New Grads after 6 months: How do you feel?

[RNcDreams]

I've hit the 6 month mark.......and the warm-fuzzy feelings that I had toward the end of my preceptorship have evaporated.

Before work, I now find myself feeling anxious, nauseated, and afraid....yet hopeful.

I think this is for a variety of reasons:

1. There is no longer a preceptor by my side to encourage, guide, and safeguard

2. I'm adjusting to the lack of bathroom breaks, meal breaks, and rest

3. I'm coming face to face with my inadequacies--there are so many meds to know, so many different patient presentations, so much paperwork, so many personalities to work with, and so many "different" family members to answer to

4. I am hating the fact that I can't get through a day without messing something up and feeling like an idiot

5. I am horrified at how easy it is to make serious errors

6. I am frightened by the amount of responsibility this job entails, yet I am proud of myself for attaining it

Is this a common way to feel at this point? I've heard over and over "after your first year, you'll feel much better."

Is there such a thing as the 6 month slump?

[SarahLerie]

After 6 months I feel the same way! I think that's normal. There are a lot of fears in this job. Lives in our hands. It's hard work! And we'll always be learning something.

BUT I also feel like I have come a long ways! I have learned a lot! We have student nurse's on our floor and some have shadowed me on a patient or 2. It reminds me of how I used to be, and how far I've come. Luckily, I'm in a great work environment where I have a lot of support. So I'm not afraid to ask questions. I am constantly looking things up and researching when I get home over things that I do not know. Trying to soak up and learn as much as possilbe!

Don't worry, your fears and feelings are normal (in my opinion) but think of how far you have come... and how far you will go! You only limit yourself on how much you can learn. Cliche, but true.

Best wishes!

[kythe, LPN]

I have now been an LPN for 6 months. I feel so much more confident in many basic skills than I ever thought I would be at first, and I am much better at time management. I can see myself having come a long way already.

Yet, I still seem to make mistakes on a daily basis. I keep thinking that if I am still messing up this much after 6 months, how bad must I have been in the beginning without even realizing it?

I am going back to school for RN next year, so by the time I graduate I will already have 2 years of nursing experience as an LPN. I am sincerely hoping that this will help me in future jobs. There are certain mistakes I know I won't make as a new-grad RN, if only because I have already made them.

[nurseby07]

I'm just past the 6th month mark and feel your pain. I hate going to work but like it when I'm there. It disturbed me when my business-world best friend said the other day "I'm worried about you because you hate your job so much." I don't hate it, I just am worn out. I feel like I'm in the groove, fast, talkative, up-beat and a good nurse. I also feel like I am exhausted. 3 nights on, 2 off, 3 on, 7 off, each day counting down how many I have to go.

Here's what I love:

1)my patients & families

2)my manager

3)most of my coworkers

4)my hospital

I hate:

1)my pts and families

2)my manager

3)most of my coworkers

4) my hospital

I get so emotional the 2nd and 3rd nights. I can handle a lot but when lazy coworkers are always on the internet while the rest of us run our *&^ off, this makes me nuts.

The night shift is nice but people get crude and very sarcastic and I get stupid hormonal feelings hurt when they make comments about everyone, and about me.

I called my husband and said "I'm going to look for another job" but how can I leave when I am finally in the nursing groove here? i don't know. Dealing with people is both a blessing and a curse. Being exhausted just adds to the drama. I hate that. Can you tell I just woke up from 3 on???

[BetterMeRN]

I have not hit the six month mark yet only three months and counting. First and foremost I love nursing, but it is the most demanding job I've ever had. I'm still on orientation so I get lots of help, but sometimes I feel it's a blessing and a curse. My preceptor picks up what I usually forget.... what if she's not there who'll do it?

I can't even get to know my patients and all the meds their taking. The other day the Doc said make sure she gets the Neurontin...she's getting that for the herpes on her arm. I've been touching her gloveless for how long now??

I've only successfully put in one IV, which the patient pulled out thirty minutes later. Giving report is like..."Ah....and,...ah what else". I still forget to clamp the tubing for the IV's before I open them so now the solution just comes squirting out everywhere.

The other day the patient's family was watching while I suctioned her Mom, had no idea what I was doing luckily she didn't know. I stress out about giving medications on time, now 10 and 12 o'clock meds are given at the same time.

Hopefully it will get better, I do want to learn how to handle myself when my preceptor goes. I often get alot of thanks from my patients and some are sad to see me leave, a few have requested to ask me to be their nurse if they ever come back......guess I'm doing some things right.

Good Luck to us all.

[MissERN]

There are days I wish I'd wreck on the way to work just so I could miss a day. !

Oh My Goodness! I thought I was the only person who ever thought that!

