Dear Nursing Grad
Dear Nursing Graduate,
As you are wrapping up several years of intense schooling, 100s of hours of clinicals, countless sleepless nights and frayed nerves, let me assure you of this: You already are a Nurse. It's your heart, your care for others and your ability to assess and act that makes you a nurse. You've already got that. While it may seem like there's an endless number of things you don't know, that will take years to learn (and that's true!), you are a Nurse.
I'm almost 15 years into the world of hospital nursing and here are a few things I have learned and wish I would have known starting out.
You aren't supposed to know everything.
As you walk into your first job, new (cute) scrubs on, stethoscope, black and red pen, highlighter, calculator and flashlight, ID clipped to your top, you're going to be nervous.
Watching your mentors/preceptors as they artistically dance through an assessment with ease and finesse, you're going to be tempted to feel stupid.
Don't.
You know how to assess, you just don't have the system a nurse with 10 years experience has.
You will fumble, you will forget to check that pedal pulse, you'll take a temperature after your patient just took a cold drink of water, will strain and struggle to hear that murmur that your preceptor heard immediately.
But you've got this.
Everything takes practice and you have weeks, months and years to develop your system.
You have a good knowledge base, you will learn all the ins and outs with experience.
You can't short-cut experience, so don't compare your knowledge with those who have been doing this forever.
Pay attention and you'll learn.
Everyone has a different way of doing things.
One preceptor will insist you do a head-to-toe assessment this way, another preceptor will say another way.
Use the brain that got you through nursing school.
Watch how each does it and take bits and pieces from each.
We all have different strengths and weaknesses which makes nursing as a whole amazing.
We need to glean from each other.
Take instruction.
You are a generalist when you get out of nursing school.
The building blocks are all in place but you need to be taught how to use them in daily practicality.
A nurse who has been practicing in the area you're going into is an endless mine of information.
You can learn SO MUCH in a short time if you pay close attention to the critiques and helpful instruction of those who have been nurses a long time.
It'll gain you the trust of your coworkers and advance your learning quickly.
Ask questions.
Nursing is a bit brutal at times.
I don't like it, and personally do what I can to change the culture by being careful with my own behavior.
That said, if you act like you know everything and never ask questions, you're headed for trouble.
You don't know all the answers yet, and you need to be asking good questions.
Better to be hassled for a "dumb question" than to be mistrusted for not asking legitimate questions.
Most of us want to see you succeed, want to build you up, and want to equip you to give the best care possible.
We also need to know you have our backs when crap hits the fan.
If {they} aren't thinking about it when they go home, you shouldn't either.
I'm talking about interactions with coworkers, peers, doctors, specialists.
You will have times when you get your head handed to you.
Your heart will be pounding, you won't be able to think about anything else, you'll try figure out how to change it next time, you'll cry in your car on your way home.
That's all normal, but ask yourself this question before you let it ruin your night, week, month: IS THE PERSON WHO SPOKE HARSHLY, ETC. STILL THINKING ABOUT YOU?
If not, then you shouldn't either.
Cry, learn from the experience, and get back up.
We work in high intensity situations and at times difficult experiences with our coworkers is just the nature of the beast.
Being asked a question isn't the same as being questioned.
And "I don't know but I'll find out" is an acceptable and even GREAT answer.
Don't make up stuff, don't feel bad about what you don't know, just know where to find the answers.
What separates a good nurse from a great nurse is knowing where to get information and answers.
Patient satisfaction matters but is not the last word.
When you're taking care of patients in a high-stress situation, you'll experience some very angry, hurtful people.
Some are angry, hurtful people, and some are experiencing a situation that is temporarily making them angry, hurtful people.
You need to a have a bit of a tough skin and develop the ability to see which is which.
Sometimes discomfort is required for the patient to change in a way that is necessary.
At times, pointed words are necessary and may not be received graciously.
One day, your words, actions, etc. will be appreciated.
You may never get to see resolution but take criticism and angry words from patients/families in crisis with a grain of salt.
You're going to have to work weekends, nights, holidays.
That's just a reality in hospital nursing.
We've all done it, and it kinda sucked.
But you'll have lots of potluck experiences to show for it!
You've got this.
You really do.
Being a nurse is beautiful, messy, heart-breaking and life-giving.
If you work in a hospital, you're part of a wonderful team of CSAs, UOCs, RCPs, Rad techs, MDs, CRNAs and NNPS.
You'll know what most of those are within a short time and you'll learn how to work with them all to provide the best patient care you can.
Congratulations on finishing years of hard schooling.
I applaud you for being willing to give your heart and skill to those in need and for signing on to clean up any number of bodily mis-functions.
I look forward to working with you in this beautiful elite profession of Nursing.
