Will I ever feel comfortable?

[Steph81479]

I am a new nurse on the surgical/trauma unit....been there now for about a month and a half and I just feel like I don't know anything! Is this normal and will I ever feel comfortable? I have shadowed a couple different nurses and they all do things so differently. Some nurses give BP meds without checking BP, they just go off the 7am check for the 9am meds and pull all the 9 o'clocks before they go and see thier patients, etc. I just can't find a routine I guess. I am very bad about prioritizing too! I can talk to you about it and get it right, but when it comes down to it then I'm like "what do I do" and panic. I'm afraid that nursing is not for me and that I've wasted so much money on it!

[mama_d, BSN, RN]

If you look around on here for any amount of time, you'll find plenty of other new nurses who feel the same way. It takes an extensive amount of time to find a routine that works for you, and to just feel comfortable being a nurse period.

If it helps you feel better at all, I've been on the same floor for five years and still tweak my routine sometimes, and still have days where it seems like I'm drowning. I usually have it all together by the time day shift comes in, but sometimes it's just not possible.

[laffyfortaffy]

HI!

Hope you are now feeling more comfortable on your Unit...Since it has now been a month since your post.

I too am a new grad since May 2008, from Ivy Tech, and have an interview next week on a Surgical Trauma Unit.

I am pretty nervous. Just wondering if you could offer a little advice for the interview...is there anything specific I should make sure I know or look up prior to the interview?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

Jessica

[llg, PhD, RN]

Research shows that the feeling of "comfort" does not usually come until 6-12 months after you start that first job as a new grad. However, it can come in stages ... so ... you might feel a little more comfortable with each passing month.

[Jean1313]

HI!

I too am a new grad since May 2008, from Ivy Tech, and have an interview next week on a Surgical Trauma Unit.

I am pretty nervous. Just wondering if you could offer a little advice for the interview...is there anything specific I should make sure I know or look up prior to the interview?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

Jessica

Hi,

I've been a nurse about a year and a half, but have a little advice to give :nuke: . It never hurts to do a little research about the most common types of diagnoses of their patients, etc. Also, I made a list of my questions for the interviewer as well (nurse/pt ratios, availability of a resource RN, length of orientation)... That can show that you are very interested and organized. Last, I always try to shadow before I commit. Maybe you could mention wanting to shadow on the floor? That shows a lot of interest too since you are making a special trip in, unpaid!

Good luck!

[laffyfortaffy]

Thank you for the advice!

[diane227, LPN, RN]

I agree with one of the posts above. It will take you at least 6-12 months to feel comfortable. You my still not like medsurg but you will feel more comfortable with what you are doing. I remember being new in the ED after 2 years of nursing experience. I had no idea what I was doing but one day I came to work and it was like I had a moment of clarity, suddenly I knew what I was doing. This has been the same for me with each new job I have had. The feeling of new never goes away for a while any time you start a new job.

[jjensen]

I feel that there should be some sense of not being totally comfortable, that is when the med errors occur. Saying that, with time and the more type of patients that you see and deal with, you will become more confident and therefore, more comfortable... Just don't get too comfortable...