Hi everyone. I really need some advice from anyone that can help. I am a second year nursing student with clinical on a very very busy and stressful med surge floor. I try my best and work very hard to provide the best possible care but I am not perfect and sometimes I mess up. My problem is that whenever the smallest thing goes wrong, I cant get over it. I literally obsess abut it and can't sleep for days, sometimes weeks after. I usually go home crying and fell very upset with myself. This is beginning to be a big problem for me and is affecting my life very negatively. Other nursing students tell me that I am too sensitive and should not take things so seriously. I have also been told that it is a good thing that I get upset because it shows that I care about the patients.
My question is how can I stop letting things that go wrong at clinical upset me so much? In other words, how can I not take work home with me?
Specializes in Acute rehab/geriatrics/cardiac rehab.
My life revolved around nursing school, there wasn't anyway around it. There was always home to do, reading to do, careplans, etc.
I did make sure that I went jogging every other day. Back then I had a walkman and would listen to inspirational music.
Make a commitment to something else in life beside nursing school, such as church, family time, time with friends (I would go out every Friday after work and have coffee with friends), and most of all exercise.
Obessing and not sleeping for days and weeks after is not functional and healthy, but I think you realize that. Be gentle with yourself, realize you're not going to be 100% perfect. Nursing school is very hard on the ego because the instructors are watching and constantly telling you what you do wrong. It takes very thick skin.
Good luck.
I agree with Tweety's advice. Nursing school is rough, especially the med surg rotation ......hang in there, it will pass. (In nursing school I literally slept with nursing books piled on my bed. One friend drove home from school and fell asleep at the wheel of the car in her driveway.....). Find something else to do outside of nursing school that does not involve nursing. Realize that you are just learning and that others have gone throught this before also...., find a friend you can talk to to express your frustrations..... It helps to have a friend in nursing school who can relate to what you are going through (because often they are going through the very same thing). Realize that you won't be a nursing student forever, it will pass....
I am signing up for the nursing program in August 2006 and I have taken enough courses to be considered a sophmore. I have wanted to become an RN since my sister had her first born child. Eventually, I would like to work on the OB floor. I like reading the many topics on this site so I can learn more, although sometimes I can read something and five minutes later not know what I have read. It is so aggravating. Also, my husband is an electrician apprentice, very smart man, and sometimes he is explaining medical things to me. I feel like I should know more... Has anyone ever felt like they should just understand and have more knowledge of medical issues even though they are just really stepping into the nursing program? I had a difficult time with this issue so any comments are appreciated. :)
thanks. and no, you don't have to justify that. and thanks, because that wasn't apparent from your first post.
i understand the challenges students go through. been there myself. been to my faculty advisor many many times trying to make sense of profession. i was diagnosed with add and dyslexia while in nursing school. great! more challenges. don't take my posts too much to heart as i am not perfect and i'll be the first to admit that i haven't mastered english very well. so half the time my points wont come across right.
i probably should be on my add meds but i don't do well on those either. so i try and handle things without meds. i've been an rn for ten years now without meds and some things still don't make sense. i've accepted that life gets more complicated as i involve myself in the profession. as my coworkers age and retire, the young ones look to me for leadership and support. your turn will come soon enough. i don't like to lead. i don't like to support but it has to be done. in my area, we have a serious nursing shortage and the politics is getting out of hand. but for the sake of the patients, and the public, i'd rather keep things in stride and somewhat "controlled". and the only reason why i continue to do it is because nursing is worth it. maintaining one's dignity when they are sick can be difficult. i have two part time jobs. i work every weekend. sometimes ten nights in a row. my shifts are twelve hours at the hospital. and they are night shifts. that's all i can do to concentrate and i also hear that not too many nurses like the night shift.
sometimes, i feel like i'm going crazy when the acuity of the oncology unit increases and for some reason palliative patients who are poor are not dnr's when they should be. or someone is suddenly in respiratory distress at 2 a.m. because they are at the end stage of lung cancer. i can't always make sense of it all especially when an eight year old cries hysterically when his 32 year old mother dies. then i'm working with a new grad who shakes when drawing up morphine. i have my work to do and part of hers until she can handle things. the work has to get done. but i always leave on time. it can get overwhelming.
sometimes a hot shower when i get home and a cup of tim hortons coffee is just what i need to get me to sleep so i can be ready for the next shift.
I too used to stress out about silly little things I did wrong when I was a student and also as a new grad. Eventually, these feelings get a lot easier to deal with....unfortunately, it takes time and experience to get to that stage.
In the meantime, remind yourself that no-body is perfect, and I mean no-body!!
Also remind yourself of all the things you did / do well!!...and give yourself a pat on the back when you deserve it.
Remember that you are still learning!!
