Ok, does anyone feel as lost as I do....

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I have been training in MSICU for 2 months now. I can handle 2 stable patients. But with the training 5 days a week. I don't have much energy to open up my books to read about new concepts. I am absorbing a lot at work.

The docs look at me like, what do you mean you don't know pt's abgs by heart. I mumble and stumble through the day, trying to connect dots.

Amist all of this I really enjoy nursing, the work, the role, the management of multidisciplines and all of that.

But it is so exahausting, I run around like a deer caught in headlights, to say the least. Most of the times I look really underconfident, and rightly school. hey, I barely learnt how to give IMs in nursing school.

And my hubby reminds me everyday of the promise I made during nursing school-start trying for a baby once I get done with school. I am 29 y.o and he is 33.

And I've been thinking of starting my rn-bsn asap.

Suggestions, advice.

I'll be doing 3 12s once I am done with training.

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Hang in there....before you know it your weeks in training will be complete & your time will seem more managable once you start your regular schedule.

Maybe you could continue your education a class or so at a time.

As far as a baby....there is never the "perfect" time. You could still take a class throughout your pregnancy....or how about a class on-line from home?

Everything will work out--just make sure that you remember to take time for you by keeping yourself well rested & healthy :)

Best wishes to you--sounds like exciting times in your life; much to be proud of & lots to look forward to!!

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I understand exactly what you are feeling. I just got off orientation. I'm working a day/night shift on the oncology floor. Occassionally I just feel overwhelmed and I stand in one place telling myself to breath, that I can get through this and in 6 months it will be better. I don't know about you, but everything I do takes twice as much work as the experienced nurses, because we have to think every step through from beginning to end. Hanging blood is routine for them, I have to think do they or don't they get premeds, how fast do I run it? Do I need to get another pump to run it with or disconnect the fluid they have running. Even our assessments, what did I forget, what do I need. And don't EVEN ask me how I feel about admissions....:stone I had a new admit my first two days off of orientation....so many things to remember....I got out quite late both days.

I'm just having a little panic attack right now because tonight is my first night shift on my own. Thank God, the nurses on my floor have been great and are always willing to answer questions.

Anyway....we will make it, just keep telling yourself that and soon it will be so.

As for the baby making, maybe if you can hold him off for another 6 months???

Good luck

Debblynn

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Hang in there! It's supposed to be tough the first 6m-1year. But your hubby's reminders are peeving me. If you are this stressed right now, you may have trouble concieving, and then being pregnant AND on your first year? That would be so taxing on your body. It's one extra stress you don't need right now. If I knew him personaly I'd give him a lil piece of my mind, but it's probably good that I don't!

Good luck!!

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Specializes in ACNP-BC.

Hi! I am a new RN & I just finished my orientation on a med/surg/tele unit. I always tell myself that when I get home after work that I will go look up things in my nursing texts, but I never do! It's so draining being at work in the beginning of orientation. I also did 40 hours/week for my whole 12 weeks of orientation-it was a lot, & I never had energy to come home & read. Even now I have to bribe myself to open up a book. :) Oh & I'm the same as you-I cannot rely on memory to spit out numbers-esp when I have 5 patients all on tele, & 3 have had really low BPs & 1 with really high blood sugars (this happened tonight)-so I literally write down everything in my notes-before I kept calling docs all night with the info-that is how I keep sane. :)

-Christine

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Specializes in Pediatrics.
Hi! I am a new RN & I just finished my orientation on a med/surg/tele unit. I always tell myself that when I get home after work that I will go look up things in my nursing texts, but I never do! It's so draining being at work in the beginning of orientation. I also did 40 hours/week for my whole 12 weeks of orientation-it was a lot, & I never had energy to come home & read. Even now I have to bribe myself to open up a book. :) Oh & I'm the same as you-I cannot rely on memory to spit out numbers-esp when I have 5 patients all on tele, & 3 have had really low BPs & 1 with really high blood sugars (this happened tonight)-so I literally write down everything in my notes-before I kept calling docs all night with the info-that is how I keep sane. :)

-Christine

Yup you sound a lot like me! :) I KNOW it would help me to look up stuff for work when I get home but then I am just tired... :chuckle (or lazy in my case...) Yes I do have to write everything down, too. And if I think a pt needs a new medication order, I learned from another nurse to keep the drug book in front of me when I call them, cause the doctor is half asleep and will ask you to tell them the correct dose for your weight pt. I did still screw that up though so you are not alone OP... I realized later on that I had told the doctor the dose for a drug according to parameters for a pt with decreased renal function... oops!!! :imbar I guess it will take a looong time to really learn. sorry to ramble. :uhoh3:

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:eek: I just finished my training and am currently working on an acute surgical ward. I love the job but feel that I am taking two steps forward then two steps back. Both with the manager and senior staff on my case to just do this, just do that, I dont know whether I am coming or going. People expect you to know everything.
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I came off orientation in the CVICU at the end of July. I still feel the same way you do.

I used to be a very confident person. Now I doubt nearly everything I do. I feel like I have poorly done what I have done and that there MUST be plenty left I haven't done when I should have. I go home with it, I call the following nurse (yesterday, I called back 4 times!) with things I forgot or need to make sure I did for my sanity to remain intact. Like the last poster, in the surgical ICU, it is NOW, NOW, NOW, but these patients are also some of the most acute in the hospital....any can crash at any moment.

I am told this gets better, you stop dreaming about it, you stop stressing about it so much and your job becomes more second nature between the 1st and 2nd year. I DEARLY look forward to that. For me it has been cyclical. I fell okay and then bad and then okay and then really bad. It's taking a toll on me physically, as well.

School came NOWHERE NEAR preparing me for nursing. I basically started learning all about everything after passing the NCLEX last February. I have always intended on going home and looking something up just like many of the others. And, just like them, it doesn't seem to happen. I'm already on brain fry from the job itself.

Good luck to you and all...It can only get better from here!:chuckle

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I work on a post surgical medical floor and I have two more weeks of orientation and I am stressing over being on my own. On one hand I am excited to be on my own because then I can figure out how I do things and what works best for me. Sometimes I feel like I do things a certain way because that's how my preceptor trained me, but in the back of my mind I'm thinking I would rather do it a different way. I feel totally overwhelmed right now and I'm not even done with orientation. I try my best to write everything down but the other day when I gave report on one of my patients, she was asking questions that I should have been able to answer but I didn't. I felt like an idiot. The nurse was understanding and she gave me some tips. I'm just hoping that when I am on my own I can fine tune my skills and figure out how to be more organized. I know that I will probably be working my butt off and staying later than everyone else but I'll just have to try and work through that. Anyway, I wish you luck, I just keep telling myself that I will one day I will be just as organized as other nurses, I just have to have patience. We will all be there one day.

Marina

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Know that you aren't alone. I've had my position for four months and it has been exhausting. The last couple weeks have been more positive, but anytime I have a couple days off, I hate the thought of going back to work!! I had yesterday and have today off. I love my days off, but dread going back to the floor. I also have to really focus on what I'm doing....I think all good new nurses do!! There's lots of frustrations that go along with being a new nurse. I recently had a rude family come up with a new admit. They were very demanding and selfish. Admissions just put me so behind and that's the last thing I need! There's always the unsupportive staff members, but thankfully more of them tend to be helpful. A nurse was actually trying to pin me for a PCA which she set up wrong, but the manager never spoke to me about it. Why? She apparently found the second nurse who set it up wrong and realized it wasn't me. Thank God!! My hope is that I get the experience and next year possibly do some home health care, eventually becoming an independent nurse. We'll see. Take care and keep smiling!!

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