First and foremost, I hope you chose this career because you want to help people because sometimes this job isn’t pretty. This job requires strength in mind as well as kindness from the heart. You will have days where your heart is full and days when you feel like you wish you could have done more. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. You will meet all kinds of people and you may make an instant connection with one patient while others jump on your last nerve. You are a Nurse, you have to keep it together and treat each person with dignity.
Also, remember your professional boundaries. Patients are people and sometimes, you develop a connection with them or the opposite – you really don’t like them. But first and foremost, as their nurse, your duty is to care for them. If you have a particularly difficult patient, remember that they are a dad, a mom, a sister, or brother, to someone. Setting boundaries may look like telling them that you would love to spend all your time with them, but you are required to care for others and that you will return at a certain time – then keep that promise. If you keep your promises, it does cut down on the number of times they may call for you. If they keep calling, remind them of the promise and tell them that every time they interrupt you from doing your other duties, the time you have for them decreases or you may not be able to return at the promised time.
Open your mind and learn from everyone you work with. Life is a continual learning experience. No two patients or situations are exactly the same.
Ask questions. There are no dumb questions. Not asking could mean a missed opportunity to learn something. Even the most seasoned nurses learn new things. No one wants to teach someone who acts like they know it all. On the flip side, you may have LOADS of questions. I am not saying that is wrong, but listen and pay attention and you may learn more through observation and then ask what you still need to know.
If you are a nursing student, try a part-time job in the medical field to experience the atmosphere. It would be terrible to conquer nursing school only to find out that you can’t stand touching people or caring for sick people. Jobs like phlebotomist and monitor tech usually require some schooling, but other jobs like a unit secretary or patient transport usually do not. A medical terminology course may be helpful. Working in a hospital gives you flexibility of time because the jobs are 24/7 and you may work evening shift or night shift to accommodate your studies.
If you don’t know what kind of nursing you want to pursue, start in Medsurg or Telemetry in a TEACHING hospital to get a strong foundation before overspecializing. Not all hospitals are teaching hospitals. If you choose a specialty field too early, you may get stuck there because many positions require experience in that area within 2 years and training positions are harder to find.
Get certified in BLS (mandatory), ACLS (for ED/Telemetry), PALS (pediatrics/ED), NRP (Neonatal/L&D/ Maternal child), and/or ONCC (Oncology).
Nursing is a team job – there are nurse aides to help you, but it isn’t right to not help where help is needed. Nursing is a DIRTY JOB. Sometimes you will have to help people to the bathroom, clean up after people who vomit, pee or poop themselves, address pulled out tubes and drains, and more. A Nurse Aide does help you with these tasks, but if all the all lights are lit up and you are sitting down, that is not right!
Travel nursing sounds glamorous, but as a travel nurse, you are expected to know what you are doing. I would recommend getting at least 1-2 years experience first. Being a travel nurse is not for nurses in training and you may only get 1 or 2 days of orientation to the unit(s) you are expected to work in and you may have to float to other units. You worked hard to get your license, don’t jeopardize it by working without proper knowledge.
And most of all…Take care of yourself!
How can you take care of others if you are not well? Please do not go to work sick. People come to the hospital because they are sick. Some are immunocompromised and it would be unfair for them to get sick from you. Get enough rest. If you are not well rested, you may not be at the top of your game – you could make a mistake.
…and if you work hard, treat yourself, you deserve it!
Do I need Malpractice Insurance as a nurse? CLICK HERE to read blog about nursing malpractice insurance. Hopefully it is something you never need, but in the event that you do, it could save you from losing money that you didn’t have to!