous or scared - but why make it seem like everyone SHOULD be terrified?

K_A_T · Mar 31, 2006

The fact is that you can't remember everything. But, you can remember that you were exposed to it and where to find the information about it. Many years ago one of my instructors told me that what nursing school gave me was a bag of tricks. And in that bag was the knowledge of where to look up information I needed to know. Whatever area of nursing you end up specializing in for whatever period of time you stay working at it, you will become familiar with the most commonly performed procedures and treatments in that specialty. You will be exposed to hundreds of patients with the same types of illnesses and you get to know, from hands on experience, what is probably going to be ordered and going to needed to be done for them. You get to that point by initially having to review many of those procedures when you first start working with those patients. Makes sense, doesn't it? And, I have no doubt that it will be the same for you. Have faith in your ability to find the answers you need. So much of what we do in nursing is similar because it all follows basic nursing fundamentals. You'll see.

THANK YOU:)

Actually, You're right and it does make sense. I know where all the information lies in my nursing books. My first clinical in med surg I, everyone had the basic "same" types of issues. It's normal to feel nervous after graduation because after all, I am dealing with human life. I needed some reassurance from some experienced hands and I got it. Thanks again:)

melanie1126 · Mar 31, 2006

So many people have posted that "they'd be worried if you didn't think that way." Sorry, but I'm NOT in the least worried about whether or not I'll be able to put it all together. I KNOW I will be - not because I'm so smart or not succeptible to making errors - but I know enough to ask when I'm not sure about something, and I know where to find resources to help me - drug books to look things up, websites, more experienced nurses who are willing to help a newbie get things together. I know that I've worked long and hard to get into the nursing program to begin with, and I must have what it takes to put up with school 5 days a week, working 60 hours a week as a tech in a BUSY Emergency Department, and obviously, a good work ethic. If you can make it through nursing school and the NCLEX, you can make it in the real world of nursing. You just have to have faith and work hard at it. That's my philosophy for everything. So now will I be a potentially dangerous nurse because I believe I will do well once I graduate and am not nervous about "failing to put it all together?" I hope none of you think that... I just get tired of hearing experienced nurses saying "I would be scared for you if you weren't _____" fill in nervous, scared, afraid, overwhelmed, etc. etc. Is it so wrong to be confident in your ability to do good work and to learn something new when you aren't sure about something? Gosh, no wonder so many new nurses have such low self - esteem when they get out of nursing school if experienced nurses make it seem like you SHOULD be afraid. Am I just being cocky or stupid here? I'm not saying it's not okay to be a little nervous or scared - but why make it seem like everyone SHOULD be terrified?

I think the idea behind most nurses saying they worry when a student/ new grad and isn't " nervous, scared, afraid, or overwhelmed" is based on someone coming out of school thinking that they have graduated, passed NCLEX and now know everything. If you know that you don't know it all and know when to ask questions, yet remain confident, then more power to you! It's those that practice in situations where they're unsure about something, yet unwilling to ask b/c they think they know what they're doing, and do it anyway that are the concern. That's usually when someone gets hurt. Also, with your experience in the ER you've had time to adjust to healthcare, taking care of patients and you probably already have many skills that a new RN who has never worked in healthcare doesn't have. It takes time to become comfortable, so while it is normal to feel scared, it certainly isn't required.