New nurse feeling incompetent

americanlatina313 · Dec 10, 2008

we all make mistakes.....i bet you won't make the same ones again.
the key is learning from your mistakes & asking for help when you are overwhelmed.......do not ever hesitate to ask! if you don't think your coworkers will be helpful......call your charge!
if you do make an error own up to it.....and seek help for your pt if needed!
don't be too hard on yourself....just keep on learning!
btw... i am the question asking queen :)

you bet i won't make that mistake again!!! :no: definitely a learning experience. my only problem is that i don't know when i'm overwhelmed... i keep telling myself that it's gonna get better in just a little while. :icon_roll not necessarily. plus, i have to get over the "i'm gonna look like i can't handle it" mentality. :icon_roll nother way i feel incompetent, when i have to ask for help. but eventually i'll get over it, when i finally realize that i'm human too. :chuckle thanks! oh, and hopefully i'll catch up to you soon (question-asking queen!). :chuckle

americanlatina313 · Dec 10, 2008

you will definitely learn from your mistakes and will be a better nurse because of it! we all make mistakes, but at the end of the shift, you have to realize the good you have done for your pts and understand that there is a reason why we have other nurses working with us. i have made so many dumb mistakes in few months, but with each one, i learn that much more about myself and also about my pts. it is because of the mistakes i have made, that i feel that much more competent.
i had a pt the other day with h/o chf, not on lasix in hospital, active crackles that didnt clear with a cough and 2-3+ edema ble. when i first started, i would have just looked at it and said well they need their meds but this is expected becuase of chf. duh! well i looked through the meds and saw that she had no lasix even ordered (it was even d/c'd a day earlier by another md). questioned the md, but never got an order for lasix (definitely charted to cover my butt that day).
had another pt (38yo m) the day before that was admitted to our unit d/t c/o c/p (just wanted three hots and a cot) but was throwing frequent pvc's (had a low mag of 1.4...eek). mag was given and gi cocktail was prescribed by cardiologist to r/o cardiac c/p. i had never given the cocktail before, so i didn't know that our pharmacy was to mix it. when it showed up on my med screen in the computer it just showed 20mg in 30ml viscous lidocaine and not the rest of the mixture (maalox and donnatol). so what did i do...i gave 30ml of lidocaine. btw, only supposed to give 10ml of lidocaine. after giving it to the pt, i caught my mistake and realized what i had done. i called the pharmacist and they advised me that nothing would likely happen, but to be cautious of a numb throat and cardiac changes (when i gave it to the pt, i advised him i was giving it to keep his heart in a nice rhythm). pt was ok, but did tell me that his "thwoat ithh nummmm" lol!!! needless to say, when i went home, he didn't have any pvc's

hehe, i loved that part, "when i went home, he didn't have any pvc's"!!! :yeah: but it is true, we learn from our mistakes. thank the lord that it's not over with the first boo-boo. :wink2: and yes, since my big mistakes, i've had pts say i was the best nurse! (granted, it was indirectly, but i got the message! ) so, i'm better now - sure, i am somewhat scared of being ditzy again, but now i'm asking several questions; hopefully this will help prevent future scares. :up: thanks again for your response! :up:

americanlatina313 · Dec 10, 2008

you "practice" a profession. iow you will be working on getting every day the rest of your working life. i think the trick is learning how to get further away from the near misses every day.

very true! "the trick is learning how to get further away from the near misses every day." thanks for the input! :up:

ps. what's iow?

nursein'training · Dec 19, 2008

well, i was just about to scream for help about the same issue. i feel like an idot and all that stuff that we learned in class went straight out the window. i have been a new nurse for day three tommorrow. all the old nurse have a routine and here i am trying to catch on and they look at you like you should have know this. i cried everyday that i came home this week. then every nurse has there on routine with patients, plus i am at a new facility i do not know any of the patient, the cena are always gone, you can't page them you have to go and find them. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! what the hell did i get myself into. incompetent is an under statement for me.

carolynbsn · Dec 19, 2008

Hi ladies,

just want those who are feeling anxious about being a novice nurse...I so feel your pain!!! I am sorry but I feel it too. People looking at you like you should know this stuff!!!

I wanted to comment because I am not there yet but I already have alot of anxiety about being a nurse. I have my pinning ceremony in 2 days and I dont' feel like I even deserve it. I don't feel like I had alot of clinical experiance in the last 2 years, my grades were fine but I am feeling so inadequate. I just had my practicum for the last month in the hospital and I felt like I was constantly confused and scared. Now I am afraid to get a job fearing I won't even make the orientation period.

I really want a solid orientation period and I don't mean stuck with a lead that is too busy with her own patients to help you. I don't feel comfortable just jumping into a position. I am so angry at myself for not being able to handle this. I am always second guessing my own judgements.

I wondered if you have any comments or feedback on new nurses being a hospice nurse. It is a position in an in-patient hospice house. I just was searching for new jobs and ran across this. I want to be at the hospital but I am scared to death of the "medical floor" with all the nightmare stories. I though this would be more low key for a nurse but maybe I have no idea what I am talking about. I did lose my mother to Cancer and we went through hospice. I know that doesn't qualitfy me but I feel I could handle death, dying and pallative care.

