The start of something

[desertstar6]

Hello, all who are reading and thank you for taking the time to click on my little article. I have been a nurse for about a 3 months and everything has been unicorns and legible doctors writing. Nope. For my 1^st year I was told that: you'll cry everyday, you'll feel like the worst nurse ever, time management will be your demon and it will general suck. So far I haven't cried but everything else is so true. I could go on and on about how I don't like my 1^st nursing job (I picked Med/surg as a last resort but I picked it), how my orientation was like being thrown to the wolves while being on fire, or how I wake up in the middle of night with a panic attacks about having to go back to a job I'd quit in a heartbeat. But that feels redundant since half the posts on this site are dedicated to that. Will I ever talk about how I hate my job? Maybe. Will I use this media as an outlet for all my frustration? Oh yes. However, I want to use this site as a way to help my fellow New Grad nurses with the (pardon my language) crappiness of the 1^st year. So I want to say this:

Hi, warrior. You made it passed pre-req, nursing school and the NCLEX. You got a job. For some, the job is one we wanted, one we don't care about or one where you want to jump ship but you have a job which is a lot better than some of your peers. You may have the time management of a snail or may make mistakes where you want to slap yourself but you always finish the day. My supervisor told me "You're going to feel like **** every day for about a year. You'll cry everyday for a year and feel like the worst nurse in the world. We all started that way so don't beat yourself up for not being perfect". So the best advice I can give to nurses like me is to let stuff go. I'm not taking about "singing in an ice castle Frozen" type of letting go but surrendering to what you can't control. Patients refusing medication, having 20 different orders on 6 different patients, and doctors with the handwriting of a 2 year-old with their eyes close. Let it go. Roll with the punches and do the best you can. If you don't think you'll never get a rough blow as nurse, I can tell you little old ladies are strong.

Don't push potassium

Desertstar6

[sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN]

atta girl it will get better

[tnbutterfly - Mary, BSN]

You have the right attitude!

Hang in there and please keep us updated on your journey through nursing. It does get better.....one step at a time. Try to find at least one good thing, one success each day. Focus on the positive and don't magnify the negative. The negative things are there to learn from.

Good luck!