rough beginning

Every new job is kind of scary and rough at first, but the best advice I can give you is stick around those who want to empower and not *eat* their young. Yes, unfortunately we do have older generation nurses who do. I am an older generation nurse, and see how lost a new nurse can be when they first start out. (wow, that was me), LOL! The main thing to remember is you are not alone (or you shouldn't feel like you are). A smart nurse always knows 2 (or even 3) heads are better than one, when making a difficult nursing judgement. Never do something you doubt will have a bad outcome, always utilize your experienced nurses you work with. Your experience will grow with your autonomy. The more you work with nurses, the more experience you gain. Always remember your safety rules about your direct patient care, such as the five rights. I know everything is electronic these days, with the scanners, rovers and such, but the basic rule of safety still applies! I hope where ever you are, you have supportive nurses. Stay as far away as you can from negative toxic burnt out nurses. Your day will come where you may feel burnt out in your job, but there are many ways to prevent and remedy that sort of situation. If you are forgetting things, make sure you are writing notes to yourself, plan ahead, organize and prioritize, just like you learned in nursing school. It all takes practice, so don't be so hard on yourself. We older nurses were all there! Keep on truckin' and keep your head up, you'll be great!