new specialty + new anxiety, advice?

Nurses New Nurse

Published

Specializes in ICU.

the Summer of this year I started in a new specialty, ICU. I had worked skilled nursing prior (my first nursing job), so in total I have a little over a year of nursing experience.... basically I am looking for advice because I am struggling like I never have before with anxiety and it is getting in the way of my ability to be a nurse.... I struggle constantly with second guessing myself and I didn't used to do that... I was confident, assertive, able to take lead in critical situations and then I got to the ICU and it's like I freeze and look like I don't know how to do basic nursing actions. I'm not sure if I am just in my head about maybe feeling intimidated because I know my coworkers are smarter and more experience than me and I know they gossip and make fun of others who make mistakes.... (I hear how they talk about others and it's not the best vibe) but I am getting frustrated and I am tired of feeling like I want to quit every shift when I am where I dreamed to be the day I applied to nursing school. I just don't know why I freeze/overthink and lose all ability to be confident in my decision making.... all eyes are on the primary nurse when a patient is admitted (obviously), it's a team, especially when someone very sick comes in and I feel like I have just grown accustomed to cowering down and letting someone take the lead and make the decisions and that has lead to my now lack of confidence... I don't know how to talk myself out of this.... I know I am better than this, but my anxiety has been beating me every time.

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