My question is what do you suggest for a first nursing job. I really don't mind where I start...my concern is just being oriented into the world and culture of nursing.

Up2nogood RN, RN · Dec 19, 2008

Hi ladies,
just want those who are feeling anxious about being a novice nurse...I so feel your pain!!! I am sorry but I feel it too. People looking at you like you should know this stuff!!!
I wanted to comment because I am not there yet but I already have alot of anxiety about being a nurse. I have my pinning ceremony in 2 days and I dont' feel like I even deserve it. I don't feel like I had alot of clinical experiance in the last 2 years, my grades were fine but I am feeling so inadequate. I just had my practicum for the last month in the hospital and I felt like I was constantly confused and scared. Now I am afraid to get a job fearing I won't even make the orientation period.
I really want a solid orientation period and I don't mean stuck with a lead that is too busy with her own patients to help you. I don't feel comfortable just jumping into a position. I am so angry at myself for not being able to handle this. I am always second guessing my own judgements.
I wondered if you have any comments or feedback on new nurses being a hospice nurse. It is a position in an in-patient hospice house. I just was searching for new jobs and ran across this. I want to be at the hospital but I am scared to death of the "medical floor" with all the nightmare stories. I though this would be more low key for a nurse but maybe I have no idea what I am talking about. I did lose my mother to Cancer and we went through hospice. I know that doesn't qualitfy me but I feel I could handle death, dying and pallative care.
My question is what do you suggest for a first nursing job. I really don't mind where I start...my concern is just being oriented into the world and culture of nursing.

I don't know about the area you live in but where I'm at a nurse has to have a minimum of 1 yr med/surg exp before they will even be considered for a hospice position. And it really does make sense b/c you have to know the norms of many types of pt's before you can recognize what's abnormal. I did a clinical rotation with hospice and it was overwhelming as a student.

I'm a new grad with one more week of orientation on a surg oncology floor but we do get medical and non oncology post ops. The first week was scariest but I only had one pt while I learned my way around meds and charting. You have to take it one shift at a time. At first I freaked when I saw I was only getting 4 weeks orientation but I've been taking 4 pts at night and managing to handle this w/out undue stress or problems. I'm fortunate to work on a floor where it's ok to ask ??'s and not be looked at like I'm an idiot.

Honestly, I was scared to death too. I felt like maybe I made a huge mistake. I was a CNA for 16 yrs and thought nursing was a piece of cake. But you gotta give yourself some credit, we wouldn't have made it this far if we weren't qualified. It feels so good to accomplish something I never thought I could. So my piece of advice-don't take the easy way out just b/c you're feeling insecure, everyone feels this way!

carolynbsn · Dec 19, 2008

Thanks for your comments susieQ72. I find that in my area they hire new grads to many areas without med/surg experiance just because they are needed. I called the hospice nurse position and she said they welcome new grads and orientation in 6 weeks. There is also a LPN and CNA to help you. I am considering it. I will see what happens. Thanks for your input...I know you are right I feel like I am trying to take an easy way out even though I image this job could be difficult without med/surg experience. I am praying for the Lord to open up a job for me because I know with his help I can be a good nurse and really be a blessing to my patients.

hellooonurse28 · Dec 20, 2008

I know pretty much everyone voiced the same opinion, but I was in the same place as you and still feel that way at times. Just remember you can't know EVERYTHING, and that mistakes do happen. Just do the best that you can, ask questions, and learn from mistakes. Nobody is perfect. There are many times where I feel like an idiot or absent minded...cut yourself some slack. I'm told it can take up to two years for a new nurse to feel completely comfortable with day to day happenings on the unit.

concflynn13 · Dec 20, 2008

hi deborah,

you are at the beginning of your nursing career. it is difficult to feel competent working with seasoned nurses. don't be afraid to ask questions. when we graduate, we don't have all the answers. when we have become seasoned nurses, we don't have all the answers. but we've learned thru school that we are supposed to have them. i remember how intimidated i was. i thought i was supposed to have all the answers. i learned thru time to ask.

we take on so much responsibility caring for our patients. with heavy assignments(or not) it's difficult to be with all of them all of the time. anything can happen so quickly. ex.-in one of the last years of my career, i had one patient in the tub room. another of my patients coded, but i couldn't hear it, so i was the last one to get to the room.

you can only be in one place at a time. if you don't know, ask. if you feel in over your head, ask for help. all of this happens to all of us all the way thru our careers. not one of us has earned the title of super nurse. we all do this best that we can, & ask for help when we need it if we are caring for our patients properly.

i'm glad you love what you are doing. i did, too. you really care, i can tell that in your post. give yourself time, be kind to yourself. you are human, not a machine. ahh, but a machine would not give the special care that you give.

i would be proud to have you for my nurse. wish my bandaid was a hug instead.

concflynn13