new grad

[NurseJohns]

I am graduating the first week of May and currently doing 120 hours of precepting. I have to admit that I feel absolutly overwhelmed. I could have swore I had my ducks in a row but now I feel like I know NOTHING. After hours, days, months of studying with no life and not one single grasp on the "outside world" (that doesnt consist of nursing)...I constantly ask myself " whoa, are you sure about this?" Im mean really?!?

Whats the deal? Did anyone feel like after nursing school they felt unprepared, unsure, and lost?

When will I gain confindence? I keep telling myself that I can do it, just slow down and remember lessons taught in school....but honestly, nursing school is nothing like the "real world of nursing" OMG!!!

advise plz!

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

my precepting experience made me feel more confident, but even after passing the NCLEX I still feel pretty incompetent. I've asked fellow nurses if this is a normal feeling and it is. I still have yet to find a job, but your new grad orientation and working with your preceptor at your place of employment is SO IMPORTANT. A lot of seasoned RN's that I work with say they didn't feel comfortable until about 6 months after starting. Nursing school equips you with the knowledge, but you actually do not "learn how to be a nurse" until you land that first job, go through orientation and work with a preceptor. It is a normal feeling. Don't feel discouraged!

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

From what everyone has told us, this is a completely normal feeling for a while after graduating. I start my practicum tomorrow, we are done with everything else. I feel like I am ready to be done with school, but at the same time, I feel like I don't know anything and have completely fooled all my teachers up to this point with passing! lol

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

I too am doing my preceptorship, and I was feeling very incompetent at the beginning. Last night, I was wishing I could get more hours than the minimum, but I have to be done in two weeks. I still feel incompetent. Then, I began comparing my experiences in the first week to my experiences this past week. I learned so much, and my competency has certainly grown. I know what to do in certain situations--and more importantly, I know why we do them--that I didn't know before except from a textbook.

Every minute spent nursing is a learning opportunity. I just hope I can take the speed at which I learn and understand to a job. I know I'll need it!

All this is to say...it's a normal feeling. If you get a chance, take a look at Benner's novice-to-expert theory and the research done on that. What we seniors are all feeling is completely normal. How we deal with it is what makes the difference between sinking or swimming.