Overwhelmed new grad having difficulty concentrating

Nurses New Nurse

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Hello all! I am a new grad in a stepdown tele unit and have been having great difficulty focusing. It's like I have adult onset ADD and I can't stand it because I never used to be like this. I'm having a lot of anxiety and wondering if I may have some depression that may be contributing to this inability to think straight. There is alot to learn and most of it seems to go right past me, like my brain can only absorb a little at a time lately. I have been crying nearly everyday after work. If I'm off for a couple days I'm fine, until the day before I go back and it starts up again. I'm having difficult coping w/ feeling so stupid all the time and missing my kids. I basically went from being a stay at home mom (almost) to working full time so thats been an adjustment too.

I know I will be happy in my job once I feel confident in my knowledge, but till then, not so much. I am still on orientation for another month but am already worried about being on my own in my current scatterbrain state. I told my Dr. about my symptoms and she gave me 10mg Celexa, tried one dose and I was up at 4:00 am all jittery and it seemed to make me even more anxious so I never took another one. Anyone experience this as an overwhelmed new grad? I was an all A student so I know I am capable of learning, but my short term memory has become so bad it worries me! I often cannot find the correct words (like when its on the tip of your tongue but you just can't come up with it) and I look like such an idiot! Sometimes I feel like a babbling baffoon. Anyhow, anyone experience this or have any advice for me? Thanks for reading.

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Specializes in Operating Room and Telemetry.

Just wanna chime in and let you know you're not alone. I'm a new grad on a Stroke/Tele floor and completely overwhelmed. And I am only two weeks into my orientation!!

Part of my survival tactic is to talk nicely to myself. And to acknowledge that there is NO way around the uncomfortable feeling. I was also an excellent student etc., with high standards for myself.... and I *HATE* not feeling confident and in control. But I am CHOOSING to allow myself to just go with the flow (and it IS a choice) I tell myself each day that "there are 1001 things that I don't know...but today I'm gonna learn two or three of them." And each day I acknowledge the little teensy weensy bits of confidence that I get from remembering the things I learned the day before. I've made it clear to my coworkers, MD's etc., that I'm really interested in learning and to please teach me. I learned how to say "I don't know." quickly and clearly. And I just keep focusing on pt. safety and TRYING to be kind to myself.

How fortunate we are that we have this forum to come to!! We have seen the collective wisdom (And support) from all the nurses that came before us. We WILL get through this...we WILL become more confident and competent. And when the time comes....I have promised myself I will NOT forget how god-awful this feeling is and bring the same kindness and compassion to teaching those who come after me when I get the opportunity.

Keep reaching out for support...and just know that it WILL get better!!

WE ARE RIGHT THERE WITH YOU!!

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I'm right there with you! I am a brand-new RN on telemetry, 6 1/2 weeks into my 8 week orientation, and I'm terrified to be out on my own! I work 12h shifts and run the gamut every single day, from an "Oh yeah, I've got this" feeling to "What on earth am I doing here? I will never be even barely competent!" It's kind of awful but thankfully I have an excellent preceptor, very supportive colleagues and a nurse manager who all say that it takes anywhere from six months to a year to feel comfortable. I try not to think ahead and just take each day as it comes, asking lots of questions and observing anything and everything whenever I get the opportunity.

I even feel like an idiot when I answer the phone at the nurse's station! Nine times out of ten, I have no idea how to help the person calling. I think feeling overwhelmed like this is practically universal to new nurses, and that is comforting to me. We just have to hang in there!

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I experienced the lack of concentration in nursing as well. Was very scary to me, as i never had ever felt a lack of concentration that strong before. Got tested, and Yep...ADHD!! Medication is a true blessing for me now!! In school, i had to work hard and study hard to keep up my grades (honors) but having to keep deep focus for hours at a time without many (if any) breaks really showed my lack of concentration. I am so glad that i got tested, and my life is running much calmer these days. It certainly wouldn't hurt to be tested for ADHD. Good luck to you.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Transplant.

