Ready or not?

[GonnaBSN]

Hi there! I'm curious about what happens after graduation and once you've accepted your first job. I am about 1/3 the way through the "accelerated" route, and worry that I know enough to be dangerous. I call my Accelerated BSN program "a big drink through a firehose". It's impossible to remember everything, and passing a test most certainly does not make me a competent (self-assured) RN.

So what happens during the first year out of RN school to get me to the point where I don't hurt anyone!?

[penaheather]

I am in the same boat as you, I am in clinicals now, but I worry that once I am in the real world I might not know enough.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

nclex questions are designed to reflect common errors made by new grads in their first year of practice. if you pass nclex you'll probably recognize the bigger ones .

you'll find that you'll learn a tremendous amount about, well, everything in your first year. you will also find that nobody expects you to be experienced and know everything as a new grad. most places that hire new grads give enough orientation and mentoring that you won't be in a position to kill too many people through ignorance >. you will make errors; there hasn't been a perfect human being on the planet for thousands of years. you will learn from them. we all did.

being a little nervous is fine. we get really nervous with new grads who are too foolish to be nervous-- they can be the dangerous ones. trust me, if your faculty thinks you're ok to graduate and be a nurse, they're probably right. nursing faculties are famous for being hard about that. as they should be.