New grads, once of orientation....

jo1828 · Jan 19, 2011

I work on a cardiac stepdown floor and am almost 4 months off orientation now (can't believe that!) and went through feeling incompetent, worrying about not being able to see the "big picture," worrying about asking stupid questions...and there are still good and bad days. A very experienced nurse told me it takes 2 years to start feeling comfortable (although you should never feel TOO comfortable) so i remind myself of that. Also, it is helpful to think in any given situation, "what would a prudent nurse do right now?"

Floor nursing is different than nursing school, and the only way to get good at it is experience. Experienced nurses make mistakes too, i have seen it firsthand. It is just part of the job, part of being human. It is a relief knowing others are feeling the same things--i know we all feel isolated in our incompetence sometimes, but if you are ever unsure of anything, just ASK, people will respect you for knowing your limits and being safe.

llltapp · Jan 20, 2011

yep. the most important thing to know is what you don't know

eyeball · Jan 20, 2011

How were your first few shifts on your own? How long did it take you to lose the constant feeling of dread and fear? Please let me know your experience!

I had a pretty crappy orientation and had to function independently without knowing how to do very much from the get-go. I had to scavenge the floor to find people to help me constantly and it slowed me down a lot and led to helpful observations by my preceptor (who was too busy most of the time doing other things)that she wasn't sure I was going to make it because my time management was poor. It was a horrible and difficult four months and by the end my confidence was in the toilet. I've been off orientation for two weeks and it is sooooooooo much better. I am very practiced at asking for help from other nurses anyway and I don't have the added stress of a preceptor who both breathed down my neck to go faster, faster, faster and remind me of my deficiencies and then would be absent, too impatient, or too busy to walk me through the skills.

So for me, being off orientation is a breeze compared with the previous four months. But everyone's experience is different.