what questions to ask-thinking ahead

i've been orienting on a busy med/surg floor for the past 3 wks.... i'm still not as fast as the experienced nurses and i don't plan to be....i'm going to work at my comfort speed...after all these are patients lives we are dealing with. speed comes with time and as for organization.....the first 2 wks i was with all different preceptors so i picked and choose things that did that i wanted to include to make my life as a nurse easier (and still learning everyday)......honestly, in my humble opinion, nursing is a learn as you go approach! you can't learn to pt manage or organize in a classroom, you'll have to find what works for you and roll with it :)

abbynurse is right - time management can't be learned in a classroom. the essence of nursing time management is the ability to prioritize. in the real world, you will nearly always have 'too many' tasks to do.

the inexperienced nurse is overwhelmed because he 'assigns' the same priority to all tasks - and realizes that he can't do them all. the experienced nurse 'sorts' tasks by priority - and tackles the most important ones first, then the next important, and so on. a good preceptor will help you learn how to continually 'triage' and prioritize your work. she will also help you to realize that patient care is never-ending - that's why we have 24 hour coverage. each shift picks up the slack from the previous one.

as for the technical skills - you will get better with practice. remember when you started trying to write in longhand or drive a car? you had to think through each step - and were probably clumsy in your first efforts. trust the process. seek out as many experiences as you can. learn from your experiences. give yourself permission to stumble frequently, fail once in a while, and realize that its just part of becoming.

you're going to be a great nurse.

Thank you abbynurse and rbezemek for the feedback and encouragement. Everyone seems so supportive, even in my clinical. I have been blessed. I just aim to get good enough where I can give it all back-to future nurses and patients too.

dny

I concur with abbynurse28 and rbezemek.

I had a fellow classmate who started work with me. This classmate was very book smart but was shy/nervous to jump on opportunities and worried too much about memorizing implementation steps. Skills can be learned in school/books, but you won't be good at them until you do it. Some may come to you quicker than others. Before I do my skills that I am not 100% confident, I ask an experienced nurse to go in with me. Before I go in, I run through the steps verbally with the experienced RN as a check. No biggie.

IF you want to ponder on things, perhaps these are a few points to consider during your clinicals:

1.) Observe your preceptors how they work. There are some RNs who are very calm and others who get overly excited during stressful moments. Watch each person's work ethic and professionalism. See how each person work (i.e., time managment, routine, etc.).

2.) Practice your communication skills. Learn to communicate with fellow staffers (RNs, PCTs, secretaries, patients, doctors, other hospital personnels). Make an effort to pronounce things correctly (I'll always be working on that!, esp. drug names). Don't be scared to talk to people, but think before you speak (i.e., don't be long-winded).

3.) Even if you get nervous, try to not to freak out. Stay calm and confident. It's important to show your patients and their families that you know what you are doing. If you don't know, just tell them that you'll look into it and get them an answer. Don't lie or leave it with "I don't know."

Focus on school to get your license. You'll be fine! Good luck!