NurseNerdy

I've known many medical professionals who are completely fine giving injections/starting IV/drawing blood/etc on someone else, but still have trouble when it's done to them, so you're not alone at all. Personally, shots and blood draws on me don't bother me at all, but finger sticks? Ugggh, hate them, they freak me out. I have to look away when they do it before donating blood. I can do them on others just fine though. I think it's because I can't watch the actual "cut", so it's probably the same loss of control thing others mentioned - I've annoyed nurses/phlebotomists by insisting on watching while having blood drawn when they wanted me to look away. I don't like surprises. Like someone else said, try looking away. Or, if you normally look away, watching may actually help, as backwards as that sounds. Also remind yourself it will be over soon, and remember to breath! (Only slightly related, you are so lucky to be in a program that lets you have these experiences while in school. Our first real injections were on patients, they didn't even teach us how to start IVs on models, much less actual people, and the only reasons I was able to do any finger sticks is because I did a semester at one of the few hospitals around that let nursing students do them. I'm jealous that you get to do all those!)

When I was in school, I had more than one professor say that most everyone they knew who passed the NCLEX felt like they must have failed when they finished it (and everyone who said it was easy had actually failed). Which makes sense - if you were doing well, you were being given harder and harder questions. I know I walked out of mine wanting to cry when it shut off. I got the good pop-up too, and yep, I had passed. Looks like you passed. Congrats!

Hi everyone. I'm a new grad turning into an old-new grad (graduated with ASN May '11, passed NCLEX in July '11) still trying to find a first nursing job. I have managed a few interviews, but none have gotten me a position. I was finally able to get some feedback from some of the nurse managers who interviewed me, and a common themes seems to be that I "give the right answers" and do seem smart and friendly, but appear nervous/shy/timid during them. Which doesn't surprise me - I am introverted (but can socialize and be outgoing just fine with some effort), and am shy by nature. I've worked really hard for years now to get over my shyness, and usually I can hide it or fake being confident, but I guess in interviews I get nervous enough that it shows anyway. I'm sure others have dealt with this too. Does anyone have an ideas or advice on how to work on my nerves and not appear timid during interviews? Or a way to address the fact that I may look timid at first but I'm usually not and am not afraid to do things like advocate for a patient if needed, that would sound better than randomly saying "I know I can come off as looking X at first meeting me but I'm actually not, like in clinicals I once *example of time I did advocate for patient*." I almost wish that they would ask me the stock "tell me your greatest weakness" question so I could answer it with that! I'll hopefully be doing a mock interveiw soon with a nurse educator who does interviews sometimes for the hospital my mother works at, so she can give me some feedback and advice, but I could use all the help I can get on this. I already have the fact that I won't have my BSN until May '13 the earliest and that I'm a new grad working against me for finding a job, I don't need being a terrible interviewee added to the mix.

In my experience, usually not. If you call or e-mail them asking they might respond to tell you, but I've even had times where they didn't even respond to that to let me know I did not get the position (I've interviewed for 3 position at Cohens, 1 for the new Katz center.). It is very frustrating.