Nerves/shakes while performing nursing skills

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Hey all :)

I'm in my final year of nursing school and I'm a bit concerned..

While I'm doing nursing skills (dressings, injections etc) and someone is observing me, i get nervous and my hands start shaking really badly. I find it really humiliating. I'm afraid that this will interfere with my marks upon practical examination as it would show a lack of confidence. But when I'm by myself with just the patient I'm fine.

Has anyone been through this? And what have you told your mentors if asked about the shaking? Any advice is greatly appreciated :) Thank you

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This happened to me my last semester.

I spoke to my prof and she had me practice the tasks again and again.

Luckily she was approachable.

Practice your skills so often you can do them in your sleep.

Make sure you eat and sleep well before clinical.

Take a deep breath and concentrate on the task at hand, or on the patient.

Best of luck.

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Specializes in ICU.

My hands shake a lot normally. I keep it under control though while doing skills. Is it very obvious?? If it's something you can't control talk to your instructor.

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Specializes in ICU Stepdown.

I took a phlebotomy class and thought I was confident with the skills afterwards. Well, my first time drawing blood by myself my hands were shaking BAD. Luckily the lady I was drawing on was nice but it was still so embarrassing. Even practicing in class might not fix it, but once you actually do it "in real life" it'll eventually stop happening.

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Yes its quite obvious :/. When I'm doing it myself I'm fine. But exactly when someone comes in to observe me, I just start shaking and it's hard to control. I realise that it's performance anxiety. It's just when I get even a little bit nervous, my body likes to show it!

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I took a phlebotomy class and thought I was confident with the skills afterwards. Well, my first time drawing blood by myself my hands were shaking BAD. Luckily the lady I was drawing on was nice but it was still so embarrassing. Even practicing in class might not fix it, but once you actually do it "in real life" it'll eventually stop happening.

Ive been doing clinical for two years and im always shaking. But I guess it's because I know I'm a student and maybe I'm afraid of getting negative feedback.

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Specializes in Critical Care/Vascular Access.

Practice is really your only solution. Maybe even try to always find someone to come watch you so that you're used to it when the time comes to be assessed. Learn to just focus in on your task and shut the rest out for a few moments.

I would advise though that you do whatever you have to in order to adjust to it because you will find yourself in much more intimidating situations than just an instructor watching you. What's far more nerve wracking is an overprotective family member hovering over your shoulder watching your every move waiting for something to question or criticize. Or in a code situation when you're trying to start an IV (or whatever) under not only the pressure of a critical patient but also a room full of staff.

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I struggle with this, too. I get bigtime stage fright whenever the instructors are watching, esp. when the stakes are high (end of course check-offs, etc.) I started researching this a bit and have asked for help on this website. I have found the following suggestions to be helpful.

* Practice, practice, practice, so when you get nervous your "muscle memory" will kick in. Pay special attention to your critical items that you must do to pass the skill. Reheorifice every day.

* Talk to your profs ahead of time. Part of my anxiety comes from fear that my instructors will notice it, which in turn makes me shake even more. If you have already discussed your nerves with them, you don't have to worry about this as much. Also, think about this: So what if they notice you are shaky? You are a student and don't have to be perfect. You are not the first student they have had who was shaky.

* If you feel super anxious, acknowledge it. Let yourself feel it without putting a judgement on it. Breathe. Don't try to ignore it and act like you don't feel it...it may make things worse. Just let yourself feel it and breathe.

* Just pause if you need a moment. I think instructors are fine with students asking for a moment to collect their thoughts.

* Shift your focus away from your nerves and onto the task at hand. You got this!

Honestly, if you have made it this far, you are doing better than you are giving yourself credit for. Maybe you are being too hard on yourself. Also, the fact that you are nervous shows just how seriously you are taking your nursing education, which instructors appreciate, I'm sure. As others have said, when you are further in your career and have more experience, the nerves will subside.

Good luck!

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This happened to me throughout nursing school. I'm timid so when we had check offs I was red faced and shook. By the end of the year my confidence went up. But as long as I did things correctly I was fine. :)

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Specializes in Public Health, Med/Surg.

This happened to me too in nursing school. It sounds silly, but before going in the room I would shake my hands a couple times and take a few deep breaths. It really helped. Also, make sure you're eating enough. A couple times I realized my shaking was because I hadn't eaten or drank any water in hours. Even just a quick bite of a protein bar helps!

As posters above have mentioned, practice practice practice. This too will help ease anxiety and build confidence. Remember you are still learning and as you gain more experience, this anxiety will decrease :)

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