Your colleague,
Tember Dickman, RN, BSN, CCRN (yep, it's still fun to add those credentials) :)
As you are wrapping up several years of intense schooling, 100s of hours of clinicals, countless sleepless nights and frayed nerves, let me assure you of this: You already are a Nurse. It's your heart, your care for others and your ability to assess and act that makes you a nurse. You've already got that. While it may seem like there's an endless number of things you don't know, that will take years to learn (and that's true!), you are a Nurse.
I'm almost 15 years into the world of hospital nursing and here are a few things I have learned and wish I would have known starting out.
You aren't supposed to know everything.
As you walk into your first job, new (cute) scrubs on, stethoscope, black and red pen, highlighter, calculator and flashlight, ID clipped to your top, you're going to be nervous.
Watching your mentors/preceptors as they artistically dance through an assessment with ease and finesse, you're going to be tempted to feel stupid.
Don't.
You know how to assess, you just don't have the system a nurse with 10 years experience has.
You will fumble, you will forget to check that pedal pulse, you'll take a temperature after your patient just took a cold drink of water, will strain and struggle to hear that murmur that your preceptor heard immediately.
But you've got this.
Everything takes practice and you have weeks, months and years to develop your system.
You have a good knowledge base, you will learn all the ins and outs with experience.
You can't short-cut experience, so don't compare your knowledge with those who have been doing this forever.
Pay attention and you'll learn.
Everyone has a different way of doing things.
One preceptor will insist you do a head-to-toe assessment this way, another preceptor will say another way.
Use the brain that got you through nursing school.
Watch how each does it and take bits and pieces from each.
We all have different strengths and weaknesses which makes nursing as a whole amazing.
We need to glean from each other.
Take instruction.
You are a generalist when you get out of nursing school.
The building blocks are all in place but you need to be taught how to use them in daily practicality.
A nurse who has been practicing in the area you're going into is an endless mine of information.
You can learn SO MUCH in a short time if you pay close attention to the critiques and helpful instruction of those who have been nurses a long time.
It'll gain you the trust of your coworkers and advance your learning quickly.
Ask questions.
Nursing is a bit brutal at times.
I don't like it, and personally do what I can to change the culture by being careful with my own behavior.
That said, if you act like you know everything and never ask questions, you're headed for trouble.
You don't know all the answers yet, and you need to be asking good questions.
Better to be hassled for a "dumb question" than to be mistrusted for not asking legitimate questions.
Most of us want to see you succeed, want to build you up, and want to equip you to give the best care possible.
We also need to know you have our backs when crap hits the fan.
If {they} aren't thinking about it when they go home, you shouldn't either.
I'm talking about interactions with coworkers, peers, doctors, specialists.
You will have times when you get your head handed to you.
Your heart will be pounding, you won't be able to think about anything else, you'll try figure out how to change it next time, you'll cry in your car on your way home.
That's all normal, but ask yourself this question before you let it ruin your night, week, month: IS THE PERSON WHO SPOKE HARSHLY, ETC. STILL THINKING ABOUT YOU?
If not, then you shouldn't either.
Cry, learn from the experience, and get back up.
We work in high intensity situations and at times difficult experiences with our coworkers is just the nature of the beast.
Being asked a question isn't the same as being questioned.
And "I don't know but I'll find out" is an acceptable and even GREAT answer.
Don't make up stuff, don't feel bad about what you don't know, just know where to find the answers.
What separates a good nurse from a great nurse is knowing where to get information and answers.
Patient satisfaction matters but is not the last word.
When you're taking care of patients in a high-stress situation, you'll experience some very angry, hurtful people.
Some are angry, hurtful people, and some are experiencing a situation that is temporarily making them angry, hurtful people.
You need to a have a bit of a tough skin and develop the ability to see which is which.
Sometimes discomfort is required for the patient to change in a way that is necessary.
At times, pointed words are necessary and may not be received graciously.
One day, your words, actions, etc. will be appreciated.
You may never get to see resolution but take criticism and angry words from patients/families in crisis with a grain of salt.
You're going to have to work weekends, nights, holidays.
That's just a reality in hospital nursing.
We've all done it, and it kinda sucked.
But you'll have lots of potluck experiences to show for it!
You've got this.
You really do.
Being a nurse is beautiful, messy, heart-breaking and life-giving.
If you work in a hospital, you're part of a wonderful team of CSAs, UOCs, RCPs, Rad techs, MDs, CRNAs and NNPS.
You'll know what most of those are within a short time and you'll learn how to work with them all to provide the best patient care you can.
Congratulations on finishing years of hard schooling.
I applaud you for being willing to give your heart and skill to those in need and for signing on to clean up any number of bodily mis-functions.
I look forward to working with you in this beautiful elite profession of Nursing.
Your colleague,
Tember Dickman, RN, BSN, CCRN (yep, it's still fun to add those credentials) :)
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