Lavendergal

Aww I love that! I'll definitely try to remember to be nice to myself tomorrow- that's probably the most important thing for tomorrow :)

Aww thanks for your ideas- they are good!! And good luck to you too! I hope it goes well for you!! I'll post how it went!

Oh my goodness...these comments make me laugh and feel supported all at the same time. I actually didn't realize I had most of these messages until now, as I just posted another question--- so ladies, you are all awesome to give me your feedback. I thought it might be nice to hear what ended up happening in my life since then...well, I graduated in May from nursing school. I got hired at a local community hospital 15 minutes from me, and so far so good! My husband has only had two evenings with my kids, in which he did really well- making them dinner, etc. He has never been abusive or mean- just doesn't know how to "connect" with kids. My youngest daughter is his, so I'm not ready to divorce him by any means. I do feel a sense of confidence that if things got bad, I now have a degree...and I could provide for my kids no matter what. That's an amazing feeling! I'll keep you all posted on how things continue to unravel in my career! Thanks for all your amazing support! you're awesome!

So tomorrow is my first day with my own patients on a med-surg unit (with a preceptor of course as well) and I am so nervous. Excited, but nervous! What if I don't know enough patho-phys of their illness to answer questions? What if I stumble over silly things like starting IV meds, or transporting a patient? I guess it doesn't help that the first day with my preceptor I came back from the bathroom with toilet paper hanging out of the top of my pants...and she had the heart to tell me- but I'm afraid she won't be able to take me seriously after I looked like that...lol .AHHH!! I'm a nervous nelly- and want to be a competent and confident nurse. Help with any advice to prepare tonight and early morning before my shift tomorrow at 6:45. I plan to go in early to look up my patients, write down their meds and labs, etc.

So, my preceptor is really cool, laid back, but kind of aggressive. She keeps telling me to leave early (we're on night shift)- I think just so she can hang out with her friends during the slow time (4am-7am), and makes me do things I'm not supposed to do as a student, I think so it makes her job easier. I only have her for 3 more weeks, and one of my friends keeps telling me I should report her to my instructors at school, while other friends say just keep the peace for the next few weeks and do whatever she tells me to do so I will get a good report from her. My morals are being tainted I think..I don't like doing things i shouldn't do, but I also don't want to make an enemy or make things harder on my instructors as it was hard enough for them to find practicum placements for us. HELP!!

Thank you! All good points--I'm gonna keep going and doing what I'm doing. I just hope at some point I adjust to this new role as a working mom. I'm sure I will. :)

So I am in my final semester of nursing school. I am a mother of five and have been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years. I am dreading becoming a nurse. I want to help provide for my family but The transition to becoming a nurse makes me so sad. I am remarried to a man who is not the best with my children and I am so afraid that my kids will now be losing their only sense of security. Sadly, their real father has been out of their lives for five years. I love caring for people and comforting them, but a lot of things about nursing scare me. Like me making mistakes, not being organized, and messing up. Honestly I wanted to quit nursing school in the first semester but I kept going because I did not want to quit before I gave it a fair chance. I am on night shift for my practicum and the hours are killing me. Any advice is welcome! I want to feel great about becoming a nurse and I do not even feel excited. Is this normal?

I agree that it is your nurses fault. Forgive yourself and let a few good nights make you feel better about your accomplishments. Hopefully that patient was OK, but please know that this is definitely your nurses responsibility to make sure you did everything correctly.