I've been reading here for awhile now and there seems to be a reoccuring theme.. that the first year or two is incredibly crazy and in some cases hellish.
I'm curious, what exactly makes it so hard the first year??? I know that it is adjustment to a new career.. I imagine the organization and workload are very trying... But it seems as though many people want to quit or question their decision to be a nurse in the first year.
I am still in nursing school... 2 more semesters to go and i'm very excited! However, I anticipate that I may have a really hard time in the beginning.
The answers to this are numerous. First, there's the lack of true preparation in nursing school to perform the job of a nurse in real life (i.e. managing multiple patients, time management, skills you may not have gotten much practice on, etc.). Second, there's the orientation, or maybe the lack there of. In the E..D. (I'm an E.D. nurse), the recommended orientation is at LEAST six months (that's from our national specialty organization). I would say ANY orientation should be at least that long. It takes some time to get your feet under you as a nurse and feel like you're actually doing the job well. Look at physicians...........they do three years in a residency! Now, I know that's apples and oranges, but even still............3 years to, say 6 weeks!?!?!? The heavy load for newbies is bad too. If it doesn't make someone turn tail and run, it makes them anxious and skiddish and puts them in a position to make mistakes that can ruin many lives. And should they make it through this gauntlet, they become the same way as the other nurses. They turn on newbies, dump on each other, and generally stab their coworkers in the back. Great line of work huh?
With all that said, my suggestion would be to find someone to be a mentor to you. Someone who can be a sounding board for your frustrations and that you can turn to for help and guidance. It doesn't need to be someone you work with necessarily, but someone with experience and who is willing to spend some time with you. I wish you all the best!
I agree with most of what has been written, but think much depends on where you go to school. The 2-yr program I went to did focus on the clinical setting and did a good job of teaching us the basic skills we need to be competent. Had I chosen to work at the hospital where we had most of our clinicals, I think my transition would have been much easier.
The difference is that there are things you just can't learn in school because they are facility specific or not safe to have a student handling. A student doesn't sign off on new orders (though, we did watch for them), handle new admissions, or process discharges. As a student, the most pts I ever had was 3 (usually only 2). Often, we would only give meds to one pt. You can't learn to balance everything when you don't do everything.
On the other hand, as a student, I had to fill both the nurse & the aide role for my assigned pts. Also, since I would have a massive amount of paperwork to complete for school, I would spend a great deal of time copying information from the chart. Med passes took longer because I would have to wait for my instructor.
What I tend to struggle with the most are tasks that are facility specific. The hand-held unit we use to scan meds may be very safe, but when it's being difficult, I swear it's the devil. Taking time to pull each pt's meds from the pyxis rather than having the med fairy deliver them to the drawer. Our discharge computer program was developed back in the tech ice ages (seriously -- haven't used anything this old since high school... 22 yrs ago...). We still use paper to chart assessments -- I like it, but it does take longer than computer charting. Other than the discharge program, I like all of these differences -- they just make me slower, and slower means harder.
I agree 100% with the person who said to choose your job based on culture. I chose based on location (can't turn down a 5 min commute...) and got lucky with the rest. Everyone is friendly and helpful. My preceptor is wonderful. A supportive environment is worth more than a couple extra bucks.
Finally, as you finish up school, focus on learning organizational skills. Get as much practice on procedures as possible. You may not get to use some skills in the clinical setting as much as you'd like, but if you can get extra practice in lab, go for it. Lab may not be the same as real life, but at least the basic steps will become second nature. Most of all, learn to be calm under pressure -- even if you are nervous on the inside. Good luck!
magicman
61 Posts
The answers to this are numerous. First, there's the lack of true preparation in nursing school to perform the job of a nurse in real life (i.e. managing multiple patients, time management, skills you may not have gotten much practice on, etc.). Second, there's the orientation, or maybe the lack there of. In the E..D. (I'm an E.D. nurse), the recommended orientation is at LEAST six months (that's from our national specialty organization). I would say ANY orientation should be at least that long. It takes some time to get your feet under you as a nurse and feel like you're actually doing the job well. Look at physicians...........they do three years in a residency! Now, I know that's apples and oranges, but even still............3 years to, say 6 weeks!?!?!? The heavy load for newbies is bad too. If it doesn't make someone turn tail and run, it makes them anxious and skiddish and puts them in a position to make mistakes that can ruin many lives. And should they make it through this gauntlet, they become the same way as the other nurses. They turn on newbies, dump on each other, and generally stab their coworkers in the back. Great line of work huh?
With all that said, my suggestion would be to find someone to be a mentor to you. Someone who can be a sounding board for your frustrations and that you can turn to for help and guidance. It doesn't need to be someone you work with necessarily, but someone with experience and who is willing to spend some time with you. I wish you all the best!