Very discouraged new grad.

aquinn07 · Apr 5, 2012

Do not give up! There is a reason that you start off in orientation, we do not come out of the womb being a nurse and what we learn in nursing school is a fraction of what you need to know for you job. I am sorry you are having such a difficult time orienting. Your preceptor should be helping you learn to manage your time and properly care for patients. Things will get better with time and you will be amazed at how much you learn/improve in just a few months of orientation.

When I started nursing, my first preceptor was horrible and I really began to doubt myself and wonder if I had picked the right floor/hospital/even career. I switched preceptors and she helped me gain my confidence back. She reminded me why I want to be a nurse and showed me how to be a good nurse.

I would also check with your hospital policy regarding the shift change. At my hospital, they cannot change the shift I work without my permission if I was hired to work another shift.

Best of luck to you!!!

CrufflerJJ, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Apr 5, 2012

I recently graduated and am working in a progressive care unit. I'm still orienting to the floor. Sence I started this job I've been transferred from a different unit had a write up, and am now being changed to work nights. There are days when I don't leave till 9pm bc I'm charting everything that happened through out the day. I feel as if I'm not good enough to be a nurse some days. I work really hard and try my best but I can't seem to get out on time or have that knowledge that experienced nurses have to pick up on things and do something. I feel through out the day as if all I'm doing is following doctors orders. Someone please help me with all of this.
... I'm so discouraged about this I have even thought about not being a nurse because I do not want to kill anyone and I want to give all of my patients the best care I can.[/quote']
It certainly sounds like you CARE, which is more than can be said for some people. You obviously want to do a good job, and not harm your patients. Good for you!
Your feelings of being less than adequate are perfectly normal. Nursing school just gives you the basics. Your first job is where you really hone your time management skills & grow into the nursing role. Every time you change departments/units, please cut yourself some slack as you learn departmental roles/expectations.
It's normal to need to work later than "normal" (compared to experienced nurses), so don't fret too much about that. I'd encourage you to work on your time management skills bit by bit. It WILL get better, day by day.
If you encounter a situation that's new/scary to you, and you doubt your ability to complete it safely, please work with your charge nurse. If you're not trying new things and growing as a nurse, then you should be bored. This is not a good thing.
Your feelings of just "following doctors orders" is also perfectly NORMAL for new nurses. At this stage of your career, you are pretty much expected to be task oriented - just completing daily tasks, checking them off as you go, and not really seeing the "big picture." This WILL get better with time. Expect it to take 6-12 months before you feel "comfortable" in your role as a nurse. Once you feel comfortable, push yourself to do/learn more.
You seemed to express concerns (therapeutic communication, eh wot?!) about not having "that knowledge that experienced nurses have to pick up on things and do something." GOSH....what a SURPRISE! Not. You are not yet an experienced nurse. Please don't hold yourself to the same expectations regarding picking up on subtle signs & instantly knowing what to do. At this stage of your career, I'd just hope that you'd know when something "isn't quite right", and would be willing to ask your fellow nurses and charge nurse for input. If you fail to "raise the flag", then that's not a good thing. Trust your gut.
Don't sell yourself short. If you were a useless incompetent stoooopid pitiful dweeb-style threat to the safety of your patients (as you might be feeling right about now), you'd have hopefully been culled from the herd of your fellow nursing students before you graduated.
You're probably doing about normal for a new graduate nurse. Don't be reluctant to ask your coworkers/charge/managers for feedback regarding your performance & how you might improve. That being said, I'd encourage you to do your best every day, try to learn something new, and not get worn down.
You're not perfect. Neither am I. Such is life....move on and keep learning/improving.
Stick with it! (Ganbatte, for the Nihongo readers out there)

RedRobin8 · Apr 5, 2012

Ditto to both of the above comments. It takes a little while to discern whether these are normal growing pains or perhaps not the unit for you. No one tells you how different nursing school is from the real nursing world. Nothing can prepare you for that.

One of my very good friends went through the exact same experiences as you, and she recognized that she had poor preceptors and no support in a high turnover unit that had been decimated by half of the staff leaving in a mass exodus due to very poor management changes. She also struggled with the charting, which she came to realize was because 1) she is an extremely detail oriented person, and 2) we have a ridiculous amount of electronic charting which keeps us in front of a computer for more time than at the bedside. Additionally, I can think of very few reasons to "write up" a new grad...we are there to help each other to grow, not point fingers so quickly. I have been an RN for one year on a step-down (neuro) unit this month, and only in the last few weeks did I come to realize that I am starting to find my own comfort level...but I still ask questions for anything about which I am uncertain (daily), and I also strive to reassure the new grads coming behind me with their own uncertainty. I have had nurses with 5 years' experience tell me they learn new things every day. Confer with your fellow grads, and you will find that some will spend the first 6-12 months somewhere in misery, only to discover it is just not suited to their skills and strengths. The experience is not a waste, and it is okay to take your experience to another unit. There is no wrong answer...just keep putting one foot in front of another, you will find the path that is right for you. By the way, after 9 months my friend applied to a critical care unit after she could take no more negativity, and has found a friendlier, detail-oriented unit with 1:2 ratio that suits her perfectly. Best of luck to you!!

RNfaster · Apr 5, 2012

It gets better. With time, you will be more familiar and faster with procedures and charting. If at all possible chart as you go. I notice that when I do that I seem to have a better handle on things... If I wait and do it at the end of the shift, it takes me longer and I am more prone to forgetting something.

You are normal! And it will get better!!!