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Hey guys, today I want to dive into the topic of being a new nurse. It is exciting! And if you are a nursing student, I don't want this to scare you, because being a nurse is amazing and super fun, but not everything is rainbows and butterflies, and real talk: you will have bad days. Maybe a lot of them; but the important thing to remember is that it won't always be that way.
I decided to write this post, as many of my coworkers, and others alike, have forgotten how absolutely terrifying it can be to be new at this profession. I also am writing this for myself, so a couple years down the road, should I forget what this season was like for me, I can have empathy for my future coworkers in their struggles at being the new nurse on the unit.
I want to blanket this whole post by saying, if you are a new nurse, and life is rough for you, you feel like this isn't the profession for you or you are not good at your job, you are not the only one feeling this way. You are not broken, unqualified, or alone. Everyone feels this way at one point or another, and I promise you, it is not a permanent feeling.
You may go to work some days and even simple tasks like, "can you go grab me a bifuse for this patient?" can be scary because, hello you have no idea where to find it! So you will promptly go into your overwhelmingly full stock room, frantically staring at everything for a long time until someone else comes in and you can ask them. You have to say "hey, can you help me find the bifuses?" and then run back to the room like you hadn't been gone for 5 whole minutes.
I promise you, it will get better.
You will probably feel stupid at one point or another, and when you feel that way, I promise you at least one person will make you feel even more stupid to top it all off. But I promise you that you are not. You are simply new, and every expert started out where you are, as a beginner.
Some of your more experienced coworkers might, and probably will, make you feel bad every once in awhile, stating how they were never coddled like you are, how they were taking care of the sickest of the sick patients when they were working as long as you were, or that being overwhelmed and out of your depth is how you learn.
I promise you it isn't. You know why? Because they don't do it like that anymore, and if it was working, they wouldn't have stopped doing it that way. Obviously if throwing nurses into situations they were not trained for was good for them, or for the patients, we would still be doing it that way. So when people make you feel bad about being overwhelmed, regardless of if you're actually babied or not, let them. Bitterness can become them, but don't let it become you.
You are going to need to ask for help, maybe all the time. Some people will be helpful, and others won't (see above). But keep doing it. Asking for guidance is the only way you will learn, and the best way to keep the patient safe. The way I see it, it is better to ask for help when you need it than to attempt to do something you are unsure of, and then need to ask someone to come and fix your mistake, or worse, something adverse happening to your patient because of your actions.
You will make mistakes. Sometimes irreversible. But that does not make you a bad nurse, it makes you human. How you recover is what matters. I have made mistakes, and thankfully none of them have been serious enough to harm my patients, but doing so helped me to learn to never make them again, and how to act with more caution and not go on autopilot in my nursing practice.
Mistakes don't define us, how we overcome them does.
People will make you feel silly, you will make you feel silly, and some nights (maybe a lot of nights), you might go home from your shift and cry, or pour yourself a big glass of wine and lay in bed wondering how you are are going to do it tomorrow, but you will get it done. One day at a time. Remembering this feeling, this season, is temporary.
Some people will make you feel absolutely stupid, but others will be your rock to stand on, the only thing that is steady for you in this scary time as a baby nurse. There will be people who you know you can always go to for help, no matter how busy their days are. There will be people who will never make you feel silly for asking questions, telling you that no question is a stupid question, and genuinely meaning it. There will be people who make you feel welcome and appreciated, who celebrate your accomplishments and small victories with you, and stand by you and guide you in your short-comings. These are your people.
I hope if you are a new nurse you keep looking for these people, because I promise they are there. If you are an experienced nurse, I hope you are are one of these people, because your new coworkers need you. It truly makes all the difference.
Most importantly, you will never stop asking questions. And the day that you do, you should quit nursing, as you are no longer a safe nurse. I struggled so deeply with the idea that I was a bad nurse because I needed to ask questions, needed to ask for help and guidance, or was unsure of myself even when I was right. But what I have come to know is that a good nurse is not the one who knows everything, but the one who is willing to put in the effort to learn and grow (the one who asks for help when they need it). Many of my experienced coworkers still don't know everything with 5+ years of experience. What makes them fantastic nurses is their ability to seek out the things they don't know, learning new things in the process.
You are a fantastic nurse. Keep going. This season will end, and one day you will be able to go to work confident that you will be okay doing so. Being new is hard, so if you are in that season, hang in there; I promise you that you are doing great! Take it one day at a time, and one day, everything will be a heck of a lot easier. Don't quit just because it's hard. I promise you will see so much growth in yourself if you keep looking forward and doing your best.
If you are not new, I hope that this post took you back to how it felt when you were, and reminded you to be kind to others. I hope that you offer your coworkers help, support, and understanding as they learn. Be good teachers, and try to have empathy for how scary and overwhelming being new can feel.
"Look for the helpers, you will always find people who are helping." - Mister Rogers
I hope you decide to be a helper, I am so thankful for mine, and one day hope to be one for others as they begin their nursing careers.
As a newbie you may not be able to do everything your coworkers can, you may not know everything your coworkers know, and you may feel like it just isn't for you, but if you keep going, you might just discover you are happy you stuck with it, even when it wasn't easy. You won't be new forever, just do what you can today to get closer to where you want to be tomorrow.
Be willing to learn, be accepting of constructive criticism, be willing to look silly to become better, and most importantly, never lose sight of why you started in the first place.
"I am only one, but still, I am one. I cannot do everything; but still, I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."
E. E. Hale
The medical field needs you. Don't quit on your dream just because it's difficult; the most rewarding things often are. You are an amazing nurse. Don't let anyone convince you differently.
you are blessed. you are gifted. you are loved and appreciated, just as you are.
mindfully, molli
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