Although I can't say that I've specifically felt the inability to concentrate that you describe, I AM a new grad and thus have already had many of those "Oh my gosh I can't believe that I will ever be fully competent" moments. And of few of of those "Please just let the floor swallow me up after that mistake/comment/etc." thoughts too :uhoh3:

One of my biggest survival strategies for these moments is to remind myself that if it didn't hurt anyone, I need to see the humorous side of it and be able to laugh at myself. I also try to remember everything that I have learned so far and all of the nursing related things that I was *sure* that I would never be able to do that I HAVE done! It can definitely be really hard to do, but I think that at least trying to use positive self-talk is one of the simplest and most powerful things you can do in situations like this. Keep on keepin' on-I know that you can do it! :redbeathe

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I am a fairly new grad, only been a nurse 15 months. I work ER and I started off in ICU. I STILL have moments where I feel "stupid", or make a mistake that is not threating to the patient. In ER, there is ALWAYS something new that I learn every time I go to work.

What keeps me sane is my sense of humor. For example, I got totally KILLED last night at work. I was stuck charting two hours late after work and that RARELY happens, but I know it does to everyone. I had inpatients I had to deal with because they were waiting for a bed. I used my sense of humor to mask how extremely overwhelmed I was. I would say things to my coworkers like "if you need me, I'll be in the bathroom crying into a pillow". And we'd laugh, but they all knew how overwhelmed I was and pitched in to help as much as possible.

I am developing a "nurse intutition" and can tell when my patient is crashing, or when something "just isnt right". Mostly, the doctors are starting to trust my judgment and listen to me. Mainly because I always grab the most senior nurse I can find and say "hey look at this for me, what do you think?".

I think back to when I first started and how I used to cry before going to work, how I used to cry after I got off work, and how I used to vomit in the parking garage. Those days are no longer, but I still get an occassional day where I feel like I need to to run to the nearest bar right after work.

Hang in there! It DOES get better! It takes time, and you have to be patient with yourself. Rome was not build in a day. Seek out as many learning opportunities as you can. If someone calls a rapid response on your unit, go to it. See how a rapid response is ran. If a code is on your unit, go to it, see how a code is ran.

Hang in there! It does eventually get better! Good luck to all!

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

i've been self supporting since the day i graduated from high school, so i can't relate to the stay at home mom thing, but otherwise it sounds familiar. many moons ago when i was a new grad, i used to cry all the way to work and many times all the way home. i was so afraid i'd forget something that i checked and double checked and triple checked everything. once i was so sure i'd miscalculated my heparin drip -- and so embarrassed about my ocd -- that i sneaked into the hospital and up the back stairs so i could check the drip without any of the other nurses seeing me.

of course all that checking and rechecking negatively impacted my time management, and i was always way behind and staying late to chart. i felt like i wasn't ever going to catch on, catch up and develop any self-assurance. truthfully, it seemed to take almost two years before everything seemed to "click." but i got there, and if *i* can, anyone can. you just have to tough it out until you have that moment when everything "clicks."

good luck!

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Where do you all work? I would love to know what hospitals are hiring new grads???? Or hospitals which hire RN's with no acute experience.:confused:

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Thank you all for your replies and support. I must say that things are already getting better. Now that I am not so overwhelmed by the "newness" of everything, I can concentrate and process things much better. My mind is not racing in 500 different directions anymore. It is by no means easy, but better! To the last poster, I am at U of M hospital Ann Arbor Michigan. A friend of mine couldn't get into a hospital upon graduation, so she did a few months at an ECF and then was able to get into the hospital setting.

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Yeah>>>I've been at LTC for 2 years now and hospitals still won't hire me. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I recently heard that 2 of my classmates were hired onto L&D units with no experience at all. IDK, but am getting very frustrated witht hte whole thing. :mad:

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