A bit of positive reinforcement from your preceptor and other staff wouldn't hurt either .... unfortunately we don't always work with people who give this willingly.
So keep your chin up sweetheart, things get better as your confidence builds. Talk with your friends and take time to relax.
Hey! My clinical instructor gave a student some, (I thought), excellent advice yesterday. She, the student, was upset because of some things that she perceived that she did incorrectly. The instructor said to ask yourself if the patient is more comfortable than when you arrived, in this case, the pt. was MUCH better. I am going to try and remember that piece of advice. Hope it helps you, too!!
In my opinion anti depression meds will not change the way you feel.I don't think that your issue is bassed on depression. I'm in my second year as well, and I know how you feel. You want everything to be perfect ,but remember you are still learning. Practice makes perfect. To be honest if you don't feel no type of way due to your mistakes, then that means you will setttle for anything. It's o.k that you feel the way you do, it's a part life. We live and learn as the world spins. You will not feel as bad once you get the hang of nursing. Right now you may just be embaressed and think that people are ooking down on you. Who cares if another nursing student thinks there perfect. Last time i've checked everyone is capable of error.Stop being so hard on yourself and pat yourself more on your back will you do good things. Stop focusing on your mistakes too much because it may cause you to give up nursing beleive it or not. Please don't let this discourge you from being one of tghe best nurses in society. Most importantly don't let your feelings get you to a state of exhustion.
I think you need to talk to your doctor about an anti-anxiety or depressant med.
JMHO, but I will never be off an SSRI again. Bury me with a vial in my cold, clenched fist!
I used to obsess and worry about things that might go wrong at work and that it would be all my fault. It was affecting my sleep and everything. I started taking Lexapro a couple of years ago and I believe it saved my life. I have tried to go off it a couple of times but always end up back on it. Doctor told me I will likely need it the rest of my life.
Many antidepressants are used for anxiety and are often considered the first drugs you should try if trying pharmaceutical treatment. "anti-depressant" is simply a class, not a mechanism of action.
I can totally relate and i do think that this is normal for a nurse when you are learning and will probably get worse when you graduate and are "on your own" I also think that if this is interfering with your life to the point that you are unable to take proper care of yourself and have some time when you can relax and socialize and enjoy things that getting some couseling and perhaps meds would be in order. I also think that if you didn't worry at all and were overconfident that you knew everything that would make you a dangerous nurse. I still, after 17 years, will go home and think about things that happenned at work and try to come up with different solutions. Critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills are essential for the nursing student to learn as nursing is a huge responsibility and over time you will develop more confidence. If you make a mistake, take a look at it, ask for feedback from your instructors and go easy on yourself. If it was your mistake, own it and learn from it and you will probably never make that mistake again. If it was something that was out of your control or someone elses mistake DO NOT OWN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nurses seem to think that they are responsible for a lot of things that are out of our control. Patients make choices and we can not control that. We are not responsible for doctor's decisions and if we learn to communicate effectively and have honestly done our best then we have to let certain situations go. It will get easier with time, but if it doesn't or you truly can not fuction, are not sleeping or unable to eat properly or are becoming depressed where you can not enjoy anything then you should seek professional help. Mentors are also helpful in the process of having someone to vent and look for guidance. None of us is or ever will be perfect so don't put that expectation on yourself and as a nurse you will see a lot of things that are just very sad that you can't change but if you do your best to always do what is best for your patients you can sometimes make a difference. You will see all sides of humanity the good the bad and the ugly and soemtimes even the greatness. I have also found that it helps me to "debrief" If i have a very stressful and less than perfect shift i sometime call a friend or write about in a journal and then i am able to let it go. Nursing school was the hardest thing i ever did but it also gave me a wonderful career and i wouldn't change it for the world. I have made mistakes along the way but they were my best teachers. Best of luck to you and feel free to im me if i can be of any support We need good caring nurses like you
when I was recently VERY anxious my Doc gave me effexor...when my situation dissipated I still felt antsy, turned out #1 side effect of effexor....is NERVOUSNESS....guess how fast I threw them out
I feel like I should know more... Has anyone ever felt like they should just understand and have more knowledge of medical issues even though they are just really stepping into the nursing program? I had a difficult time with this issue so any comments are appreciated. :)
mom and nurse
513 Posts
I agree with Tweety's advice. Nursing school is rough, especially the med surg rotation ......hang in there, it will pass. (In nursing school I literally slept with nursing books piled on my bed. One friend drove home from school and fell asleep at the wheel of the car in her driveway.....). Find something else to do outside of nursing school that does not involve nursing. Realize that you are just learning and that others have gone throught this before also...., find a friend you can talk to to express your frustrations..... It helps to have a friend in nursing school who can relate to what you are going through (because often they are going through the very same thing). Realize that you won't be a nursing student forever, it will pass....