ICUKate07

Thank you for replying! It's nice to know that there's someone else out there like me. Sometimes I feel like I don't know enough and they're going to wonder why they hired me lol but they keep telling me to ask plenty of questions and that I'll be fine :) I also have some skills that I've never had the opportunity to practice!

Thank you for your reply! I just started orientation and the instructors/educators have been trying to reassure us that it's a big learning curve and that we have a lot of resources available. That has actually been helping with some of the anxiety. I kept reading of how new nurses have been asked to quit during orientation but I learned that this almost never happens at our facility. I think I'm slowly building more confidence lol thanks!

Thanks for your reply! I'm starting to feel a little better. I've always been someone to ask questions and I feel like I'm very conscious of patient safety. I think I'm more scared from a technical point of view. For example, I've only put in one NG tube. Do preceptors/unit managers care about this? Or am I making myself anxious over nothing?

Thanks :) I think a lot of it for me may be "fear of the unknown". I know a big part of it is confidence so I'm definitely trying to strengthen mine before I start. I think it's kind of like when you want something so bad you're scared you'll lose it lol thanks for the advice though. I'll be asking tons of questions! I hope your orientation works out for the best as well :)

Hi everyone, I just received my first job as a new grad in the MICU at a large teaching hospital (yay!). This is my dream position and after reading how hard it is to get such a job, I am still slightly in shock that I have it. I guess reality is starting to set in and as my orientation date draws closer I'm seriously freaking out about what I should know vs. what I'll be expected to learn on the job. I completed my practicum in the ICU so I guess that should make me feel a bit less anxious, but the unit manager told me that my new unit is higher in severity and the number of patients so I'm paranoid/anxious that I won't know what they expect me to know. I did ask what new grads are expected to learn and I was told that new grads should be open to learning, ask questions, and always follow safety measures. I ordered a critical care reference book, a critical care textbook, and I've been reviewing on ICUfaqs.org. Am I taking it overboard??? If you've oriented a new grad on your unit, what did you expect them to know? I am someone who asks a lot of questions, but I'm just worried that I'll mess up or not know something. Plus, after hearing how people have been asked to quit during orientation has me super scared that maybe that'll happen to me. Sorry this has been quite a rambling post but as you can tell I'm probably freaking myself out. Thanks for all of your help!

Hi all, I'm researching my options for the future in regards to becoming a nurse practitioner and I wanted to know if there's any one out there who works full-time and is doing their courses full-time. Or is this simply not possible? If you're receiving tuition reimbursement from your job, do you have to work full-time to receive it while you're completing your classes? Thanks for your help!