New nurses - what is it like to be a new nurse?

[Living_True]

To all new nurses who come across my post would you share what its like being a nurse. What are the pros of being new and the cons. Thank you.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Moved to our First Year After Nursing Licensure forum for more replies.

[DTWriter]

For me, nursing is as expected.

I am very, very fortunate to have very close relatives, extended family members, and family friends who are nurses or work in a healthcare, so, no rose-colored glasses here.

I am yet to be off orientation for my current job, but, so far - Nursing can be daunting, especially with "meh" coworkers and patients, and their relatives, but, overall, nursing is entertaining. I am glad that it is a career with so many niches and opportunities. Like my mom would say, "When one way is closed, another way is opened."

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The pro to being new is that you have an "outsider looking in" view of what goes in your facility.

The con to being new is that you are new. You may encounter colleagues who are jealous of you receiving better guidance than they did, having a higher pay rate than them when they first started, etc., and you have to rely on these same colleagues to show you the routines.

Plus, you do not have the power/authority/seniority to address problems you see happening in a facility. Sure, a new nurse could make suggestions but every so often to avoid upsetting the higher-ups :/