Your 1st Year as a Nurse: Advice & Tips

What will your 1st year of nursing be like? Has school fully prepared you for everything? What do you need to know to have a great 1st year of practice? Here's some quick info on what you can expect and advice on how to make your transition from nursing school to bedside practice successful. Nurses Announcements Archive Article

Your 1st Year as a Nurse: Advice & Tips

Get ready! You're about to embark on an amazing journey! Your first year as a nurse, especially on the floor, will teach you so much about teamwork, endurance, time-management and compassion.

I've been a pediatric nurse for 6 years now and it's taught me a lot about myself, but I'll never forget my 1st year! The tears, late shifts and missed lunch breaks showed me that the transition from school to practice is a whole new ball game.

So, what advice would I give you? I can't go too in depth, but I will sum it up with the following:

Be Teachable

The more willing you are to learn, the more your seasoned nurses will teach you.

Be Confident

Patients can spot newbies. But your confidence will set their minds at ease. Don't be skittish, especially about new skills. I remember when I set a goal to become better at starting IV's and I asked a veteran nurse how to go about it. She looked at me and said very simply, "keep sticking". I say the same to you. To become proficient, keep at the skill.

Have a Vent Place

A lot of times, my friends and I would go into the med room and let off steam. When things get hectic, find a spot to take some deep breaths and regroup. Speaking of hectic, if you're having a quiet shift, DO NOT say it aloud. You'll increase your chances of it staying quiet.

Show respect for your patients' doctors, even if you are questioning a decision

I know it might sound a bit trite, but I've seen patient care hindered by strained nurse/doctor relationships. Your role will be to advocate for your patients, but you'll have to learn effective, respectful advocacy.

Ask for Help!

As the new nurse, you might be eager to prove yourself to your peers. How quickly things can get crazy! Don't drown in silence. If you are so busy to the point that patient care is suffering, let someone know. Don't worry about looking needy to your peers. You'll learn to fly on your own soon enough.

What can you really expect your first year? First off, expect to have to adjust to schedule requirements. The days of leaving mid-day when clinicals are done are over. Expect to work some holidays ( floor nurses), weekends and maybe some night shifts. Your sleep pattern and work-life balance will revolve around your new schedule. It may take some time to get used to if its new for you.

Second, expect more responsibility. The fact is, the nurse is at the center of patient care delivery. The buck frequently stops with us. It can be overwhelming for others to depend on you to have so much knowledge and skill. But it will get easier as you get more practice under your belt.

Third, expect to learn more about the vast field of nursing. When you're starting out and getting more skills under your belt, you will learn more about your niche and what you might like advance your practice in. So, I hope this info helps you! Have a great 1st year as a new nurse!

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Amandavalleen

About Amandavalleen

What will your 1st year of nursing be like? Has school fully prepared you for everything? What do you need to know to have a great 1st year of practice? Here's some quick info on what you can expect and advice on how to make your transition from nursing school to bedside practice successful.

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Thank you for the great tips!! I'm a nursing student now, so it is always nice to read helpful posts, such as this!!

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Thank you for your words of wisdom! I just accepted my first RN position so am sure these tips will be helpful!

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Thanks for the advice! I just graduated and am looking for a job and will remember these. It is definitely scary being the new person, especially in a field with such a huge learning curve from school to work. It's nice to know that people survive the first few months of nursing practice.

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Thank you for your words of wisdom. Tomorrow (Monday) I begin my career with RN finally behind my name (as of Friday), also in Pediatrics. Through my nervous jitters about how I do not know nearly enough to be entrusted with the title I've just earned... I am trying to remember that as a Nurse, I am a 'forever student' - and it is not only 'okay'... but expected that I will always be learning. For now, I imagine it will be the skills (which button do I press to program that pump?!, or.. exactly how do I cath a screaming/moving toddler?!) side of nursing where I will have to focus most, including time management. Hopefully soon it will be the art part more and more.

Thank you again, and all the best!

ME - RN!

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Specializes in Endoscopy/Infusion.

How do you know if floor nursing is right for you? I am into my 3rd month and my 3rd week on my own. I am currently working the night shift and to be honest I am overwhelmed. I go in with good intentions and then all hell seems to break loose, 4 patients to start, no CNA, a new admission coming, patient assessments, meds need to be done, picking up another patient at 11p, etc. - I get frazzeled and start wondering if floor nursing is for me.....Usually, by 1 or 2a I can actually sit and start doing my charting and read up on my patients......Also, beginning on Feb. 13th I'll be changing to day/night shift and am nervous, if I can't handle the night activity how WILL I ever handled all that goes on during the day???

