belindalou

How long before you get comfortable with nursing? I have been a nurse for about a year. I still feel like an idiot.

hi there i understand how you feel. I am a new nurse myself and somedays I am so busy I look at my watch and its 3pm already. I totally missed lunch and breaks. I take small finger food items that you can eat in 5 min stretches in case you can't take a full lunch. when i do this, i at least get some food in my stomach and don't feel as cranky.

Hi all, I don't know if this fits in here but I am a new nurse. My anxiety has always been heightend in me for some reason and it will sneak up on me without a warning. I also have control issues and when things dont' go in the order i expect them to it freaks me out and creates more anxiety. I was recently suspened without pay b/c my supervisor thought I was not taking care of my patients safely. i had to go get a blood and urine test for drugs. i tried to explain to them that it was just my anxiety. I guess I could use the old excuse I was overworked, switching from nights to days is hard, but it is hard for me sometimes. I guess what triggered my anxiety to increase more was having a pt who was dying from liver cancer and it brought back memories of my mom. i knew i would have to deal with this one day, but i guess it hit me harder than i thought it would. Ever since then i guess i have been just going down hill so to speak. So when i got the news about the suspension it was hard to hear but after sulking for a day, i realized that my anxiety had taken over my life. i know i can be a better nurse and hopefully i can learn from this lesson that i need to ask for help . can i recover from this? i am afraid all of the hard work i put into being a nurse will go away.

Hi all, I don't know if this fits in here but I am a new nurse. My anxiety has always been heightend in me for some reason and it will sneak up on me without a warning. I was recently suspened without pay b/c my supervisor thought I was not taking care of my patients safely. I guess I could use the old excuse I was overworked, switching from nights to days is hard, but it is hard for me sometimes. I guess what triggered my anxiety to increase more was having a pt who was dying from liver cancer and it brought back memories of my mom. i knew i would have to deal with this one day, but i guess it hit me harder than i thought it would. Ever since then i guess i have been just going down hill so to speak. So when i got the news about the suspension it was hard to hear but after sulking for a day, i realized that my anxiety had taken over my life. i know i can be a better nurse and hopefully i can learn from this lesson that i need to ask for help . can i recover from this? i am afraid all of the hard work i put into being a nurse will go away.

I had the same thing happen to me on my first day off orientation. I was giving my morning medication and dizzy. I felt sick before I started my shift. I sat down and coworkers got me some ginger ale. They took my blood pressure and it was something like 50/20, but blood glucose was fine. They called a code on me and i was wisked down to the ER. They also said it was a vasovagle episode. I have had a few of them after that. I hope you feel better and know you are not the only one to faint at work.

Hi all! I posted before about my stress and frustration. Well yesterday I talked to my boss and we both kind of agreed its better for me to switch floors b/c of the stress and anxiety i am having. Now I know I am going to feel weird when I go back to work like I am not welcome there at all. I signed up for the sign on bonus for two years so I have to stay w/in two hospitals. There wasn't much to apply for. I was going to talk to the heart/lung transplant supervisor and explain my problem and see if I can transfer there. I do know two people on the floor. Actually one of them used to work on my floor and got frustrated with my boss. My question I guess is is it normal to switch floors a couple times in the beginning of your nursing career. I just feel like I can't find a home. I don't know if its me or just my boss and I's personalites don't get along. I really love nursing and the interaction with the patients and want to stick it out, but its frustrating. I know I have the book smarts but sometimes I don't think it translates into working with people. I don't want to come home crying and stressed out everyday or dread going to work.

I have been having a tough time at work lately. I have been working a lot of overtime b/c we are understaffed. The money is great but the stress is getting to me. I work on a high acuity floor and I love my patients, but when I have a problem I don't want to talk to the management. They seem to not understand sometimes and I don't really trust them enough to tell them things. On my days off I do nothing b/c I am so exhausted from work. My stress has increased so much that I am becoming more depressed and going over in my head what I did wrong that day (or what I percieved to do wrong). I feel like I give 100% to my patients, but am just losing the reason why I got into nursing. I don't want to show that I am stressed in front of my patients, but sometimes its hard to hide it. Can anyone help who has gone through this?

Thanks for the advice everyone. I guess I am used to picking things up so quickly that I thought I would have an easier time at it than I am. Its hard to take that perfectionist out of me sometimes I guess.

I started my new job in late June on a tougher unit. Normal orientation is 6-9 weeks and I am almost on my 4th month. I do work on a tougher unit and for some reason some things just aren't clicking. I could have interviewed to switch to another unit, but really love the department I am working for. One of my road blocks is passing a basic arrthymia course. I switched from a more acute floor to a lower acute floor of the same department. This seemed to help but I will probably be on orientation for at least another month. I feel I can work on my own, but still want the security that someone is there. Is it normal to feel this way?

I am so nervous about my nclex. I took a review course and they made me more nervous about the the test. I took kaplan and they said I was ready and this other place said i should be getting over 75% consistently each time. I am so worried and confused about who is right. I put up positive notes all around the house to encourage me. I'll take any advice