Pre-Clinical Fears

[student1901]

Hello there, Im writing this post due to something that happened to me this morning.

At my morning mass, an elder man half fainted during mass. I was stuck dead in the middle of the pews , couple of pews back while two other men and a woman helped the man and the the ushers got a wheelchair for the man and took him to the back waiting for an ambulance. In a way I felt very helpless. I knew all the things I would ask him: are you diabetic, are you on any cardiac medications. I would have asked for some orange juice and a cool towel. But yet I didnt leap into action, like I always imagined myself to do. It was a humid room and the church did not have the AC on.

But when my mother recently had a near fainting spell a few weak ago, I jumped into action taking her pulse,etc.

Im a good student and strive for A's all the time, but I always have this fear that while I am academically skilled, I will lack in other areas. I have not gone to clinicals until this upcoming fall.

Did other nursing students feel this way before clinicals and before getting that experience. I have never been a CNA or Nursing Aid.

Can anyone help reassure me? Because today I feel like the biggest waste of a nursing student.

[Nursesomeday0211]

If you don't have time to do a CNA class before you start your program I would recommend shadowing a nurse a few times. You can watch them and visualize yourself doing the same thing. Just remind yourself that this is a learning process and you have to try everything even if it makes you feel uncomfortable or unsure or your ability as a nurse.

These fears are totally typical, you can do this!

[cmw6v8]

I feel you--I am in the same situation having no prior clinical experience. But I think in school (I'm about to start next month), your clinicals will help a lot because you are in a more structured, supervised setting with other people around whom you can look to for support and advice (hopefully anyway). You won't be the lone provider like you could be in your scenario you described at church. I'm hoping at least for me that will help build my confidence.

[luv-my-coffee]

Just remember that nursing school is what helps give us our foundation! Rome wasn't built in a day!!

Even if you did not "leap" into action in that situation...you were already starting to think like a nurse! Just wait until you get further along. I find myself doing assessments in my head on random stangers in the grocery store! Just keep going and make the most out of any opportunities that come your way during clinical. Good luck to you!

[bubbly_nurse, BSN, RN]

Well, I have worked as a Phlebotomist for 20 years and was also an EMT. About 10 years ago i had a horrible accident and was the first responder on the scene (of course it was my own accident). I was frozen, I did the best I could. Anyway, after that i let my EMT expire and put Nursing on the back burner. Last year i was working for a level 1 trauma center and as the lab we were required to be a part of the trauma team. This guy came in from a motorcycle accident....it wasn't bloody or goory or anything, but he was clinically already dead. His son that was with him also was dead. This was right before Christmas and i just started thinking about his family and how horrible it was going to be over the holiday. I started getting HOT since we have to wear our regular lab coats and then the disposable gowns and the gloves and a mask and I wear a shirt under my scrubs. Everything started getting black and I almost passed out in front of the whole trauma team...very embarrassing. So YES I do know how you feel...I guess i will never work in the ER!! I was never like this before my accident, but I have decided to go for Nursing and I will finally deal with it. You can do it...I know you will not be the only one.

[gumby1411]

I'm glad I'm not the only one either! Isn't it amazing how much it helps just knowing that you're not the only one going through something? I don't have my CNA or any healthcare experience and start my ABSN program next month...I'm terrified. I know that once I get over the initial hump, I'll be a great nurse, but it's just those first few weeks that are going to give me an ulcer!

Thanks for this post and for the comments as I have benefited as well.

To the OP: I think you'll be fine once you start clinicals. You said your mom fainted and you jumped into action and took care of her.

[ImThatGuy, BSN, RN]

Well, there are instances in which there's nothing you can do. As a medic and a cop I've often come upon stuff where bystanders felt compelled to do something (human nature perhaps), however, there was nothing one could generally do beyond what's listed below. Just sit and wait for the cavalry.

Is the scene safe? BSI? ABCs? etc etc etc

I, in a law enforcement capacity, watched my own supervisor freak out once after watching an elderly guy experience a syncopal episode in a post office. The guy came to on his own, got up, and sat in a chair, alert and oriented, PEARL, no pains or deformities, no pertinent history, a healthy breakfast, etc. I pulled up, got out, and sat across from him in another chair talking with him about baseball while my supervisor went frantic. He was a first responder. I was a paramedic so perhaps that was the difference. Who can say? There was nothing in our BLS bags that we could do other than take vitals which my supv did. We just waited for the ambulance which of course the guy didn't want, yet he went anyway.

Be observant, prepared, and relaxed. You'd be surprised at what you can handle when you need to.

[cnmbfa]

I am a faculty member, and teach clinical. Freezing is normal. Being scared is a GOOD sign, because it means you take this seriously. I have had students be so nervous the first day their hands were shaking; one even fainted.

Knowing that, I do everything I can to calm them, including a visualization exercise of their success. I tell them I am their guide and their support. I also promise that I will never do anything to put them on the spot in front of a patient. I go with them to do their first assessment, and walk them through it. By lunch, most are usually doing much better.

I suggest you learn some self-calming methods, either/or through breathing, conscious relaxation techniques, thought control, etc. Talk to your instructor about your nerves, and be sure to eat the first day.

Then, in the future when you are a successful, competent nurse, go out of your way to be really nice and welcoming to some students on their first day.

[gsmeagle2918]

This is a very interesting thread, good post! I have had a couple of instances during my life where I came face to face with things that cause most people to panic. Did you panic when the time came for you? Reading your post, I am guessing not. You let your knowledge and intellect guide you through the appropriate responses if you had been in a position to be the first responder.

I recently had my first experience with a possible MI in my nurse tech job when a pt. c/o "poking chest pain". I immediately went for a VS machine as I notified the pt's nurse about the reported pain. On the quick return to the pt's room I also grabbed the EKG machine. I'm not sure where the thought to grab the EKG came from but it seemed a natural response when I did it. After the assessment, lab draws, and questioning of the pt the nurse turned to me and said "good job, thanks for getting that EKG so quickly."

This is the type of cool under pressure response you exhibited when helping your loved one and in analyzing the procedure for helping your congregational member. Keep up the god work.

[anonymousstudent]

Recognition of a weak area is a huge thing, and should not be viewed as a deficiency. Every nurse has weak areas, it's normal and to be expected. You will get better. Every experience you have will give you confidence and will allow you to put to use your knowledge. You might not be a nurse who works in areas where it's more likely you'll see emergencies. That's OK!

Do not worry about this. It does not reflect on how you will be as a nurse. Good luck in your clinicals! :)