My nursing program was terrible and I was too incompetent but I still graduated

[Matilda191]

My skills sucked, I constantly screwed up med orders, and I had huge, gaping gaps in my knowledge, but I graduated and then passed the NCLEX (because I do very well on tests).

So technically, I am an RN, but it's been over a year, and I have done something else as a job mostly because I did not feel I could be a nurse with the skills I had.

I really did enjoy working with patients, I just wouldn't trust that they'd be safe with me as a nurse, and most everywhere I looked, the openings seemed to be for acute care or emergency room nursing where I'd be likeliest to do harm.

Anyway, so given the gap in time, I am sure most all of my knowledge has eroded...

But I did love caring for patients. I know there are training programs for experienced nurses who have been out of the field for a while. Is there anywhere in the country I could go and just get all that nursing knowledge I didn't learn well enough in the first place? (Like repeating RN school for someone who already is a RN?)

[KenH]

Don't give up. Nursing schools goal is to get to pass boards. The transition from being a student nurse to being a NURSE is one of the hardest thing you will ever do

I would rather work with someone who knows their limitations and knows when they need help, rather than someone who thinks they know everything and scares me because of the things they do and don't know.

Everyone has to find they way to do patient care that works for them, it just take time and learning from your mistakes is the first step.

Don't give up. You can do it

[shellfrmmo, ASN, BSN, MSN, CNA, LPN, LVN, RN]

I think your biggest mistake was not going into the workplace. I guarantee that at least 90% of the nurses felt incompetent or worse upon graduation. Honestly school is to prepare you for the test. You cannot know the schools right out the door. Every nurse knows that all of that is learned in the workplace. That is why there is such a lengthy orientation period of 6 weeks or more for new grads. That is the only thing that I think your school may have failed you in- telling you that. Telling you that most nurses feel that way.

It is horrifying to get out of school and think that someone's life rests in your hands.

Or that you can't do IV's or cath's or whatever. Fact is most can't and the ones who say the could do it all and be it all straight out of school were probably lying to you.

At this point, since you haven't done anything at all with nursing, you will probably need a refresher course. Go apply at a hospital and they may hire you with an extended orientation. Nurses are needed and in high demand. The hospital will probably work with you and provide the refresher you need.

Please just trust in your preceptor. They will teach you everything you need to know!!!

[delisberg]

You probably a better nurse than you think, if you had the confidence that you knew it all then I'd be concerned and scared to follow you up on the next shift!!!. While in school you were learning to be a student, now is the time to learn to be the nurse! I'd say most jobs out there don't throw you to the wolves right off there is a time of orientation - even for old nurses going to a new placement. Yes school is overwhelming thinking you can't remember all the skills, drugs and lab values and such but once in the mix you'll be surprised how much you really know (when someone isn't looking over your shoulder all the time) and easier to retain when you using it all the time. And yes if you see someone that doesn't question anything and always pulls the answer out of their rear, that's the fool - nothing wrong in taking a moment to look it up!!

If you can understand what you read and apply it, the skills refined will come to you over time; I'd say it will take your first year in nursing to feel that you can hold your own ground at the least. As one nurse put it to me when I started my career in nursing- you'll be in this endless sea of raging hormones and drama and that's just the nurses, you'll find your fit I'm sure - CYA! Good luck... and Go for it!!!!

Nursing will be endless in learning, you barely started!!!!!

[Wishinonastar, BSN]

NCLEX only insures that you have the minimal knowledge base of a nurse. Clinical competence and skills are something else all together. I feel sorry for you because I did not feel that way at all when I graduated. I was scared, and insecure, but I knew I had good skills. They made SURE we had good skills when we left that school.

I agree a refresher course sounds like a plan, if you can find one. Sometimes you have to find a way to teach yourself if you can identify your weak areas. I once practiced starting IVs over and over again on a little vein model at home because I felt so unsure about venipunctures. We did not learn venipunctures in nursing school because they had IV teams then so they knew we would be trained by our hiring facility if it was required. Many things just take time and practice.

