What do new nurses need to know

allnurses Guide · Sep 13, 2018

Don't expect it to be anything like school or your clinicals.

Learn time management and most of your problems will be prevented.

Expect to have struggles adjusting for the first one to two years. Struggles adjusting means anxiety, depression, wondering why you did this, feeling unsure of yourself, feeling humbled, wishing it were easier, etc.

Rebekulous · Sep 13, 2018

- Time management is an important skill to learn. At the same time, you will be slow at everything when you first start -- don't worry, you'll get more efficient over time. I think it's better to be a little slow, but doing something correctly, than try and cut corners to be faster. Taking the time to do something right will benefit your patients, and you'll get faster the more you do it.

- ASK QUESTIONS! And don't be afraid to ask for help. I love it when my new grads aren't afraid to admit they don't know something. When you encounter something new: look it up, then ask someone else to confirm what you find. The people who don't ask questions worry me, because who knows what they're doing...

- Take time for yourself. Being a nurse is hard, and being new nurse is harder. I got stressed out and felt overwhelmed a lot when I first started. Figure out something to do on your days off that will help you balance that out. Otherwise the stress just builds up until you crumble under the pressure.

ASUdevil · Sep 13, 2018

Have a good attitude and learn as much as you can. No matter how much of a rockstar you were in nursing school, that means nothing now. So always listen, learn to identify the good and the bad (you'll see plenty of examples of both) and also to identify who is a resource to other nurses in your unit. You're not expected to know anything, so don't ever feel the need to withhold a question you may have for fear of seeming dumb...just remember, you're new. You're allowed to ask anything and everything. Think of it this way...right now you're new...you don't wanna be asking New grad questions a year or two from now!

And whatever you do...try your hardest to resist saying "oh I know" when a preceptor or experienced nurse tries to teach you something, even if you do know. Worst case scenario, you learn what NOT to do and also get to figure out if this nurse can be a good resource to you or not. Heck, you might even learn a new detail, technique, or approach to doing something you thought you knew everything about.

Lastly, never say no or decline experiences...do everything, learn everything. And always be on time...5-10 minutes early that is.

Best of luck.

TX.RN.Shannon · Sep 13, 2018

Work on memorizing basic info that you will need forever---normal lab values, vital sign parameters, medication classifications, etc. This is stuff you absolutely have to know, no matter what setting in which you plan to work.

Other things you will have to learn on the job, like the previous posters said. Time management, organizational skills, prioritization, emergency procedures, etc---that can't really be memorized; it comes with knowledge and experience.

Be humble; no one will expect you to know everything. If they do, they suck!

You will make mistakes; that's inevitable. Learn from them and become the best nurse you can be.

And remember, the "real world" is gonna be so much different from the school and NCLEX world. But that's okay.

TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN · Sep 14, 2018

And being humble doesn't just mean accepting that you don't know everything, it's also accepting that you're no more important than anyone else working where you work. Don't become one of those nurses with a big ego. That minimum wage worker scrubbing the walls in the room is an important part of making sure the next patient in that room doesn't get an infection, and he probably knows way more about disinfecting a room to certain bacteria way better than you ever will.