So, is it too soon to throw in the towel, any advice?

Thanks

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I am in the same boat as you bassfishingRN. I am just a few weeks off of orientation on a medical floor and am often frazzled. As soon as I feel i have things under control, I hear the words, "you have a new admission." I am also adjusting to working nights and it's been a shock to the system. I miss the freedom of being a student! Never thought I would feel that way but I do sometimes. I think it is hard to adjust to working full time in general, and nursing is even harder than most careers out there. I think you should hang in there. I am. I have to talk myself into it somedays but I know it won't feel this way forever. I say give it a year, and if you still feel like it is not for you, then move on. You are not alone!

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Specializes in Endoscopy/Infusion.

Thanks Zen.....working full-time isn't new to me as I am 40+ years old, this is a second career for me, so that isn't the issue, just not sure about the demands of being a floor nurse. I too am finding myself having to talk myself into going in, which to me is a bad sign if I feel that way already! Hey floor nursing isn't for everyone, there are many paths one can take as a nurse, which is the good thing! I have been offered a 9-5 Mon-Fri nursing job in speciality physician office which I am seriously considering. I'll see how working days goes starting next week I guess.

Thanks again and good luck to you!

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Specializes in Cardiac & Medical ICU.
Get ready! You're about to embark on an amazing journey! Your first year as a nurse, especially on the floor, will teach you so much about teamwork, endurance, time-management and compassion.

I've been a pediatric nurse for 6 years now and it's taught me a lot about myself, but I'll never forget my 1st year! The tears, late shifts and missed lunch breaks showed me that the transition from school to practice is a whole new ball game.

So, what advice would I give you? I can't go too in depth, but I will sum it up with the following:

Be teachable.

The more willing you are to learn, the more your seasoned nurses will teach you.

Be confident.

Patients can spot newbies. But your confidence will set their minds at ease. Don't be skittish, especially about new skills. I remember when I set a goal to become better at starting IV's and I asked a veteran nurse how to go about it. She looked at me and said very simply, "keep sticking". I say the same to you. To become proficient, keep at the skill.

Have a vent place.

Alot of times, my friends and I would go into the med room and let off steam. When things get hectic, find a spot to take some deep breaths and regroup. Speaking of hectic, if you're having a quiet shift, DO NOT say it aloud. You'll increase your chances of it staying quiet.

Show respect for your patients' doctors, even if you are questioning a decision.

I know it might sound a bit trite, but I've seen patient care hindered by strained nurse/doctor relationships. Your role will be to advocate for your patients, but you'll have to learn effective, respectful advocacy.

Ask for help!

As the new nurse, you might be eager to prove yourself to your peers. How quickly things can get crazy! Don't drown in silence. If you are so busy to the point that patient care is suffering, let someone know. Don't worry about looking needy to your peers. You'll learn to fly on your own soon enough.

What can you really expect your first year? First off, expect to have to adjust to schedule requirements. The days of leaving mid-day when clinicals are done are over. Expect to work some holidays ( floor nurses), weekends and maybe some night shifts. Your sleep pattern and work-life balance will revolve around your new schedule. It may take some time to get used to if its new for you.

Second, expect more responsibility. The fact is, the nurse is at the center of patient care delivery. The buck frequently stops with us. It can be overwhelming for others to depend on you to have so much knowledge and skill. But it will get easier as you get more practice under your belt.

Third, expect to learn more about the vast field of nursing. When you're starting out and getting more skills under your belt, you will learn more about your niche and what you might like advance your practice in. So, I hope this info helps you! Have a great 1st year as a new nurse!

Thank you so much for this. I'm a new nurse as well and I swear I hate myself sometimes on my new job for all those reasons you listed. I'm struggling just like anybody that is new but I hope things will change for me when I spend some more time at it.

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Thank you. I will remember and use this for after graduation.

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Thank you for your post. This will be helpful as I go through my first year..

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Thanks for the reminders that us new nurses are not alone in feeling overwhelmed on the floor. Also that there are many different paths out there for nurses to take if the floor indeed is not the right place. It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one out there that feels like I am stumbling through my orientation as a new nurse. I've been orienting for a couple months now and I feel like I am learning a brand new task every shift! Exciting, but at the same time stressful to be learning and completing the tasks efficiently and quickly at the same time.

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