Redmaile

Hello, my fellow nurses. I need some guidance. I just recently graduated nursing school a few hours ago. I still don't feel confident about being a nurse. When we we're running a simulation situation in skills lab in which our actions dictate the outcome of the client, I didn't feel confident. I knew most of the skills and understood the rationales and all that jazz, but I didn't feel 100% because I didn't pick up on everything as quickly as some of my fellow students. However, my clinical instructor, who is a strict ICU nurse thinks otherwise. So much so that in the beginning of our semester he told us not to ask him for a recommendation letter, and that he would offer us one if he thinks we are fit. He seems to think so and offered me one and my mentor felt the same during my leadership. I kept begging my mentor to tell me what I needed to work on so I can focus on that before I graduate, and he kept saying that I did very well. The little things I need to work on are just things I need to be doing everyday on the job, but compared to most of the student's he's mentored I seem to be doing very well. It seems as though everyone believes in me besides myself. My question is, is this normal? Has any of you ladies and gents felt the same or gone through the same experience? I keep hearing that your first nursing job is the second phase of your learning. Is this true? Would going through the motions and gaining more experience help me gain my confidence?

Thank you so much. Makes perfect sense

I currently work as a CNA at a telemetry unit. I've been there for about 5 years and I am a 4th semester nursing student scheduled to graduate this December. My boss today made it sound like she really wants to hire me because she emphasized how hard it is to get a nursing job as a new graduate but because she knows me, she'll take me right away. However, I am really really unhappy on my unit because of the people I work with. Don't get me wrong, sometimes it's nice to see the familiar faces and there's a certain level of comfort where I feel I can ask them a question or two, but I really hate working on that unit. It's getting to the point where I feel burned out before I even get started. Because new nurses does not have much of a choice in where they can work, what do you suggest? Tough it out some more or go somewhere else? I've toughed it out for 5 years. I've been feeling like this for a while about my unit, but on the positive side, I know how to use the comp. I know how to find things as an RN because I did my clinicals there too, but still unhappy....

I recently had a dislocated shoulder and was sedated before my shoulder can be reduced. Shortly afterwards, I was discharged home with my family. I remember being awake enough to be directed to walk somewhere but not alert enough to walk independently. As I walked from the stretcher to the wheelchair to be discharged, I nearly fell off the stretcher, bumped into the railings and the wheelchair a couple of times, passed out and when I woke up hours later I was in my bedroom at home. I remembered bits and pieces of the event but was very disappointed in the level of care I received. Was that legal? Can someone be held responsible? Personally, I wouldn't have sent anyone home while they were sedated.

I'm currently a 3rd semester nursing student at a community college. Based on my grades and my previous medical experience as a CNA, I came in confident. Now I feel extremely incompetent. I study my butt off and still get C's. I am at the point where I question if I'll ever be a good nurse. A family member, who's an RN tells me that I'm beating myself up too much. If she went to nursing school today she would be in my shoes. Just pass the class and the rest will come with experience. Though, I'd love to believe this I still question myself because the other students are on it but I have to go all out to get C's. Is this normal? Does this mean that I'll be an unsafe nurse? Just the other day, I was trying to put in a foley catheter on a female. When I wasn't successful because no urine came out, the nurse tried it and wasn't successful either. Finally, they got it in with still no urine output. When patient #2 needed a foley 1 hour later, they didn't want me putting it in. I'm wondering if I did some damage which is why we couldn't get urine back upon insertion or why they didn't want me to do guy number #2. Days like this makes me wonder if I'm really expected to be perfect or near perfect from the get go or does all this come with experience. You thoughts?