Preparing to be an RN(new grad)

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Hi everyone!

So I just found out that I passed my boards (after a year of being out of school and not doing anything nursing related aside from staying home all day studying for the NCLEX AND FAILED IT TWICE). Third time was a charm, passed with 265 questions. But even though I'm happy I passed, I'm still very anxious. I'm now starting the job search but the reason I'm anxious is because I feel like I guessed for literally every question on the test. That's not good. I should have at least knew most of the information. Most of the questions all I could think was "sheesh I don't know what I, as a nurse, should do in this situation." And when I was studying I felt like I had to research ALOT. So now I'm trying to figure out what I can do to prepare myself to be an RN who is independent on the floor (wherever I end up) so that I will not seem like such a novice. I would rather not deal with that feeling of being "new" but rather be really knowledgeable about what I'm doing as a nurse. Should I read a bunch of books on medical procedures and nursing responsibilities so that when I finally do get a job I will know what I'm doing? They say learning starts on the floor once you're working as an RN but I want to be prepared WAY before that point. I want to be the best RN I can possibly be.

I appreciate any advice!!

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

That's a really difficult question to answer. There really is no one-size-fits-all way to prepare for your first nursing job. I could suggest you review your fundamentals of nursing textbook, and refresh your memory about the basics, but beyond that, without knowing what sort of nursing job you'll get, there's no way to suggest anything else.

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That's a really difficult question to answer. There really is no one-size-fits-all way to prepare for your first nursing job. I could suggest you review your fundamentals of nursing textbook, and refresh your memory about the basics, but beyond that, without knowing what sort of nursing job you'll get, there's no way to suggest anything else.

Okie dokie! That's what I was thinking too! Thanks so much for your input 😁

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