Please help!!! I need advice..

carolmaccas66, BSN, RN · Jul 2, 2010

Stay calm and take some deep breaths every 30 minutes or so!

I think everybody feels anxious and not ready for the 'real world' of nursing.

If you have been reading any of the posts on here, you would probably go raving mad and run away from nursing screaming, but nursing is a different experience for everyone, and it also depends on what area you work in.

When I first started I seemed to do everything wrong, and many people were unhelpful, probably cos they were frustrated teaching someone and very busy. You just learn by your mistakes on the job. Also when I first started agency work, on my first shift I didn't want to get out the car, I was that scared, but it was OK.

You have to realise you will make mistakes but will also learn from them. Do some research on your patient's conditions, even on the job, google stuff, look it up in text books etc. Ask millions of questions and always follow nursing and your institution's protocols re medications etc. Also when you are new, they will probably buddy you with someone for a bit to see how you go, or just ask more senior nurses for help. Don't ever not ask for help, and don't ever do unsafe procedures, or procedures you haven't been trained for.

You will be OK I reckon.

BellaInBlueScrubsRN · Jul 2, 2010

Being in the healthcare setting might make you feel better. Have you thought about getting a job as a CNA? I worked as a SNA (same thing without additional courses) and it helped me.

Macbs4 · Jul 3, 2010

Here's the key to your dilemna: "know thy self". You've likely always been better at taking "written" tests vs "oral" exams. Perhaps you're a person who has to ponder a question before answering it - there's nothing wrong with that. Some people are just great at answering questions as soon as they're thrown at them. Haven't you ever met a person who had great "comebacks"? I'm certainly not one of them. You may not be, either. But... you're still smart; you were accepted into Nursing school, weren't you? I've been an RN for a year now.... I haven't begun to learn everything I need to feel confident and am always asking for help and advice.....you'll get to know what to do with experience and repetition.

Hang in there.

beckster_01, BSN, RN · Jul 4, 2010

I remember last summer around this time I did not think there was ANY way that I would make a competent nurse in one year. Actually, scratch that, this past February I wasn't sure if I would make a good nurse. Does your school have a preceptorship/practicum experience? At my school classes ended at 10 weeks and the remainder of the semester we worked one-on-one with a nurse preceptor, shared her patient load, basically being an RN (well a GN on orientation anyways). At 24-32 hours a week of this for 4-5 weeks, by the end of it I felt so much better! Being able to get on-the-job experience, where you are able to go through the nursing processes on your own without being quizzed or feeling like you are being critiqued by an instructor was a very valuable experience for me. My confidence increased and my preceptor was very supportive and encouraging (which they generally are since they volunteer for the job). Just keep pushing through!

I definitely recommend getting a job as a PCT in a hospital, particularly one you are interested in working at after graduation (get your foot in the door). Get hired in as per diem, work a shift or two every week, and look for those nurses on the floor who will support you as a student and ask them questions.

As far as your studies go, as the other posts have said, you need to figure out your own nursing style. Many times if someone asks me a question, I can't answer it off the bat. Instead I write my rationale or draw a diagram first. I don't have much more advice on how that applies to nursing practice since I start in 3 weeks, but I hope that helps you feel a little better.

Annaiya, NP · Jul 4, 2010

There is some good advice here already, but here is what I'd suggest. First, it sounds like you have all of the knowledge you need in your head, you just need to learn how to apply it in a non-school way. I really wouldn't worry about that part until after you've passed NCLEX, because until then, passing exams is really the focus of what you're doing. Once you're working as a nurse you can go home at night and review anything you feel you need to, and I think you'll find it makes sense in a whole new way. There are a lot of articles out there on the transition process from student to novice nurse. Reading some stuff like this might really help you understand the process and make you feel better.

The other thing I would highly recommend is going to see a counselor who can help you understand yourself better. You don't seem to have a good understanding of your strengths and weaknesses, and this is really important for building confidence and knowing what kinds of questions to ask to learn what you need to know. Please take the time to learn these things now, because they will help your transition from student to nurse tremendously. You never stop learning as a nurse, so knowing how you learn best and how you need to approach your learning is invaluable. Plus it will help with the anxiety! I know my school had free counseling for all students, which was great. Maybe yours does too?

pers · Jul 12, 2010

Breathe! You still have an entire year of school left, don't work yourself into a frenzy just yet!

Every school is different but I've met a lot of students and most (myself included) had similar concerns. I really felt like things came together my senior year since that was the point when we began focusing on how to actually work as a nurse rather than just learning skills for whatever topic we were studying at the time.

I also found my preceptorship invaluable! If your school doesn't offer it, look for nurse extern positions which is the next best thing. If that's not an option, try for a CNA/PCA position. Even just a summer working in the hospital environment will make a difference because you get a much better feel for the routine of a facility than what you experience in the bubble of clinicals. Knowing your way around the basics will give you confidence.

Yes, you are going to be ignorant as a new nurse, but we all are! Everyone knows you will have a ton of questions and that you are going to struggle with connecting the dots right off the bat. It takes experience to get past that and that means making some mistakes (that you learn from!) along the way. I have met plenty of new grads over the years and have never seen an exception to this! I've seen nurses who thought they were the exception but sadly they weren't and their mistakes were generally more frequent and much more significant because of that attitude.

carolmaccas66, BSN, RN · Jul 12, 2010

Yes pers is right. Make sure you constantly ask questions all the time at work, or when on clinical. Also I found it helpful to keep a little notepad in my pocket, and jotted down things like meds & procedures I didn't know, & then later I would look them up. You also need to understand WHY you are doing things. Also try to find a clinical instructor to spend a day or a few days with you on clinical, and see your uni instructors for help as well.

kla374 · Jul 12, 2010

This is me.

I have a horrible memory (I mean to the point where I have to carry around a census sheet in my pocket just so I can remind myself what my patients are in for). But that is just what I do...constantly remind myself.

Don't know what a disease it? Look it up. Don't know what a medication is for? Look it up. The resources are there and I take full advantage of them. Eventually after about the 3rd time of looking something up I can remember it.

Oh, and ask questions! My charge nurse must dread seeing me come his way because I ask TONS of questions. But I don't care what he or anyone else thinks because I do it for my patients.

You'll be okay! I am evidence! And congrats on your graduation by the way!

missjennmb · Jul 12, 2010

Everything I needed to know about my job, I learned at my job. Perhaps thats not the case for everyone, but I almost feel like, with enough attention and a little bit of self educating along the way, I could have done this without going to school at all, because of the amount of on the job training I have had. There's a protocol/standing order/proceedure for EVERYTHING and they want you to do it *their way*. I really would not sweat it. Most of the decisions I make that are not based on what I learned at the office are logical and very basic, and when in doubt, I ask. I've been working for 9 months now in community health and the only thing that I have gotten hung up on at all is injection sites because my supervisor had never heard of hip injections which was the primary way I was taught in my ER rotation, and I had to go back and review the exact other sites. I look up anything I dont feel 200% on, and I make a lot of notes.

Dont worry. You can do this!