New nurse

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Please someone, tell me that it does get better.....i'm thinking about quitting my job every day, and i've only started my job 2 months ago.

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Specializes in Trauma Surgical ICU.

Without details its hard to say if what you are experiencing is a bad facility or the normal new grad blues. Yes, being a new nurse sucks. Yes, it gets better. Do a search on here, you are not alone and there are hundreds of posts from new nurses asking the same thing.

Stick with it. The first 6 months are the hardest.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Why exactly are you wanting to quit? Like the first poster said we need to know more details before we can give advice. The first year can be really rough.

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I feel like i didnt learn anything in nursing school, even though I used to be an above average student. I love what i do, but i don't feel good enough to do the job.

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Specializes in Trauma Surgical ICU.

You learned more than think, it will all come together in time.. Nursing school gives you a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Nursing is a life long learning, you will learn something new every single day :) When in doubt, ask. Unsure, ask. Sinking, ask for help.. Take care of yourself, do things you enjoy and learn to leave work at work..

Give yourself time and stick with it

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.
I feel like i didnt learn anything in nursing school, even though I used to be an above average student. I love what i do, but i don't feel good enough to do the job.

Honestly, that is normal for a new grad. Nursing school merely gives you a foundation; learning HOW to be a nurse, however, is learned mostly on the job. In nursing school, everything revolves around "the perfect scenario" or the "perfect patient." You have 1 patient and all the time in the world to do something but everyone knows that is not the case in the real world. There are a lot of gray areas in nursing and nursing school doesn't really teach you that.

Also, keep in mind that you are only 2 months in. Most do not feel comfortable until they have hit the 6 month mark. Some may not feel comfortable until they are closer to a year in. It's a huge learning curve as a new grad but with a proper orientation and a good preceptor, you will be successful. You just need to give it time.

Get a good brain sheet. Do a search here on AN and you'll find a plethora of them. A good brain is key to staying organized during your shift, imo!

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Specializes in Med/Surg,Cardiac.

As others have said, you need more time. Ask questions. Learn all you can. Repeat - ask questions.

What is your nurse patient ratio? What makes you feel so overwhelmed? What type of floor is it?

~ No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent -Eleanor Roosevelt ~

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Specializes in ER.

Get a support system. Learn who to call for what. Learn what questions you can answer on your own. For instance, med questions? Call the pharmacist! Resp problems? Do they have resp ordered? Call them! If not, call doc get an order and THEN call them (unless urgent, then call rapid response if you have that). Techs know more than what they're trained for or taught. They work with experienced nurses all the time. Trust them if you can. Ask them what they have seen other nurses do. They'll help you if you're good to them. Mainly take a lot of notes. Write down with check boxes what needs to be done. Prioritize always. Delegate. When you're caught up with a patient having issues and you need to call the doc and someone one needs to pee- Call the tech. Seriously. It's ok. Learn that you can't be friends with the techs. You be respectful to them but know they won't be you're friend. They'll respect you and help you if you're good to them but they will not want to go out with you after work. Accept it. Ask the charge nurse EVERYTHING... They may get annoyed but that's their job and one day you'll know and stop asking. Ask her WHO to call next time to answer the question so you won't have to call her again.

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Specializes in Med/Surg Trauma ICU.

I just started about a month and half ago and I have these exact same feelings. I just had my first night shift last night, which didn't go so well, but I understand where you are coming from! I really can't wait for the 1 year mark :)

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Specializes in Orthopedic, LTC, STR, Med-Surg, Tele.

It takes time. When I was a nursing student, a nurse (who was a relatively new nurse at the time) who I am now friendly with at work told me that it takes a year to pull things together and make those connections.

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Thank you everyone for the support and for the precious tips!!!! Be sure that I will keep everything you said in mind! As for the charge nurse, I feel like she's getting annoyed because I ask her questions.....the thing is, i prefer to ask her when I'm not sure about something, because I don't want to put anyone's life at risk. And i don't ask the same thing twice!!! I'm a quick learner but apparently she doesn't see that. I feel VERY overwhelmed all the time. I work on a surgical unit. We have orthopedics, general, renal and thoracic surgeries. The ration is 6-7:1 during the day, 9:1 in the evening and 13:1 during the night. In each team there's a nurse, a tech and a LPN. On a 'normal' day, i discharge 2 patients and get 2-3 postop patients.

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