I don't know if i'm fit for this profession... I'm a new grad who started working on an orthopedics unit and i just feel... discouraged! I am so stressed before I start my work day, and when i leave my mind is running around thinking of all the things i might have missed.. The other day, i made a really careless med error giving a higher dose than was needed. I was so disappointed in myself that the 5 R's had eluded me at that one moment i was lucky that there were no adverse effects, but i felt terrible for the patient and myself. The other nurses told me not to worry about it; that they had done many careless things throughout their career... But for me, my day went downhill from there.. i felt like a nervous wreck.. and it hit me: this career holds so much responsibility and there is VERY little room for error. I think the nurses on the unit can see it on my face that I feel anxious, and they are so great! offering me their assistance and letting me know not to be shy to ask for help.. my patient load is on the easy side (5-6 who are relatively stable) to allow me to transition from school to work,.. honestly, i have been told several times that my floor is known for it's kind staff, but I feel that even in such a supportive environment, maybe i'm just not cut out for it... I have read many posts about the ridiculous hours some nurses work, and the catty nurses who make their lives hell, or the condescending Dr's.. i haven't quite experienced that at all! Most of my colleagues have been great, no rude Dr's ..yet, haven't dealt with the "politics" really and the head nurse has given me a really flexible schedule - only days, at the moment. I think what it boils down to is ambiguity of this profession; not being able to read Dr's orders (handwriting), getting used to normal "abnormal" values, encountering new diagnosis, procedures, and meds everyday, different patients with unique and difficult characters, Dr's orders that get slipped in middle of the shift and only noticed at the end of my shift , pt's and families with multiple inquiries that i just can't answer, people in pain, people i have to consult with... the list goes on. I was contemplating quitting and trying the OR where the skills may be more redundant but i might feel more confident in.. but I just feel terrible leaving this job after only 5 weeks, and my pride doesn't make it easier :S I thought nursing was for me because I thought I loved caring for people but now that's it's become a profession i'm payed for and i've become ultimately responsible for pt's lives , i find myself feeling miserable and inadequate and STRESSED out. not healthy!
sorry for the long rant! any advice would be greatly appreciated..
I too am a new nurse and I have been having the worst time ever. I feel like I am constantly walking on egg shells. I get so nervous going to work that I actually have started to cry the day before I have to work. I work in a telemetry unit and I have only been on my own for about 8 shifts and I already had 3 med errors, two of them on the same day. I am so afraid of losing that license that I worked and prayed so hard to get. I do have the more experienced nurses on the unit telling me that I can ask them for help, but how do I ask for help when I don't know that I am making a mistake? Truth be told, I did not want to work in Med/Surg. My first love was either pediatrics or L&D. However, I heard from so many people that it would be best for me to have at least one year of experience in Med/Surg that I decided to do it for the year and then branch out. Now I believe I have made a horrible mistake. I may even have made a mistake being a nurse. I feel so stressed out and I am so deathly afraid of making a mistake that would kill someone. I do the night shift, because I thought it would be easier for me, but it turned out to be just as hard. I am thinking of quitting the hospital and going into home care, or maybe quitting the profession altogether. I don't know what to do, or where to turn to anymore.
Take a nice deep breath. Many med errors occur because the person was in a hurry. I'm sure you must feel overwhelmed on your own, and you are trying to do everything right, all on time. It's better to slow down at med time. Do the checks you were taught in nursing school.
Do you have a good shift organizing sheet? On mine, I put a spot for med times on the far left side. All I have to do is glance at my sheet & see when meds are due. On top of that, I flip through the med sheets three times (first thing in the morning, midway through the shift, and the end of shift) to make sure I caught everything.
Make sure you are getting enough sleep, and throw some relaxation technicques into your day. If you walk into work a nervous wreck, mistakes are more likely to happen. Although you want to avoid mistakes, it's also important to realize that you aren't perfect, and you are working with sick people, so your day will be unpredictable.
Most of all, realize that you aren't alone. It takes at least a year to settle into your first nursing job. Take it one task at a time, one day at a time, and you will be fine. Plus, talk to those more experienced nurses who offerred help. They are there to give support -- even when you aren't sure that you have a question. :wink2:
i feel the same way-I've been on a super busy med/surg unit (40 pts- 1:7 or 1:8 nurse pt. ratio) and am sending my resume out to jobs in my original field of study b/c I can't take the work environement I'm in.
