The new nurse "feels"

[newbie1018]

Hey everyone,

I've been working as a pediatric nurse for about 4 months now and I'm beginning to wonder if I will never actually feel like a nurse. I'm so extremely task oriented and I feel like that takes away from the compassionate side of nursing. I try so hard to stay patient focused (instead of task focused) throughout my shifts, but by the end of the shift not only do I feel like I didn't really know my patients that well, but I also wonder if I actually remembered to complete all of my tasks! It's a bit heart breaking.

Someone tell me it gets better. Someone tell me that I'll get the hang of this and my patients and their families will view me as someone they can trust and rely on. Not only the patients and families but also my co-workers. I feel like they want nothing to do with me because I'm brand new... and that makes me feel pretty crappy too.

I'll get the hang of this, right?

[Kitiger, RN]

Try this: each day, write down something that you did that was patient-oriented. It could be playing with the child, making a therapy fun, distracting him, listening to him, listening to his parents, praising him or his parents (specific praise), eliciting a smile, teaching a new skill ... you get the idea.

I'm thinking you are more patient-oriented than you realize.

[nutella, MSN, RN]

Hey everyone,

I've been working as a pediatric nurse for about 4 months now and I'm beginning to wonder if I will never actually feel like a nurse. I'm so extremely task oriented and I feel like that takes away from the compassionate side of nursing. I try so hard to stay patient focused (instead of task focused) throughout my shifts, but by the end of the shift not only do I feel like I didn't really know my patients that well, but I also wonder if I actually remembered to complete all of my tasks! It's a bit heart breaking.

Someone tell me it gets better. Someone tell me that I'll get the hang of this and my patients and their families will view me as someone they can trust and rely on. Not only the patients and families but also my co-workers. I feel like they want nothing to do with me because I'm brand new... and that makes me feel pretty crappy too.

I'll get the hang of this, right?

Unfortunately, nursing has become very task oriented. That is the big danger nowadays - nurses are so drilled to complete tasks that they sometimes do not see the bigger picture or how their task affects something else or somebody else. Having said that - as a new nurse you are confronted with learning all the tasks and how to finish them, and also how to become the nurse you want to be in terms of personality. Since humans are not machines and the learning curve is huge, it is very normal in my own experience and from what I have seen with other nurses, that a lot of energy goes into learning how to deal with this never ending list of tasks and how to be efficient, constant prioritize and such.

In my experience, once this is more mastered, everything else will follow if you are a "normal" person and not the psychopath/sociopath next door....

Being new is just hard all around.

[Libby1987]

One simple step towards becoming patient focused, build the habit of pausing with every patient/family contact and make eye contact. Don't speak during this moment, don't do anything (other than something like a therapeutic touch and/or smile) and don't think about anything else, just stop and *see* the patient/family member. Look at them for just a moment, it can just be fleeting. If you need more of a purpose, look for something in their eyes indicating an emotion or symptom.

I promise you this will serve you well for the rest of your career and will trickle into your personal and public life in a positive way.