I'm in my 5th month and have had every one of the emotions described in previous posts. Countless days I cried all day before I went to work and then I would cry on my way to the hospital...thankfully I was able to hold it together once I got inside the hospital. I remember sitting in the parking garage many a morning trying to get the tears to stop flowing. I do not say this to depress or scare anyone, but just to say that if you feel this way you aren't alone. The good news is that now I love my job! Hang in there...it will get better.

I did an intern program, so basically I did med/surge/telemetry for about 4 months and then I did 2 weeks ICU and 2 in the ER. I hated my job...until I got to ER. Since I have been in the ER, there has not been one day that I have cried because of work!!! (Ok, with that said, tomorrow is my last day of orientation, so someone needs to ask me next week whether I have cried yet...haha!) Of course, I'm nervous to be off of orientation...there are so many different situations that I haven't encountered.

Hang in there new grads - We are in this together! We will all survive and hopefully there won't be too many more mornings that we hope to wreck our cars...haha!

[nurseby07]

I have not hit the six month mark yet only three months and counting. First and foremost I love nursing, but it is the most demanding job I've ever had. I'm still on orientation so I get lots of help, but sometimes I feel it's a blessing and a curse. My preceptor picks up what I usually forget.... what if she's not there who'll do it?

I can't even get to know my patients and all the meds their taking. The other day the Doc said make sure she gets the Neurontin...she's getting that for the herpes on her arm. I've been touching her gloveless for how long now??

I've only successfully put in one IV, which the patient pulled out thirty minutes later. Giving report is like..."Ah....and,...ah what else". I still forget to clamp the tubing for the IV's before I open them so now the solution just comes squirting out everywhere.

The other day the patient's family was watching while I suctioned her Mom, had no idea what I was doing luckily she didn't know. I stress out about giving medications on time, now 10 and 12 o'clock meds are given at the same time.

Hopefully it will get better, I do want to learn how to handle myself when my preceptor goes. I often get alot of thanks from my patients and some are sad to see me leave, a few have requested to ask me to be their nurse if they ever come back......guess I'm doing some things right.

Good Luck to us all.

Oh how funny! Your shift report sounds like mine! Also the iv clamping, I swear I have it down, but it never fails that it squirts all over my fresh bed change on the most painful person in the world!!!!!!!!!!

[SCgirl22]

I have definitely hit a slump after about 7 months on the job on a busy medical floor. While I know realistically that I HAVE come a long way since my first day, I still feel like a failure so many nights! My floor in the hospital is adjacent to the locked down psychiatric floor and last night I joked with one of my coworkers about how if things didn't get better soon I may lose it and they will have to come visit me next door. He laughed- only I wasn't totally joking!

Many nights I realize that I've been at work 12 hours and had nothing to drink, haven't been to the bathroom, and I'm STILL behind! I too, have found myself wishing I was legitimately sick or in an accident just so I wouldn't have to go back to that place! But it seems like just when I start to lose all hope, I have a night filled with wonderful patients and I feel like I really made a difference for them. Those are the ones that keep me going.

Hang in there everyone, surely things will get better. And with nursing we are lucky that there will always be another path to take if we find ourselves stuck in a rut!

[cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN]

Oh, it will get better!

All of your feelings (including the car wreck on the way to work!) are normal.

I found that it got better around the year mark. Then as each day passes, your confidence increases as does your knowledge. Soon, you will have an epiphany and think, "OMG, when did I stop hating work so much?"

Soon the drives home in tears will stop.

Soon you will stop hating yourself for forgetting to chart a med or assessment.

Soon you won't feel bad for saying "no, I can't come to the phone right now" and allow the pharmacy or lab to wait.

Soon you will just allow yourself to be a nurse, and just accept that you are not, nor ever will be perfect.

Then, things will get so much better.

[ArtOfNursing]

I thought I was going crazy....So did my husband! Now I know I'm not crazy...or maybe we all are, JK.

[Young28]

I feel the same, on top of all that you have to deal with nurses that eat thier young I'm dealing with one of those issues right now, jeez!!

[Valerie Salva, BSN, RN]

Originally Posted by PiPhi2004

There are days I wish I'd wreck on the way to work just so I could miss a day. !

I've been a nurse for 17 years, and sometimes I still think the car wreck thing!

[CABG patch kid, BSN, RN]

I've only successfully put in one IV, which the patient pulled out thirty minutes later. Giving report is like..."Ah....and,...ah what else". I still forget to clamp the tubing for the IV's before I open them so now the solution just comes squirting out everywhere.

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that poured some sort of IV solution all over the floor, lol. One time, I even started the IVPB infusion before the tubing was hooked up to the patient! Luckily the patient was sleeping and didn't notice his student nurse was making herself look stupid, lol.

Well I guess we all make silly mistakes, its nice to hear that other people are going through the same things. As long as it doesn't harm the patient, we can laugh at our mistakes