Progressing from student to registered nurse.

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I should graduate in May 2013. To be honest, I am absolutely terrified. Nursing school is scary and stressful enough, in addition to the NCLEX. All I am worrying about is if I can make it as registered nurse. Being in clinical is one thing, but to have complete responsibility of a number of patients is very terrifying to me. Even in clinicals I find that I feel somewhat below the level of other students in my group or maybe I'm just being too hard on myself. Most of the students jump at the chance to perform skills in the clinical setting, but I never do. Most of my instructors say that I need to work on my confidence, but I have improved a lot since my very first clinical. Does anyone have these same feelings?

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I should graduate in May 2013. To be honest, I am absolutely terrified. Nursing school is scary and stressful enough, in addition to the NCLEX. All I am worrying about is if I can make it as registered nurse. Being in clinical is one thing, but to have complete responsibility of a number of patients is very terrifying to me. Even in clinicals I find that I feel somewhat below the level of other students in my group or maybe I'm just being too hard on myself. Most of the students jump at the chance to perform skills in the clinical setting, but I never do. Most of my instructors say that I need to work on my confidence, but I have improved a lot since my very first clinical. Does anyone have these same feelings?
I'm graduating in August 2013 and I feel exactly the same way! I'm terrified!! I know the stuff but it feels sometimes like I don't. I'm sure it will work out for the best though. We wouldn't have gotten this far if we didn't know anything:-)
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I know exactly what you mean SoonToBeRN2013. I learned the skills, but I always second guess myself,like do I really know it, especially with the clinical instructors, some of which can be very harsh on students. I sometimes think some of the instructors forget how it was to be a student, scared and excited all at the same time. They tell us the skills will come in time. For me the hardest thing is critical thinking and the things that come with experience all of which they can't teach you. I just hope it all works out, it's a huge step from student to RN.

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I feel that way all the time! I'm set to graduate in May of 2013 as well and i find that even though i can answer all the questions thrown at me, when it comes to clinicals i get so nervous that a mis step on my part is going to lead to some type of patient harm. I think the weight of all that a nurse does is starting to become a very real thing to me. I sometimes feel like i am walking the edge of a cliff, and if i start to lean im just gonna fall off and fail. Like at any moment i will realize i actually don't know crap about nursing and someone will be hurt because i really should not be there or something. I know that i have to work on my confidence but how am i supposed to be confident when i know that i still have so much to learn!?

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I graduate December 2013 and I feel the same way but on top of that I wonder how I'm going to remember everything for nclex and exit hesi?!? I'm in med surg 1 right now and it's so hard to me I also don't see how it could get any worse! But I know it does :/

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I should graduate in December 2013 as well, and I don't feel confident EVER! Skills day, clinical days, it doesn't matter whether I have practiced and researched, I still feel like there is so much to remember...I dream of one day feeling assured, cool, calm, collected, and confident in my ability. You guys are definitely not alone in feeling that terrified/excited feeling!

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I am in the exact same position. I also graduate in May 2013 and have had confidence issues, all of my clinical instructors have told me so. I do well with the class work, and even labs but as I get to clinicals I start to panic. I feel like I am below the other students' performance, I do not jump in and volunteer to do the skills even though I want to try. I come very prepared, I know everything about my patient but I have trouble critically thinking fast at clinicals. I know that I will pass my classes, and the NCLEX but worry that I will fail clinical.

I am glad to know that at least some others feel the same way, when I talk to my fellow nursing students about it none of them have understood. As you have said, I just constantly second guess myself.

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I'm so glad I found this website, as I see there are so many others that feel exactly the way I do. All of your comments are as if I wrote them myself. I don't know if my other classmates feel the same way, but I'm afraid to ask. I have not wanted to be a nurse all my life, in fact it never really crossed my mind. Others in my class have wanted to be a nurse for a long time. I do like medical stuff and find it interesting. I just feel that since I haven't wanted to be a nurse all my life and that it wasn't my first or second career choice, that I somehow don't belong. Since entering into the program and now that I'm in my 4th out 5 semester, I have found that I have grown to like it a lot more than I thought. Please don't get me wrong I'm not someone who is just in it for the money, I do care about others and like to help them. I did a clinical in the ER and I found it very rewarding, while helping the nurses start a foley cath and an IV on a patient that just came in. I could feel a great and warm feeling inside myself knowing that I helped that patient, even if it was just in a little way. I do believe that to be a nurse you have to love it and not be in this field for the wrong reasons. I just can't help but feel that I don't belong because this wasn't my first career choice, I don't know maybe this feeling is hindering me from reaching my fullest potential and having confidence, maybe that's why I'm so scared about the future after I graduate.

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Terrified is a very valid feeling. I am a new nurse...graduated in 12/2011, passed NCLEX 1/2012. Started working in 2/2012. One of my meetings with my educator during my first 4 weeks of orientation, she explained to me how some preceptors think that a newly licensed nurse can't do this or can't do that. She told me that that was incorrect and my license says I can do anything and everything that my state licenses me for as a RN. Yes, I have to be checked off on skills...just like nursing school. However, it is within my scope of practice. I told her, "Wow, that's really scary, my license is always on the line." She said, "Yes, you should be scared. And if you weren't scared, then that would be a problem." I think about this every day and I think it was one of the best pieces of advice I could have ever received. So, yes, you should be terrified! But don't be scared to ask questions. Use your preceptors, charge nurses, doctors (ask your nurse whom you're shadowing if certain doctors are okay to bug...they are out there!), PAs, nurse practitioners. Question EVERYTHING you do not understand!

Oh, and I didn't know I wanted to be a nurse until the semester before I got into nursing school. I'm 42 years old and though the appeal of being in the medical field is what brought me to the decision, I had no idea what I was getting into. I am so happy and fortunate I made it through, and absolutely love what I do!

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Specializes in Labor and Delivery.

hahahha totally relate. I graduate May 2013 and am excited but scared too. I feel like I couldn't possibly know enough! I am also nervous about our immersion placements because I have no idea how it will work, where I'll be, and how I'm going to handle it but I think it will be one of those things that will hopefully give me more confidence :) I think we'll be fine though since so many say you learn so much more your first year as an actual nurse then what you have learned in nursing school.

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All of the nurses I work with have said "You don't learn how to be a nurse until AFTER nursing school!" ;)

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I should graduate in December 2013 as well, and I don't feel confident EVER! Skills day, clinical days, it doesn't matter whether I have practiced and researched, I still feel like there is so much to remember...I dream of one day feeling assured, cool, calm, collected, and confident in my ability. You guys are definitely not alone in feeling that terrified/excited feeling!

How has the first and second semester been? How many hours do you study typically or need to? I got accepted into the program and would like some insight on it.

Thank you.

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