How to Survive Your First Year As a Nurse, Career Near Me
How to Survive Your First Year As a Nurse, Career Near Me
The transition from nursing school to the first year on the job as a nurse is one of the most challenging periods in a nurse’s career. There is a high attrition rate for a reason, but no matter how tough the job gets, there are ways to make it through that initial trial-by-fire. Between getting used to the new environment and accepting that you are still in the learning process, you must find time to take care of yourself. There are many ways to take on this balancing act, and soon you will have more tools under your belt to succeed in your first year as a nurse.
Method 1 Transitioning from Nursing Student to Nurse.
1. Apply the skills you learned in nursing school. While you must accept that there is a great difference between conceptualizing a situation in a class and talking with a patient, don’t forget that you are well-prepared. Remind yourself that your first year is all about making the transition from student to nurse.
Unlike taking an exam in school, applying your nursing skills on the job will take a great deal of improvisation skills and thinking on the fly.
2. Accept that you will not know everything. While nursing school provided you with the information you need in order to be a nurse, many of the skills are learned in your first year, so you should not feel inadequate for not being an expert already. Try to think about your first year as a learning experience in and of itself.
Even if you were an excellent student, you are not expected to have all the answers or all of the knowledge that a more experienced nurse has.
3. Take steps toward being comfortable working alone. Much of the work a nurse does is done solo, which means that learning to accept that you are a competent and skilled worker is a necessary step toward feeling at home in your role as a nurse.
Your confidence will improve with time, but getting used to the autonomy and loneliness takes conscious effort to remind yourself that you are not alone: your workplace is full of other trained professionals who are there to help.
Comparing yourself to others and imagining that they are not struggling the same way you are is self-destructive. Try to avoid becoming paranoid that others are doing a better job than you.
4. Get to know your coworkers. While a lot of time as a nurse is spent alone, becoming adjusted to a hospital or clinic setting is difficult without getting acquainted with your coworkers. You should make an effort to have conversations with them each day.
Seeing coworkers outside of work is important, too. Ask if you can join them when you hear about events outside of work, and take them up on offers they extend to you.
Besides just being friendly with them, it is important that you learn from their experiences and listen to their stories and insight about your workplace.
5. Prioritize tasks by putting your patients first. When the chaos of being a nurse sets in, manage your time based on your patients' needs. When faced with patients seeking help at the same time, judge the situation and help the one who seems to be in greater need and get to the other later, or ask for back-up.
Let the past help guide your choices in the future. If you are paralyzed by tough decisions, use your growing body of experiences to consider what seems to be the right choice, and then stick with it.
If time becomes an issue, try to think about the best things to spend time doing each hour. Breaking the day into small chunks can help it seem more manageable.
Method 2 Continuing to Learn in Your First Year.
1. Ask questions any time you are unsure. Questions will inevitably come up about procedures, drug interactions, bedside manner, and everything else that your job entails. Others will understand that you are still learning, and it is critical that you admit not knowing something, particularly if it will affect the well-being of a patient.
The more questions you ask, the more you will learn and grow as a nurse.
Learning which of your superiors and colleagues respond helpfully to certain kinds of questions can be a good way to avoid feeling embarrassed or ashamed of not knowing something. If you feel like you are pestering someone with questions, remember that they had to learn too.
2. Learn from your mistakes. When things go wrong, it is important to admit your mistakes to your superiors and ask for help, as well as take specific lessons from the experience. Asking what you can do in the future to prevent the mistake will give you tools to work with in the future and show your desire to grow.
Your work as a nurse requires a great deal of integrity and humility. Taking responsibility for your errors and allowing them to guide your future choices is a part of the job.
3. Listen to your patients. Your patients are a valuable source of knowledge, not only about themselves, but about their needs and experiences. You should avoid discrediting them or becoming frustrated by their honesty about their needs. As a nurse, your knowledge is not only clinical, but interpersonal.
Being attentive and present with your patients will help you learn how to offer better support and care.
4. Take in the knowledge that is all around you. In a medical environment, you are surrounded by people with a vast wealth of information and skills. By tuning in to what is going on around you, you will be able to learn nearly as much as your curriculum in nursing school taught you.
This does not mean eavesdropping or ignoring your own duties, but paying attention when those with more experience are helping you out and working on the same tasks as you.
5. Remember that colleagues can be mentors. Take cues and follow the example of those who have experience, but don’t rely on them completely. This means listening to them when they speak, and asking questions when you don’t understand or you aren’t sure about their reasoning.
Method 3 Taking Care of Yourself.
1. Make time to take breaks and rest. With long shifts and full days of work, it can be challenging to wind down. However, regularly taking time for yourself will help prevent burn-out and help you continue to perform at your best. Use your breaks to relax when you get them, not catch up on work.
You should use your downtime, both on breaks and at home, to focus on things outside of nursing and your workplace.
2. Get enough sleep between shifts. Whether you work night or day shift, sleep will help you avoid burn out and keep you alert on the job, and remember that a lack of sleep is not just bad for you, it is dangerous for patients.
If you only have a few hours between shifts, taking a nap in between can help you feel more refreshed and prevent the two shifts from blurring together.
Night shift nurses can invest in black-out curtains to make daylight hours more suited to sleeping, as even a little bit of light can keep you from getting good rest.
3. Find time to care for your body. Nursing is a job that requires almost constant moving around and walking across sometimes enormous medical building, but exercise is still important. Small steps, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, will help you keep mental fatigue at bay, especially for night shift workers.
Staying fit is about more than just exercise. Eating healthy foods and drinking water are essential to keeping your brain functioning well and making clear-headed decisions. Don’t sacrifice others’ safety for a few minutes saved by skipping lunch or eating unhealthy snacks.
4. Stay in contact with friends and loved ones. No matter how far you are from home or your nursing school, your friends and family are one phone or video call away from being there to offer support and help you feel grounded.
Friends who are nurses are most likely experiencing similar things in their first years, so reaching out to them will make you feel less lonely. Building a support system of coworkers and friends is critical to staying afloat.
If you have a break in an otherwise overwhelming shift, talking to someone you know cares about you can make it all feel manageable again.
5. Take advantage of support opportunities and debriefings. Your clinic or hospital should provide regular offers of support, particularly when difficult situations arise. It is important to allow yourself to take the time to be debriefed and supported by your mentors and peers.
Seeking out support is important as well, even when it is not directly offered.
6. Contextualize bad experiences with the good ones. Taking bad shifts and upsetting days in stride will keep you from getting bogged down. If a negative experience seems all-consuming, remember the good you have done and let positive experiences and memories keep you on track.
While maintaining a positive attitude is important, so is allowing yourself time to grieve and feel compassion when death or other tragedies happen in your workplace.
7. Keep your goals in sight. Being future-oriented will help prevent the muddle of daily life keep you down in your role as a nurse. Try not to lose sight of your values and your future goals, whether they are career-oriented or personal.
Continuing to set new, realistic goals will help you to feel yourself growing and improving as a nurse and as a person.
