First, shift off orientation, you feel free and scared. Your first assignment alone with six patients. No kid glove, no taking it easy. You’re a nurse, its sink or swim, you think to yourself. You have a nurse sitting next to you and a charge nurse. Twelve hours later, all your patients are still alive, and give report to the oncoming nurse. You should go home, but you haven’t started your charting, and you realized everything that had been missed. As a brand new nurse, you feel overwhelmed, a tear edge from your eye as you think, “can I do this?”
Foremost, this overwhelming feeling is normal. There is a lot to know, observe, and do. Every nurse at the beginning of their career feels overwhelmed and one issue that I’ve seen with all new nurses is time management. As a new nurse, they try to not miss anything, in doing so they waste time and without knowing miss more important aspects. Once again, this is normal and everyone goes through this problematic aspect.
Some nurses are a little better than others. Time management can be learned, and others have a tendency to bring their own time practices. Part of great time management is learning and understanding what to expect from patients. Becoming more comfortable with the common procedures on a surgical floor, commonly seen medical issues on a floor, will help ease into patient care quicker. Certain doctors and surgeons have the same expectation and order sets. These expectations and order sets you will see and learn. It will become a second nature and will take some time, read notes, read orders and understand the diagnosis or procedure.
Throughout nursing school and orientation, one observable aspect of all nurses, they all have a different flow. Once you are by yourself, you’ll find your flow. Whether you start your shifts by reading notes, reviewing orders, listing out medications. As a nurse, you prioritize your shift. Everyone has a different prioritization and you will find yours and your own flow.
It will come to you. It will take time, but soon it will be like second nature. Be patient and happy nursing!