Surviving your first year as a nurse will likely be one of the biggest challenges you will face in your career. Almost universally, first-year nurses have days, weeks or months when they feel overwhelmed, inadequate, disillusioned, stressed out or all of the above. If you’re thinking, “Was I really cut out for this job?” these tips can help you get through your first year as a nurse with your sanity, confidence and love of the profession intact.
Accept Your Limitations (and Keep Your Ego in Check)
Nursing school can often leave new nurses with unrealistic expectations. “A lot of nurses are Type A, brainy people who were used to getting good grades in nursing school, Nursing school is so hard that when you graduate, you think you know what you’re doing.” However, you won’t know everything all the time, but that doesn’t make you a bad nurse.
Don’t Try to Do It All
Likewise, new nurses must come to terms with the fact that they may not be able to accomplish everything on their to-do lists everyday. “You have to learn to accept that nursing is a 24/7 job, and you’re only there for 12 hours at a time, There’s always going to be something that you can’t be there for or that you can’t get done. You have to rely on a lot of other people.”
Ask for Help
Good nurses – whether newcomers or seasoned veterans – know when to call in reinforcements. That means asking doctors and more experienced nurses lots of questions. “Never be scared to ask questions, and don’t care if you are getting on someone’s nerves”.
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