[lilia123]

I felt incompetant just after leaving nursing school. i took a job completely not in nursing for about 6 months just to regain my composure from the stress i felt in nursing school. During that time, i evaluated what kind of settings i was drawn to. I realized that i was drawn to community settings, since i found the hospital clinical settings a bit overwhelming to me. we are not made the same, and each of us has different gifts and talents. So my first job was at a planned parenthood, it was a good place for me to get my feet wet, and I learned i love to teach. from there i went on to supervising home health aides, pediatric private duty, homeless shelter and school nursing. I also took physical assessment courses to keep up my skills.

you have alot of good advice, but most importantly you should listen to your heart to decide what your next step will be.:heartbeat

[lsphelps1953]

My skills sucked, I constantly screwed up med orders, and I had huge, gaping gaps in my knowledge, but I graduated and then passed the NCLEX (because I do very well on tests).

You sound like a good nurse to be. None of us knew what we were doing when we first got into "real" nursing. I too, would prefer to work with a nurse who asks questions and cares than one who knows all the answers. Trust me, nobody knows all the answers. It's scary, you just need to get in and do it. And, hospital nursing may not be your thing. I did it for one year after I graduated and haven't been back in 35 years! If you ever STOP worrying about your skills, that's when to worry. Make the policies and procedures manuel your best friend. Ask questions, and stop being so hard on yourself. You know more than you think and you will get what you need to on the job. Really! And, never let them see you sweat!

[MeldogRN]

My how I wish you had written about your insecurities over a year ago! I felt the exact same way! I was TERRIFIED to give a bed bath when I graduated, never mind anything else! On top of that, by the time I took my NCLEX exam, 17 out of 32 of my classmates had already FAILED! The school I went to was put on probation and almost lost it's accredidation that year! I was not surprised, I had gone to the director of the program, the dean of the school, and even the president of the university to complain about how the courses were being taught. But, I passed the NCLEX, first try. That was 10 years ago. My first job was at a pediatric rehab facility, on a respiratory rehab floor. The first day I was supposed to take care of a pateint by myself, I cried because I thought I was incompetent and couldn't possibly do it. Did I make mistakes? Sure did, some pretty big ones too, but I was ALWAYS HONEST about them and learned from them. Within a year I was no longer afraid to give a bed bath, was able to straight cath anyone, male or female, almost with my eyes closed and one hand tied behind my back, I could change trach ties on a squirming infant by myself, and I found myself precepting both new and experienced nurses. I moved on to neonatal intensive care, and I have since earned a Master's degree and most recently, a certification as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner. In some ways I feel like I am back at square one, but I overcame it before, and I know I will again.

GOOD LUCK! I know you can do it!

[lily1289]

If it makes you feel any better, i had ZERO clinical skills after i graduated. On my first job, i asked a lot of help from my coworkers and while most of them wouldn't give me the time of day, some were so helpful, kind and supportive so after a few months, i learned to perform a lot of clinical skills that i never got a chance to do at school. What got me through was i wasn't afraid to ask for help when i need it.

[merrywhiterose]

Another idea is to get a job at a Nursing Home. You mostly pass out pills, & get enough clinical experience to make you more competent. I got my license in June & have worked in a Nursing Home since then. I've learned a LOT of clinical skills!

[kerrie3]

I completely understand what you"re going through.... this is the only minute of the day i have felt sane after reading all this comments and know am not the only one who feels incompetent and no longer worth being called a nurse.

Im a foreign educated nurse and having graduated in 2009 and immediatly relocating to the states been here just two years it took me an year to get my trascipts evaluated and to get the greenlight to take my boards, i studied hard for my boards and actaully passed last year August. I thought finding a job would be easy however i've had to go though dissapointmesnt of employers telling me i dont qualify coz of the gap between my grauation and now. I recently got hired in a nursing home and am just about to finish my seven days orientation and am on my own on the floor, i don't know what to do i feel like i should just quit early enough coz i feel incompetent and rusty having been out of school two years and not practicing i feel like i've lost alot of my skills plus in my country of study alot of the equipments we have here are not available there and they are all new tome we have them theoretically but not practically. Im a bright person but lately i dont feel thats way, i don't want to put anyones life at risk, am even wondering if i was meant to be a nurse in the first place or i should just go ahead and change my career i don't know what to do am really getting frustrated and stressed out.. i find myself crying for hours trying to figure the way forward . i need some advice please help.....