nervous almost new grad

IamRN · Jan 10, 2004

First of all, graduating and passing boards only provides some assertion that one is minimally safe to work as a nurse. Strange, huh? So, no you will not know everything when you graduate, or when you have years of experience. There are always new considerations (medical technologies, meds, etc.), different patients w/different and complex histories.

Don't be nervous about that and don't be afraid (or feel bad) to say that you are not sure or don't know what the answer is. Do, however, always make an effort to find out.

Heartattaq · Jan 10, 2004

Hey sox,

I am in the same boat as you and know exactly what you are going through. I graduate in May, and have started having the same feelings you are.

All through college I was a very confident student. I got A grades and excelled at clinical practice. But now that I am closer to graduate, I am feeling like I don't know the answers and am extremely worried that I will not succeed when it really counts. I am also afraid that I will not put signs and symptoms together and recognise there is a problem with a patient. I talked this over with one of my clinical instructors ( an absolutely amazing one at that).

She explained to me that what I was (and you are) experiencing is completely normal, and in fact it indicates that your thinking has moved to the next level. You are starting to question yourself and your skills. But the key is to keep doing what got you here. Keep asking questions no matter how off the wall they are, keep researching, and learn all you can from your preceptors and you will do fine.

pie123 · Jan 10, 2004

Originally posted by sox04
Hey everyone,
This is my first time writing anything on here. I just stumbled across this site a few days ago and since then have just been reading so many of your posts and all of the wonderful advice I have found. I am a senior nursing student and will be graduating in May, and I am pretty nervous. It's just that people will ask me questions because "you're the nurse" and I feel like I have trouble explaining things to them and sometimes just don't even know the answer at all about what they're asking me. Did this happen to any of you? It's just that sometimes I feel like I'm not going to be a good nurse because I am having trouble with this. I do fine on all of my exams, I pretty much always get B's, but I feel like this is because it's multiple choice and that the answer is there to choose.
Some of my friends in my class tell me they feel the same way, but I feel like they know more than they are letting on. Am I just being silly and I really do know more than I think, or should I be able to explain things better by now? Thank you for any ideas about this or any other advice you may have, I LOVE getting good advice! Thank you!!

Nothing.

bellehill, RN · Jan 10, 2004

sox04&heartattaq:

After being out of nursing school for over 2 years I still feel that way sometimes. The most important thing I learned from one of my clinical instructors was "Know what you don't know". If you don't know the answer ask and then you will know the next time. No one expects you to know everything just because you graduated and passed your boards (however I was amazed and how much came back to me and made sense once I started practicing). You will do fine, find a resource nurse and ask questions. Nobody knows everythings no matter how long they have been a nurse (and don't let anyone tell you otherwise ).

sox04 · Jan 10, 2004

Thank you! :)

Agnus · Jan 10, 2004

In the first semester of school I had an instructor tell us. You already know more than the patient.

Remeber that.

You may not have all the answers. You have some of them. People will allow you to not be able to answer everthing. They will not forgive you if you are not honest though.

You really can explain a lot more than you give yourself credit for. Try practicing immaginary senerios. Say I asked you what hepatitis is. I know you know the answer. Rehearsal will allow you to explain this to the patient.

Remember the patient understanding is very limited so explain in the simplest terms. It does not take al the indepth knowledge that you have to do that.

I ask you for advice about something think about what you do know on the subject.

It is OK to tell someone that you don't have a complete picture of thier situation needed to answer the question. They will probably tell you in response they are just looking for some general info which you certainly can give. Infact this lets you off the hook as you can be very general and brief.

Sometime people ask questions that you could not possibly answer. I have been asked what it is like to die. Upon asking a patient what they need they turn it around and say I am the nurse I should tell them. Well I don't know if they need to talk, need a drink or a pain med. etc. Sometimes patients put too much on you when they need to take some responsibility for identifying thier own needs.

The more educating you do the better you will become and the more comfortable you will be with it.

Some times they ask things the Md should be answering. It is fine to say you do not know and then direct them to a resource or tell them you will find out the answer.

You already knew more as a first semester student than the patient. You now know a lot more. Please, recognize that you did not spend all this time in school without learning a a lot. They generally are not looking for the level of understanding you have. They just need some very basic info which you can give.

If the question is in appropriate or misdirected. You can address that too. Just be honest. Don't try and fake it.

A questlon about how long it will take to die is inappropriate and you can let them know this is not someting you would even dare venture a guess. Kindly explain the wide range of variation and there is no way you can predict it.

Do I need stiches? And your are not sure suggest they see thier doctor.

Should I call an ambulance, and you don't know tell them to call an ambulance.

Always err on the side of caution.

Will it get infected? Tell them how to prevent infection. You have no way of predicting if they actually will but you can given them info to reduce the risk.

Noney · Jan 11, 2004

I think a nurse, new or seasoned, that isn't nrevous is the biggest threat.

I think you'll do fine.

Noney