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Sometimes it’s hard to remember how many valuable resources you have available to you as a new nurse on a hospital unit. Instead you convince yourself that you have to handle everything all by yourself at all times.
“The smartest person in the world is not someone who has all the answers, but knows where to find them.”
This is something my dad used to tell me all the time growing up. Recently one of my charge nurses said the same thing to me when I asked her how she felt about being in charge. She told me “You only have twelve hours, and you can only do so much in twelve hours.”
Those twelve hours can be incredibly intimidating when you’re still trying to get a grasp on what tasks are most important and need to be addressed within those twelve hours. Especially if you neglect to utilize the resources that are available to you. By that, I mean your teammates. Your CNAs and your fellow nurses.
Working independently as a nurse doesn’t mean that you have to be alone at all times.
New nurses (speaking from experience here) often feel the weight of the world on their shoulders when they first start out independently. The anxiety of trying to make sure you pass out all of your meds right on time, and check vitals and labs as you go is overbearing at times.
I was losing my mind in my first few weeks alone, thinking I was constantly drowning and behind or missing something. Keeping in mind my first weeks of independent nursing was in the first weeks that COVID began to take over my unit in the hospital.
Eventually, I got a grip and reminded myself that I wasn’t alone on the floor. That I didn’t have to drown in silence. That I didn’t have anything to prove to any of the other nurses by handling things alone like that.
All nurses were new grads at one point in time. They know how it feels, so don’t let them tell you otherwise.
The nursing shortage is real, but there are typically one or more nurses working with you. Not to mention neighboring units and their nurses and charge nurses who are always available as resources in a pinch.
It’s not rare for a new nurse to be put in the position of charge nurse a lot sooner than they feel ready to take on that role. It is totally within your rights to refuse the position if you don’t feel comfortable doing it, but if you’re feeling particularly brave and want to give it a try, always remember you’re not alone.
I was put in charge for the first time only about five to six months into working as a nurse. I’m talking the height of COVID time 2020. Talk about stressful. I just reminded myself that I wasn’t the only nurse in the hospital. If someone on my unit couldn’t answer a question, there were at least six other units that had experienced nurses that I could call and refer to in a pinch.
Recently I was talking with a good friend of mine who’s also a nurse working in L&D. She’s looking to work elsewhere so that she can make more money, so I suggested she try travel nursing. She’s been a nurse for going on three years now and feels nervous about switching to travel nursing because she “doesn’t feel experienced enough.”
I told her that although there are more experienced nurses out there that you would encounter, they don’t expect you to know everything about everything. The expectations of a travel nurse are high, but not unrealistic. And that she should have a n little more confidence in her abilities.
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