STRESSFUL. I am fresh out of orientation where someone was always behind me to make sure I didn't forget to react to that critical lab value or whatever. Now I am terrified of doing something wrong or missing something. What if I miss an important test result? What if I miss symptoms?!? What if I don't put two and two together (like patient having shortness of breath after a hip surgery - oh god, PE?!?!?)
I am a wreck. I was a great student, a tech for a year during school and I THINK I'm attentive to details, yet my first day on my own, in the first two hours I gave meds to the wrong patient. THEN the next day one of my patients died. It wasn't my fault (I don't think?!?!?!?!?) but what if I missed something? Something an experienced nurse would have noticed?!?
I am a wreck. I am terrified. I have 6 patients and I run run run and still miss things. Doctors constantly calling me, asking me questions, giving me verbal orders. I don't know who they are half the time (they don't introduce themselves! They just expect that I know they are so and so with Nephrology for this patient!)
I have a sheet where I stay organized. . .but I swear I just run in circles and hope to make it thru each day without killing anyone.
Do other new nurses feel like a complete idiot who is terrified to screw up? WHEN WILL I FEEL COMFORTABLE/NOT LIKE THROWING UP WHEN I GO TO WORK?
I know that feeling. I have given meds in my sleep before. Not pleasant when I'm all ready sleep deprived the nights before I work. I'm 5 months out of orientation and I still obsess about checking and rechecking meds.
I also hate coming home and worrying on my days off that I screwed something up. I'm trying to get through my first year in a hospital but after that I have got to find something else. I can't live with this anxiety. I think I have come to the conclusion that I can't handle having other peoples' lives in my hands.
At this point, I'm not sure what I can do. Most jobs in my area are for hospitals and that's what I'm trying to get away from. The jobs outside of hospitals require > 1 year experience. Anyone here have some suggestions?
OMG, I just got off a shift ( still in orientation-soon to be on my own) and already have a thought of never wanting to go back. I want to leave nursing and do sth else.
Its normal for me to have a 15 minutes meal break once in a while for the whole shift, and totally routine to not have any break/meal/restroom break. I feel bad for myself for not taking care of myself. I only eat once a day before getting to work. There are days I do not go to bathroom until leaving the shift.
I am so happy to read others' notes describing this (not in a negative way) that I am on the same page.
But no, I dont want to be late, forgot to check doctors' orders and their unreadable handwriting. and multiple labs orders, forgot to check orders...
The worst part is the my pt group often will be discharged or just arrive to the room at the beginning of the shift, and screw my shift-I am definitely gonna behind today and face the same fate of no break.
Is this fair? It takes time to get used to the routine, but this is way too much for me to handle. I really hope many others do not have to go through what I just had to go though.
What you're feeling is normal. In time, you will have the necessary experience to feel comfortable in most situations that occur routinely on your unit; it's just a matter of consistent exposure. This is not to say you will never feel overwhelmed; I have a few years of experience under my belt, and most days are still challenging in terms of time management, acuity of patients, and so forth. And there are definitely many days when I feel anxious, stressed out and overwhelmed, especially when faced with a new task or skill I haven't quite mastered. This is when I ask for help (and hopefully, am on a supportive enough unit to receive it) and depend on teamwork to get me through.
I cannot stress enough the importance of having supportive coworkers and working on a unit which has an established reputation of staff supporting each other and their new grads. I have worked in multiple hospitals as staff and traveler, and have seen hospitals and units run the gamut--from wonderfully supportive, to downright toxic. I have practiced the same specialty across a broad spectrum of hospitals (teaching, non-teaching, private, county) and while it was basically the same kind of work--the hospital system and the attitude of staff on a unit made a huge difference. My best advice in this regard is to keep working at it, but try to make a change if the environment is working against you.
Your anxiety over making mistakes is completely normal. I have found it extremely helpful in my practice to go to use my colleagues as sounding boards for ideas, help and advice. I cannot tell you how many times in a shift I ask a coworker, "What do you think about...?" or "Can you come and look at this and tell me what you think?" Don't be afraid to ask and get clarification if you're unsure about a procedure or policy.
Another thought: does your orientation program have a "mentor" component--that is, once you're off orientation, you have another experienced coworker "assigned" to you each shift to be a resource? If not, this may be something you might want to bring up to your manager in terms of establishing a unit policy for, and in any case--utilize the experience of other nurses! You probably already have one or two nurses you feel more comfortable about asking questions and getting help from. Charge should be a great resource, too, and, knowing you're a new grad off orientation, should try their best to tailor your assignments to your skill and experience level. If you're feeling consistently completely overwhelmed by your assignments, you may want to bring this up to your charge nurse or manager--most want you to succeed and will work with you to find a balance between their staffing needs and your experience level as a new grad.
Ask, ask, ask, and accept help when you need it... it will help you feel safer in your practice, and more secure in your abilities.
Good luck, and remember: be sure to take time for self-care on your days off, and don't be too hard on yourself--no one's perfect, everyone misses things from time to time; that's why they call it the "practice" of nursing!
I've been an RN for a little over a year now. Yes, all the above posts are correct. You feel like your drowning--but you will find air in about 6 months.
A couple of things I learned early as a new nurse...
1. Learn to recognize an unsafe situation and report it: You are responsible for you and if you believe your harried pace is making you unsafe then tell your Charge Nurse. Any Charge Nurse worth their salt knows to stop a unsafe situation before it gets worse. And, once the Charge Nurse is aware of an unsafe situation, it is their legal and ethical responsibility to get it under control.
2. Don't beat yourself up. Be sure to ask yourself if you're a better nurse by Friday than you were on Monday... if your are, you are doing fine.
3. Make time to burn of the stress... there will be lots of it. Go to the gym, run, hit a heavy bag, pray... and most importantly, get enought sleep and if possible take a nap before work.
starletRN
157 Posts
I know that feeling. I have given meds in my sleep before. Not pleasant when I'm all ready sleep deprived the nights before I work. I'm 5 months out of orientation and I still obsess about checking and rechecking meds.
I also hate coming home and worrying on my days off that I screwed something up. I'm trying to get through my first year in a hospital but after that I have got to find something else. I can't live with this anxiety. I think I have come to the conclusion that I can't handle having other peoples' lives in my hands.
At this point, I'm not sure what I can do. Most jobs in my area are for hospitals and that's what I'm trying to get away from. The jobs outside of hospitals require > 1 year experience. Anyone here have some suggestions?