I HATE going to work. I have been on the floor working days for 1 1/2 months now with a preceptor and am totally made to feel incompetent most times.
i've handled a 4 pt. load (4 medium/higher acuity pts) and can juggle a mix of 5. w/ 4 lower acuity pts I have several hrs to spare in my day...In some ways my preceptor slows me down-she wants things done HER way and she's always chatting w/ people and I have to wait on HER most times but she makes it seem like it goes the other way.
I mean I independently call the pharmacy for missing meds, notify docs myself about pt conditions-get questionable orders changed and do a decent job at charting but I'm made to feel as if im so SLOW. Some charting is subjective!!!! but she insists some of my assessments are wrong.
Am I slow? I've only done one successful IV start in a pt with good veins but I feel like i'm criticized for things I can't control----how am I supposed to be fast when nurses hide med pumps,or there aren't even enought IV poles or pulse oximetry machines??? Or the pharmacy hasn't yet sent up the necessary meds????
whatever, i can't take going to work any more and being made to feel like an idiot (it's affecting my health, b/c I've come down with a nasty chest cold and a fever in just this 1 month) -also, my preceptor asked me what was taking me so long w/ my pts in the morning and why i hadn't given them all their meds yet-and I said i wanted to physically asess everyone first-b/c doling out meds was easier. she replied: "physically assess them...for what??"
was I doing the wrong thing????? I thought that's what you're supposed to do??
anyway,my stress levels are so high and i feel like my health is going down the toilet-i'm sick right now and don't feel well enuf to go to work tomorrow-but I want to slog thru it to get it over with.
I must say i had very little of the stress ya'll are having... it may be because i turned 40 after nursing school and had a bunch of life experience behind me.. but i can sympathize i mentor new grads now and have only been an R.N, for 3 yrs... i see the worry and this is in the I.C.U.... but i tell all my grads that this is just a one night at a time job, everything is different some nights, and sometimes you get the same pt's back, but you have to say to yourself, "self, you can survive 8,12,16 hours of anything knowing that you get to go home and leave it all behind"
on my days off I usually forget that i am a nurse (coping mechanism #1) I always take my time no matter how rushed i may feel (coping mechanism #2) when i first started, I did each pt's meds one at a time, and if i was working med-surg and had 6 pt's and it took me past the 2hrs allotted to give meds, i did not sweat it, just do your best . and call who you need to call or fill out the form you need to fill out.
it is easier sometimes to ask forgiveness than permission
as far as organization, i always go in right after report look at my pt's, greet them, check I.V's, monitor, alarms, then check meds.
THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR JOB IS THE PATIENT!!!!!
administration makes you feel it is the paperwork...well hang that, if i get through the night and my pts are alive and well cared for that is what matters, if i have to stay late for charting...BONUS!!! I am still getting paid.....
it is a tough world the world of nursing but not because of the job itself, it is what we inherited, from Administrations, and Old-crusty-chew-em-up-and-spit-em-out Nurses. remember, they will be gone soon enough and we will be setting standards.
Learn to stick up for you Nurses license... if your assignment is dangerous...refuse it.... if you do it before you take report, they cannot take your license, despite admin hinting at the precariousness of your job.....sheesh... you have the best in the world, you can get another one an hour later, let them know that....
Make a Goal......
I tell all my orientees to grow thier pair of Nesticles (nursing testicles) ASAP... cause if you do not this job can grind you up. i do not have to remind you that the attrition rate for nurses is 2 years. I made that my goal, make it 2 years... make it 2 years.... When i hit that milestone I knew i could survive Nuclear holocaust.......
y'all can rise above, none of us is gonna go through anything any worse than our predecessors....man, those early nurses HAD to be TOUGH!!!!
you know the horror, did everything by drips, uniforms, ***hole doctors that where pigs, nightly massages, claculations out the wazoo, mixing your own meds.......etc
i hope this encourages yall
i have been a nurse for only 3 years, and already am being asked to be charge on a 30 bed I.C.U., but have said no because i will do what is best for me, my license and my fellow nurses.
Chin up.... keep up the good fight.....IT REALLY DOES GET BETTER.....:smiley_ab
Give it time. Nursing school DOES NOT prepare you for actual nursing. I'm in my 8th month of nursing and of course I still feel incompetent often, but it is getting better with time. You won't be perfect now (or ever) but just give it your best shot and when things get crazy, take a few deep breaths and tell yourself it will work out. And know you're definitely not alone feeling like this!
