Starting to doubt if nursing is for me...

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Mar 20, 2010

Nursing is what I wanted to do since I was little, but now i dont know if this proffesion is for me... I love lecture and I tend to do well in class, but when it comes to clinicals I freak out. I am in my second semester and I am in my med. surg rotation. I just had my 1st clinical day yesterday and I feel like I dont know what I am doing. I dont know if I will be a good nurse. The thing is that this is what I have always wanted and I cant picture myself doing anything else, but how can I be a good nurse if I freak out in clinicals.. Has anyone felt this way?

(I have said this story before for others so sorry for repeating myself to some that have read it)

My first day at Clinical Oritentation for Med/Surge I almost dropped out. They told us what they expected of us and I got so worried. I felt like I knew nothing, wondered the very same things you did. My first day I had already learned a lot. By the end of clinicals at the end of the six weeks I was doing great, pretty much cared for my patients on my own except the things I had to get a co=nurse for because of policy. I couldn't believe where I had started and how scared I was, to how I ended the class. IT's very scary and overwhelming for some and you can feel like you know nothing, then again, you are a student, if you already knew how to be a nurse you wouldn't need school. We all have to start over somewhere.

Once you are done with this class and this clinical rotation come back to this post and post how far you have come. It's fun to go back and see. I think I would be more worried if after your first day of clinicals you felt like their was nothing to learn and you knew it all.

Hang in their and challenge yourself and absorb and learn all that you can during this time! Seek out opportunities, let your co nurse and other nurses not assigned to students know what you can do and find opportunities to learn no things.

mammac5 · Mar 21, 2010

Yeah, I feel like this quite a bit. I try to just suck it up and realize that all nurses had to start somewhere. Some days I look at some of the other students in my program and I think to myself, "Hey, I've got to be doing better than he/she is!" That may be bad of me, but sometimes you need to do whatever self-talk gets you through the day and that much closer to being a really great nurse.

morningland · Mar 21, 2010

The program is designed to do that because they want to

a. weed out the people who truly don't belong

b. bring out the best in the people who do

This program really does work to. It is normal to feel that way your first day or two in clinical, you are just reacting to the intimidation. I feel the exact same way all the time in nursing school. Just keep studying, learning from your mistakes DON'T GIVE UP UNLESS THEY MAKE YOU.

future_looks_good · Mar 21, 2010

Nursing is what I wanted to do since I was little, but now i dont know if this proffesion is for me... I love lecture and I tend to do well in class, but when it comes to clinicals I freak out. I am in my second semester and I am in my med. surg rotation. I just had my 1st clinical day yesterday and I feel like I dont know what I am doing. I dont know if I will be a good nurse. The thing is that this is what I have always wanted and I cant picture myself doing anything else, but how can I be a good nurse if I freak out in clinicals.. Has anyone felt this way?

I use to be the same way when I first started clinicals. I think you always feel a little intimidated or anxious on your first day of clinicals but you have to realize that this was just your first day and it will get better for you. You just have to keep practicing with your skills. You may need to sit down and think about or make a list of what is specifically freaking you out about clinicals and then work on ways to will eliminate those feelings. It got better for me with more days at clinical and practicing and becoming better at my skills. I hope this helped you. Good luck to you.

HyperSaurus, RN, BSN · Mar 22, 2010

There are times that I think 'Wow, they're trusting me to do this by myself?'. It's a great feeling.