What if?

[NaCl-ty]

I just finished my second semester of nursing school. Yay. But, I have to admit, even though I have great grades and have consistently been recognized as one of the top students in my classes, I am totally freaked out! It feels like you have to know SOOOO much patho and pharm that I doubt myself. What if I mistakenly overlook some lab value in the future and give a med I should have held? My classmates don't seem as daunted with the responsibilities of being a nurse, even ones that aren't doing as well in our classes. Is it normal to feel this way? Are you guys all constantly stressed the moment you step on the floor?

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

wow, you sound like a nurse already. Nurses tend to have OCD traits (in my opinion) and are Olympic style worriers. There will be references on the floor and in the medication dispenser. You will find yourself doing the same things over and over, so they become rote. And you will not work alone. So worry about grades right now, not some event that will probably NEVER occur. Good luck!

[Episteme]

1. When you begin working, you should have a robust new-grad orientation program wherever you apply.

2. Once you land on the unit that will be "home", you will begin to develop a systematic method for assessing patients, making your way through the record and so on.

3. The meds you'll be giving and the pathological conditions with which you'll be dealing will become increasingly familiar.

4. The learning curve for new graduates is very, very steep. Six months after you begin your first job you'll look back and be amazed at how much you've learned and how competent you've become.

[RunBabyRN]

Yup, sounds about right. LOL I think most of us go home and wonder sometimes about whether we did everything we needed to do for Mr. Jones or if we should have given him that beta blocker or if we should have advocated for him regarding something. You just do the best you can do. I think that being a bit anxious about the responsibility will make you cautious, and it will keep you from making dangerous mistakes. Anytime I start a new position (I'm working a variety of PRN positions as a new grad), I'm definitely anxious until I find my way. I worry I'll miss a step or contaminate something for one of my immunocompromised pts (I do home infusions) or will screw up mixing a med or something. But I also do all of my research on a new med, I learn new ways every day to be even safer than the say before, and I don't rush myself. Take the necessary steps to practice as safely as you can, and advocate for yourself and your patients when you are in clinicals now and moving forward in your practice. Look at new grad programs and getting a good orientation before you're expected to work independently.