Off orientation this week so scared

[ddrn97]

Hey everyone. I know many have posted about this before but I just need some advice and to vent. I've been on orientation for 15 weeks on nights and I'm on my own starting this week. I should feel like I'm ready after 15 weeks but I just don't know. I feel like I'm so used to having a preceptor to step in when I need help or to bounce ideas off of. Sometimes my preceptors have pointed little things out about patients that if I was by myself that I would've have been likely to miss. I also feel like there are still things I haven't had enough practice with like drains, IV sticks, wound care. I also never had an emergency occur with any of my patients. Im worried about recognizing a change in patients or having to call a rapid or code for the first time. I know it's impossible to do everything during orientation. I was told that as a new nurse the most important thing is being able to safely practice and to ask questions which I do anyway. I always look into the patients history, orders, medications, and labs when I see them. My last few weeks of orientation have been pretty easy because there has been a low census in the hospital. The hospital I work comes down hard on nurses for documentation and pretty much every little thing. Ugh I'm just so nervous!! How did everyone else feel at this point in their career and how did you handle it? I am afraid to look stupid or make mistakes.

[ClouseKRN]

Hey there,

I have now been off orientation for 2.5 months and still worry about stuff, it is part of what helps make us safe. I hope you have a great team that you can rely on for help and never be afraid to ask questions. An awesome piece of advice I got from a fellow nurse is that you are never alone, you are surrounded by a group of people who want to help patients, so never feel alone or that you cannot ask for help. This helped me a lot in the beginning. As for missing something, I just went through that myself... And had an investigation to top it off, but the support of my team has made me realize this could happen to anyone and to just keep going! I'm sure you will do great, make silly mistakes, and then one day be helping another new nurse learn their way. Good luck!

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Going off orientation can be, for some people, one of those things that you will never feel quite ready for. Yes, there are tons of little details and yes, you are going to miss some. This is why prioritization and time management are so very important - to help you identify which things to do first and progress from there. Caring for wounds, inserting IVs or Foley catheters, caring for drains all come with time and practice. Its okay to be nervous. The little mistakes that WILL happen are going to be anchors for your future practice. Every nurse you admire on your unit was where you are at one point in time. Just take a deep breath, use everything at your disposal to avoid errors and do your best always.

[DannyBoy8, RN]

Worst case, you kill someone.