When should I start feeling like a nurse?

[2bNursesamRN29]

I'm 6 months away from graduation and about to start my summer courses next week. I'm on an accelerated program so it's only 18 months long...I just feel like I should already be feeling like a nurse but I just don't...the thought of graduating and being responsible for a patient scares me. I'm doing well in my classes and clinical, I take the initiative to assess my patients and help with whatever the nurses need/ask me to do. When do you actually start to feel like a nurse? Shouldn't I already feel more prepared by now?

[RNHop]

I have been working for about a year and a half as a RN, and I am just starting to feel comfortable in the hospital. I don't think any of my class mates felt completely prepared when we were in our last class and heading to graduation!! My first day at an actual nursing job, I was extremely nervous, and the feeling lasted a long time!! But don't worry, once you start working, it slowly gets better and better.

[DiscGolfNurse, BSN]

You feelings are completely normal. I don't think its typical to feel "ready" once you graduate. There is still so much to learn once you accept your first nursing job. Prioritization is huge and I don't feel as though you really get a hand on it until you are on your own and working. It comes with time. Unfortunately, you don't just graduate and automatically feel prepared to taking on the world and that's okay. Don't worry, one day you'll be working and realize that you're getting the hang of this nursing thing :)

[VerticalHorizon]

You are only halfway finished with your nursing education, it would be troubling if you DID feel like a nurse and ready to handle patients on your own.

[NewMurse1014]

I have been in my current new grad position for 6 months, and I'm just started to get comfortable on the unit. It's completely normal to feel that way. Graduating and passing the NCLEX only certify you to be a safe nurse with basic knowledge, but the actual learning to become a competent nurse starts at work.

I was in a 12 months ABSN program, and I felt really underprepared compared to a normal 4 years BSN program in terms of skills and clinical hours. Luckily I got into the new grad program and got a 3 months orientation. I was also worried on the first few weeks on my own when the preceptor was no longer watching my back. Even now I still ask tons of questions, but my colleagues are all happy to help me out. The first year is always the toughest for new grads, and it's OK to feel anxious. It's the road that all new grads have to go through from novice to expert. Good luck with school and NCLEX!

[barcode120x, RN, NP]

Not once throughout nursing school did I ever feel like a "real nurse." I felt like a student nurse all the way through, as it should. Yes, you should think like a nurse as much as possible, but it won't be true until after.It wasn't until the very first night I started on my own and off orientation/precepting did I feel like I was a real nurse.

[marienm, RN, CCRN]

Two thoughts: 1) I started feeling like a nurse when I started thinking "I can handle this without needing another RN for help." In my 3rd (out of 4th) semester of nursing school, I answered a call light at the beginning of the shift for a patient I didn't know at all (not assigned to me). Pt says & points to her abdomen: "I had surgery the other day and I feel like something just popped." I didn't know what to do, so I had to go get my instructor (pulling her away from something else) because the floor RNs were still in the middle of report. We lift up the pt's gown to discover that her 2-piece ostomy appliance has popped apart. We fix her up & get her a clean gown and that was that. But I had totally been thinking that we were going to find some dehisced incision and I wouldn't know how to reach the doctor and she could be bleeding and maybe I should check her vitals before doing anything etc...And then I was thinking I was an idiot for not just looking before running to my instructor. Now, when my patient says "something feels different," I'm like "well, let's take a look!" and I'm confident that I'll either be able to solve it (re-do the dressing, move the JP drain bulb somewhere more comfortable, empty the ostomy, etc...) or that I'll know who to call.

2) I feel like a nurse when I know what to say...especially when I don't know the answer. "I know they were able to remove the obstruction and place a stent, but the surgeon is the best person to answer [your specific question about the surgery] during rounds tomorrow." "I'll need to check your orders on that, but I'll let you know as soon as I find out"

[Scrubs_n_sirens, MSN, RN]

I didn't start to feel like it until after I graduated and was off orientation. Everyone gets there at different times. You'll get there too.

[Nienna Celebrindal]

Its different for everyone and its normal to go back and forth. Hang in there!

[AspiringNurseMW]

I'm 6 months away from applying for jobs and a year from graduating. I still have trouble wrapping my head around the idea that someone wants to hire me. I don't know anything and the more I learn the more I realize just how little I know.

But what i hear is that nursing school teaches you the very basics, how to not kill a patient, and how to pass the NCLEX. You learn to become a nurse on the job.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

I didn't feel like a nurse until I was almost ready to come off orientation. Even then I felt like the very green nurse I was.

[cocoa_puff]

I just graduated nursing school, passed the NCLEX, and was hired into a new grad position. I don't feel any different than I did a few weeks ago as a nursing student. I know I still have a lot to learn and the thought of being on my own scares me.

Thankfully, I was hired onto a very supportive unit with helpful management and coworkers, and I'll get a very thorough orientation before they release me on my own. Still, I feel like I know nothing at this point, and I don't feel like a nurse yet.

cocoa_puff RN