Feeling a little aprehensive

[ravishenkar654]

Going through some of these boards I can see that a lot of poeple are overwhelmed with joy of their jobs and at times are just overwhelmed with what goes on in their day to day, and I'm wondering if its normal to feel a bit aprehensive about even studying this?

[x91D]

Hi,
In answer to your ?, yes it is perfectly normal to be anxious about your job and your studies. I am an OR supervisor and we train new grads into the OR, it takes them about 1 year to be clinically competent, and another few years to be really comfortable. We tell them to go day by day, and to remember what they have been taught. I chat with them frequently to assess their progress as well as how they are feeling, and they are very proud of their accomplishments, but are still very nervous about being nurses in the OR. Ask any old nurse how they felt when they first started (if they can remember) and they will tell you that they were scared, but some old hand took them under their wing and helped them along.

Good luck,
x91D

[Ricu]

Hi,
In answer to your ?, yes it is perfectly normal to be anxious about your job and your studies. I am an OR supervisor and we train new grads into the OR, it takes them about 1 year to be clinically competent, and another few years to be really comfortable. We tell them to go day by day, and to remember what they have been taught. I chat with them frequently to assess their progress as well as how they are feeling, and they are very proud of their accomplishments, but are still very nervous about being nurses in the OR. Ask any old nurse how they felt when they first started (if they can remember) and they will tell you that they were scared, but some old hand took them under their wing and helped them along.

Good luck,
x91D

Sage advice, x91D, thanks. You write about experiences in the OR but I think your practice applies everywhere in nursing, especially the regular check-ins with new staff to see how things feel from their perspective.

R

[OldSquidNewNurse]

Hi,
In answer to your ?, yes it is perfectly normal to be anxious about your job and your studies. I am an OR supervisor and we train new grads into the OR, it takes them about 1 year to be clinically competent, and another few years to be really comfortable. We tell them to go day by day, and to remember what they have been taught. I chat with them frequently to assess their progress as well as how they are feeling, and they are very proud of their accomplishments, but are still very nervous about being nurses in the OR. Ask any old nurse how they felt when they first started (if they can remember) and they will tell you that they were scared, but some old hand took them under their wing and helped them along.

Good luck,
x91D

Well put. Nursing is a profession that you can never stop learning in. As my wife and others have told me, you learn more your first year or two out of nursing school than you learn in.

[Ricu]

Well put. Nursing is a profession that you can never stop learning in. As my wife and others have told me, you learn more your first year or two out of nursing school than you learn in.

Old Squid makes another good point about how much more the new grad learns once in the workforce. Scholastic clinical exposure really doesn't mimic actual practice.

R

[JDKrn97]

In-addition, the learning never stops. New Drugs, new procedures, new regulations are always coming up. Plus patients are sicker in most health care settings. I would say nursing is a lifestyle, your desire to care for people must overcome your aprehension to get involved. Then as you gain experience, you have better tools to handle the demands of the job.

[Ricu]

In-addition, the learning never stops. New Drugs, new procedures, new regulations are always coming up. Plus patients are sicker in most health care settings. I would say nursing is a lifestyle, your desire to care for people must overcome your aprehension to get involved. Then as you gain experience, you have better tools to handle the demands of the job.

Another really good observation, nursing IS a lifestyle. We've seen that it takes a certain personality type to truly do the job well. Thanks for the input.

R

[ravishenkar654]

In-addition, the learning never stops. New Drugs, new procedures, new regulations are always coming up. Plus patients are sicker in most health care settings. I would say nursing is a lifestyle, your desire to care for people must overcome your aprehension to get involved. Then as you gain experience, you have better tools to handle the demands of the job.

Thats actually why I wanted to become an RN, to help people. I was just taken by surprise when I made the decision to study this; so many different routes for a simillar position.

[Ricu]

Thats actually why I wanted to become an RN, to help people. I was just taken by surprise when I made the decision to study this; so many different routes for a simillar position.

Hi Ravi,

I understand wanting to help people but what was surprising about your study of nursing?

R

[ravishenkar654]

I was just a little in shock when I found out how many different fields there actually in Nursing. I always thought there were nurses and that was just it, but there are many more positions. Thats what truly surprised me.