We've all been through what your going through...I've been in nursing 2 years and still can't read Dr's handwriting...Don't quit....there's so much you can do with nursing...try something outside the hospital...I went to work at a long term acute care hospital...it was great...slower paced most of the time, less doctors to deal with, and the staff was great. Good Luck and hope you find that right position.
I was just like u when I first started, I have to say it does get a lot better as you become familiar to yur environment and expectations.......really, just hang in there..... it does get better, honest, plus you've worked soooo hard to get where you are, just give it a chance.
yes we are all experiencing the same feelings.. i just started working as a new grad. currently im on my last 2 weeks of internship and i was going crazy and having anxiety attacks dreading to go to work the first 2-3 weeks..first of all i requested a change in preceptor because the first one was too fast paced and also i just remember to tell myself .. take a deep breath and calm down (even if i have to go to the restroom to be alone!) we are all in the same boat and reading these replies has given me a sense of wellness that it does get better and easier. i was so eager to start working right after graduation.. but once i actually was on the floor i too doubted at times if this was for me,. but i guess just taking our time and one day at a time are key. everyday we are learning, esp in this career.. thanks all for the advise to us newbies, greatly appreciated!
I am also a mew grad who has been on an ortho med/surg with lots of post op .only 1 week and I feel so STRESSED.My precepter is very nice but is not a very good teacher it is like she does not know what to do with me.I have cried the last week when I get home there is so much to learn and when I try to tell my spouse about it he does not get it I am responcible for lives! they want me ready to be on my own in 10 weeks with 6 pt .i feel so low right now.I feel like I have forgooten everything I ever learned in school.please help ps med surg was not where I wanted to start but I live in a smal town and the only oopenings were med surg,I am going to give it more time but after a few more monthes if I still feel like this can I should I go to managr and ask for transfer to diffeent area maybe oR.PACU ?thanks
i was lucky that there were no adverse effects, but i felt terrible for the patient and myself. The other nurses told me not to worry about it; that they had done many careless things throughout their career... But for me, my day went downhill from there.. i felt like a nervous wreck.. and it hit me: this career holds so much responsibility and there is VERY little room for error. I think the nurses on the unit can see it on my face that I feel anxious, and they are so great! offering me their assistance and letting me know not to be shy to ask for help.. my patient load is on the easy side (5-6 who are relatively stable) to allow me to transition from school to work,.. honestly, i have been told several times that my floor is known for it's kind staff, but I feel that even in such a supportive environment, maybe i'm just not cut out for it... I have read many posts about the ridiculous hours some nurses work, and the catty nurses who make their lives hell, or the condescending Dr's.. i haven't quite experienced that at all! Most of my colleagues have been great, no rude Dr's ..yet, haven't dealt with the "politics" really and the head nurse has given me a really flexible schedule - only days, at the moment. I think what it boils down to is ambiguity of this profession; not being able to read Dr's orders (handwriting), getting used to normal "abnormal" values, encountering new diagnosis, procedures, and meds everyday, different patients with unique and difficult characters, Dr's orders that get slipped in middle of the shift and only noticed at the end of my shift 
DreamingTree
69 Posts
Take a nice deep breath. Many med errors occur because the person was in a hurry. I'm sure you must feel overwhelmed on your own, and you are trying to do everything right, all on time. It's better to slow down at med time. Do the checks you were taught in nursing school.
Do you have a good shift organizing sheet? On mine, I put a spot for med times on the far left side. All I have to do is glance at my sheet & see when meds are due. On top of that, I flip through the med sheets three times (first thing in the morning, midway through the shift, and the end of shift) to make sure I caught everything.
Make sure you are getting enough sleep, and throw some relaxation technicques into your day. If you walk into work a nervous wreck, mistakes are more likely to happen. Although you want to avoid mistakes, it's also important to realize that you aren't perfect, and you are working with sick people, so your day will be unpredictable.
Most of all, realize that you aren't alone. It takes at least a year to settle into your first nursing job. Take it one task at a time, one day at a time, and you will be fine. Plus, talk to those more experienced nurses who offerred help. They are there to give support -- even when you aren't sure that you have a question. :wink2: