Normal to feel so stupid?

OLDTRACKMEDIC · Oct 7, 2009

I always tell new nurses not to get discouraged, ER is a very dynamic, fluid environment. When in nursing school, or coming from the floor, you took care of the same-type of patient, be it Geriatric, Pediatric, Ortho, Med-Surg. Now you are taking care of all those patients at the same time! You are used to working from doctors orders, where ER nurses just "do stuff". Well, the stuff we are doing comes from many years of experience. Do we look down on you because you can't....yet? No, we remember when we were in your shoes. As time goes on, you will become more and more comfortable. Don't be discouraged. Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day....

hollysunshine · Oct 7, 2009

When those of you who are new look back in a year, you won't recognize yourself. I've been a nurse for 18 years, and spent the last 5 in the ED. I was an experienced nurse when I went to the ED, but it's a completely different animal. I remember spending many of my first few days in the ambo bay in tears and thinking I'd made the biggest mistake of my life. I missed the "luxury" of getting my pt's to the floor, and they already had their IV in place and were relatively stable. We start our pt's from scratch for the most part. It gets better. Don't give up. I wouldn't want to work in any other department.

kadell · Oct 9, 2009

thanks for this thread. I am on week 2 of orientation and it is overwhelming although everyone tells me I am doing fine.

MassED, BSN, RN · Oct 9, 2009

I've been on orientation for three weeks, and I still feel so completely inept, slow, and stupid. I feel fairly comfortable with 2-3 patients, but have made a couple of mistakes; nothing that's killed anyone, thank goodness, just made me feel like even more of an idiot. Just curious if this sounds like par for the course at this point....

it takes time, don't be so hard on yourself. Take the time to absorb from your surroundings and really pick your orientees brain. There will always be moments to learn - every day is a learning moment in an ER. It could also be helpful to get a pocket guide and go over those patient's cases (in your head) when you get home. Go back to your books from school to review anything you wanted to brush up on... good luck!

MassED, BSN, RN · Oct 9, 2009

I transferred to the ED, not a new nurse, just a new ED nurse. It's a different world from the floor! But I still feel like I should be getting it faster, since I'm not totally green as a nurse.

it's a completey different world from the floor. It takes time to transition - and "comfortable" is never how you should feel in an ER. You have to be prepared for anything, at any time.

MassED, BSN, RN · Oct 9, 2009

On my first day, in August, I had a nurse tell me, "Whatever u do, dont quit.". I tell myself everyday, " I wont quit, I wont quit, I wont quit...........with the promise that it has to get better........BUT When Lord when.................

every day you survive in the ER environment, you become a stronger, more capable nurse. It's a special breed. I take a deep breath when it seems that patients are crawling everwhere and think "as long as everyone is breathing and no one is bleeding out, or bottoming out, it's all ok." People might get angry, irritated, or hungry, but none of that is an emergency. It'll work out.

motivated2nurse · Oct 15, 2009

every day you survive in the ER environment, you become a stronger, more capable nurse. It's a special breed. I take a deep breath when it seems that patients are crawling everwhere and think "as long as everyone is breathing and no one is bleeding out, or bottoming out, it's all ok." People might get angry, irritated, or hungry, but none of that is an emergency. It'll work out.

I really appreciate allnurses.com, this is my source of strength, Ive been off for 3 days and Im nervous about tomorrow night, Im still on orientation But I got the whole team, my delegations skills need to improve, my charting is questionable, and I get sooo overwhelmed.............I look at the nurses that have been around for 1 year and I know that I'll be there. Im so happy that I have a place to vent, I think my family think that Im nuts.......I love the ED........I just need to be patient with myself.................One more thing, there is this nurse that insist on telling me that I shouldve started in med/surg like she did.....I personally think that she's being rude as her opinion is not needed. Give me a nice way to deal with her and her unwanted opinion, obviously I disagree, but I may need her as a future resource. Should I just ignore the comment?

star77, MSN, RN · Oct 15, 2009

This week marks my 14th in the ER. I feel a little more together most days, but still pretty inept and relatively dumb. I look up meds and dosing of meds. I have to take that moment to think about what I need before I go into a patient's room, and I always end up forgetting something. When someone is septic or a code happens, I could have been having the best day in the world and I'm thrown off of my rhythm completely. I look forward to feeling like I have my stuff mildly together, instead of like I'm treading water and just starting to drown.

My first month I went home crying every other day from frustration. Now it's only every other week.

The learning process is long. I've made some errors, fortunately nothing major that hurt anyone. I'm learning the culture of the ER I'm in, and probably the most difficult thing is breaking into the tight circle of RNs who have known each other forever. I feel like an outsider who's tolerated at best, and that's really difficult for me coming from working EMS with a group of people who I know had my back all the time, who I knew very well. Also, going from one patient to four with an incredibly big step-up in skills and knowledge is a tough transition. I feel lucky that I am precepting for another 3 months, and I'm using every day as a learning experience instead of as ego destruction.

My mantra: humility, humility, humility. It will get better, and the day I stop learning is the day I die.

There is one other new grad in our ER, and we are each others' sanity.

MassED, BSN, RN · Oct 15, 2009

I really appreciate allnurses.com, this is my source of strength, Ive been off for 3 days and Im nervous about tomorrow night, Im still on orientation But I got the whole team, my delegations skills need to improve, my charting is questionable, and I get sooo overwhelmed.............I look at the nurses that have been around for 1 year and I know that I'll be there. Im so happy that I have a place to vent, I think my family think that Im nuts.......I love the ED........I just need to be patient with myself.................One more thing, there is this nurse that insist on telling me that I shouldve started in med/surg like she did.....I personally think that she's being rude as her opinion is not needed. Give me a nice way to deal with her and her unwanted opinion, obviously I disagree, but I may need her as a future resource. Should I just ignore the comment?

that is a tough one, getting unsolicited advice. I hate that. Politely say "well we all come from somewhere else before we decide to come to the ER." So many ER nurses have this high and mighty attitude - that their way is the best. Not so. Working in this environment has made me stick up for myself so much, it's ridiculous. None of us are the same, we're all different, which makes it so great as resources - all of our experiences pooled together.

MassED, BSN, RN · Oct 15, 2009

This week marks my 14th in the ER. I feel a little more together most days, but still pretty inept and relatively dumb. I look up meds and dosing of meds. I have to take that moment to think about what I need before I go into a patient's room, and I always end up forgetting something. When someone is septic or a code happens, I could have been having the best day in the world and I'm thrown off of my rhythm completely. I look forward to feeling like I have my stuff mildly together, instead of like I'm treading water and just starting to drown.
My first month I went home crying every other day from frustration. Now it's only every other week.
The learning process is long. I've made some errors, fortunately nothing major that hurt anyone. I'm learning the culture of the ER I'm in, and probably the most difficult thing is breaking into the tight circle of RNs who have known each other forever. I feel like an outsider who's tolerated at best, and that's really difficult for me coming from working EMS with a group of people who I know had my back all the time, who I knew very well. Also, going from one patient to four with an incredibly big step-up in skills and knowledge is a tough transition. I feel lucky that I am precepting for another 3 months, and I'm using every day as a learning experience instead of as ego destruction.
My mantra: humility, humility, humility. It will get better, and the day I stop learning is the day I die.
There is one other new grad in our ER, and we are each others' sanity.

it's tough being the new person. Sometimes you never break into "that" group of ER nurses, but, if you ask me, I prefer to not be known as one of those ER nurses. I don't want to be in a clique - those seem to be the ones that are too interested in everything else but patient care. Work is about focusing on the patient, not on socializing. Well a few jokes here and there, plenty of laughs in appropriate places, but work isn't a bar, a club, or... high school. haa!

medschoolgrl8, ASN, RN · Oct 16, 2009

I had a six month residency in a level one trauma center....some things just don't happen on residency. I have been in the ER now for about a year and a half....AND I'M STILL LEARNING. The most helpful things were PALS, ACLS, TNS....TNCC...these certifications give order to things that feel unpredictable. Another trick I learned is that I keep my mouth shut more than open....I've learned A LOT by just listening. Listening to other nurses, the doctors, the trauma docs, the admission team....EVERYONE knows a little something YOU don't....let everyone teach you. (weather they know they taught you or not Think of creative ways to solve your problems... think of things that are done EVERY time a CP comes in, a SOB, or GI bleed. Think of what might happen, and how the case may go....so you become able to save yourself steps later and put yourself in a position to help your team because you've become that much more efficient!!! ASK QUESTIONS!!!! If I am wondering why a doc might be doing something i say " hey, I want to be on board with you...where are we going with this?" They might give you a little sh**, but they'll respect you for critically thinking. There is NOTHING like the ER....but you gotta put yourself 100% into it....do you really want to be an ER nurse?? Are you doing EVERYTHING in your power to learn and become efficient??? It gives back...you just gotta give to it.

bostongirl86 · Feb 23, 2011

I work in a PICU at a level 1 trauma center. I have been there for about 9 months now, and prior to that I was on med/surg for a year and some months. I feel like an idiot most days in the PICU. I am nervous EVERY time I do any kind of procedures (dsg changes, suctioning, bagging, admissions etc). I feel like people around me are thinking I must be stupid. Is this still normal after THIS long?