Tip of the Day: What I learned and what I like to pass on to nurses and student nurses. Although this is more related to nurses starting their first day of work, but its just as relative to nursing students on their first day of clinicals: First of all, take a second and breathe. Got it? Ok, now Id like to point out that you will absolutely be task oriented at first. Youre still learning the skills and the time management techniques needed for a full patient load in a serious specialty. This is 100% normal. Believe it or not you are still in a school mind set, and you are going to feel like being 5 seconds late for a blood glucose is reason for being fired. Its not. Youll relax after a bit. Your dreams will return to normal. Real life is a little more flexible. Second, it is absolutely normal to be that exhausted at the end of the day. It will get less as you find your groove, but you will pretty much always be tired. Exercise trainers tell the average person to wear a pedometer and try to aim for 10,000 steps in a day. When I wore mine, I never got less that 15,000. Third, theres nothing more stressful than learning how to be a nurse. High acuities, high census, multiple diagnoses, toxic coworkers, extreme red tape and required detailed documentation all add up to one heck of a giant ball of nerves. If you dont find a way to let it out, your body will find its own way to do it. Crying and sleeplessness are a few examples. Yoga, kickboxing, motorcycles, knitting... Find a way to de-stress. Finally, I want to say that IT GETS BETTER!!! Its normal to feel crazy. Thats why there are books, forums, and support for just this situation. Pretty soon you will be helping other first year nurses through their crying jags and night terrors too...
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 15:07:02 +0000
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