Perfectionist and Lab Final = ROUGH

[katidid114]

Whew...I'm looking for some constructive information on this: I am a perfectionist and my clinical instructor has been trying to get me to understand that "perfection is the enemy". I have a really hard time grasping this and letting go of my nature. While in my lab final, we were giving physicals. Every step of the way (EVERY STEP OF THE WAY), she would interrupt or make corrections (style points - nothing "corrective"). It became VERY frustrating and I began to lose my train of thought at points and I felt like I was doing EVERYthing wrong. When it was over she pulled me aside and told me what a great job I had done and that "feedback is not always aggressive or bad." I did do very well on the final assessment I guess I'm just wondering if this is something I am going to have to get used to?

[windsurfer8, BSN, RN]

You do not "have" to do anything. You are allowed to be however you like. If you think you are going to walk into a med/surg unit and not make a single mistake then I think that may be untrue. The thing is making mistakes is as important as getting it "right". You LEARN by trying different things. Have you ever been surfing? I have surfed for years and I didn't just jump on a board and know what I was doing. And to this day I learn everytime I go surfing...and I still make mistakes.

Dealing with things when they aren't going perfect is a leadership quality. Like if a plane is crashing do you want a pilot who is calm and professional or someone who starts panicking and screaming?

Only you can decide what is best for you. Lastly you say it is "hard to let go". Ok...would you say it is hard to quit smoking? Does that mean you shouldn't do it? Forget easy or hard and focus on what is best for your patients and you. Whether it is difficult is not what is important.

Good luck!

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

Being a perfectionist is good until the point that it affects time management. Perfectionism in nursing comes from a lack of trust in what you are hearing, seeing, or doing. You want to be double and triple sure that you are correct on your assessment. Hopefully, as you build on your experience, your confidence will increase (and trusting yourself) and your need to be a perfectionist will decrease.