New RN-advice?

[ALLTHINGSRPOSSIBLE]

Hi! I am set to start my RN Internship on Jan. 22nd and I am excited but really nervous at the same time! I graduated in June 2005 and failed the NCLEX my first try. This failure set me back because I was a good student in school (graduated with a 3.4 g.p.a) and I THOUGHT I was prepared for this exam. As a result, I wrestled with my decision to even be a nurse and I took a break for a year. Prior to entering nursing school, I was a stay-at-home mom of two, so I definitely kept busy during that year off. Anyway, I recently took the exam again in November of this year and passed successfully! Now I am nervous about working because I have been out of the loop for a while now. Because I was a non-traditional student in school, I did not work as a Patient Care Tech while in school because I had a family. My experience came from clinicals. Now I am wondering if I should have worked as a PCT and will this hinder me now that I am about to work as an RN? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

I think working as a PCT helps because it gets you used to patient care, etc.

However, this is not your reality. You shouldn't get hung up on what you didn't do. If you approach with a "can do" "ready, willing and able to learn" attitude, you'll succeed. Not all new grads were PCTs and they sucessfully become RNs. Being a new GN is tough on anybody, including those who were PCT's. I was a PCT the last six months of school and I still felt like a fish out of water when I passed NCLEX and started working as an RN.

Make sure when you interview you inquire about GN orientation and make sure it's sufficient and not too quick.

Congratulations. You're going to do just fine!

[ALLTHINGSRPOSSIBLE]

Thanks for the encouraging advice! God Bless.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

I agree with Tweety. Focus on the future. Ask questions and be willing to learn. You will do fine.