Nervousness

Tiffy,

I am sorry but I laughed out loud when I read your post! :chuckle Were we nervous...are you kidding??? I'd be worried about you if you WEREN'T nervous!! Yep...I think I can speak for the great majority of nurses in that many of us weren't just nervous but completely scared to death. It is natural to feel that way and honestly, you'll probably be on and off nervous for awhile...it takes some time to feel comfortable with all of the new skills you will be learning.

You are correct too that the 2 yr programs or 4 yr programs don't really prepare you for this job. They teach you the vocabulary, the basic skills and how to THINK like a nurse but then you just have to wade into the deep water and learn the craft of nursing. Being a nurse is a wonderful thing and I personally wouldn't trade it for any other career but it takes time to learn it. Give yourself permission to be clumsy and slow and know that every single one of us was where you are now! You will be fine.

Good luck!

yep....exactly as Wren said.

I was very nervous after my 4 year program.

Yes...I felt stupid often. But I was okay with that...(its all NEW stuff!)

Ask lots of questions and don't do anything you are not sure of.

Remember that every nurse was new at one time. You will do fine.

Let us know how you are doing and congrats on your job!

Thank you guys so much for letting me know that I am not alone. I know that I need to be nervous because if your not nervous then that is scary because obviously you think you know it all, and that is very dangerous in nursing.

The thing I have always said is that what makes a good nurse is knowing what you know and knowing what you don't know, the patient is the #1 priority and you never want to do anything you are unsure of that could cause injury to the patient.

I will let you guys know how the job goes, I am just really excited to start working again. I have been off since march because the last semester of the program was too hectic to continue working, luckily me and my husband were in the situation that I could stop working. But now it is just driving me crazy I am ready to start working.....

Yep...I've been in healthcare 5.5 years...and I feel like I'm brand new to the field! I'd be worried if we weren't nervous! It's important to just check things out as they happen...and know we won't catch everything right away! No matter how hard we try....

One of our techs the other day made a comment that I'll be a great nurse, especially once I lose the "nervousness." I was actually almost proud of the comment, and explained to her that as new nurses it's normal for us to be nervous -- because we're continuously wandering into new patient situations and need to be on our guard.

A bit of nervousness is a good thing -- and believe me, I've experienced plenty of "nerves" myself. Still do, even off orientation and about 9 months into it now. It's all still new . .everyday I learn something new and see a new patient situation.