ANACA The Nursing Voice Fall 2019

22  . The Nursing Voice . Fall 2019 The New-Graduate Residency Experience (Part 3 of 4) The end of August marks my sixth month on the Med/Surg floor at Adventist Health Saint Helena. I have been on my own without a preceptor for the past three months and I am excited to share what I have learned! I feel that by now I have cleared the first major hurdle of being a new nurse. I have my daily routine pretty much down, I know where to find everything, and I’m able to think ahead a few steps further than before. The challenges that I see now are ones that stretch my nursing judgement. Good judgement develops with experience and questionable situations at this stage can be scary. As a new nurse, I think of two very import- ant things to remember: The first is to ask for help. Support is crucial to surviving in a hospital setting. I personally have found great support from my charge nurses, but I also reach out to anyone who is willing to give me a second opinion, whether that be other staff nurses, charge nurses, or even nurse managers. It may take some time to figure out who you can turn to but make it a priority because nursing isn’t meant to be done alone. Support is crucial to surviving in a hospital setting. Gabriela Smith Tan BSN, RN The second thing to keep in mind is that even after you get advice, if something still feels off, trust your gut! It can be easy to think, “Well they’ve been a nurse for 20 years and they don’t think anything is wrong, so why should I?” The key is to remem- ber that it is your patient, not theirs. Even as new nurses, we are what my nursing instructor used to call “unconsciously compe- tent.” If something is pinging your radar, follow that instinct: stop that infusion, call that doctor. If nothing comes of it, at least you know that you have done your job to ensure your patient’s safety. It is okay to be the only one worried! It means you are paying attention. Don’t let your pride or fear get in the way of patient care. The other important thing I’ve learned is to take time to support your process throughout the day. You will always have those days when nothing seems to go right, when you are just trying to get through 0900 medications and it seems like everything is happening to slow you down. On busy days, you may feel like you don’t have time to jot down that note on your nursing brain or double check an order before heading into a room—but nine times out of ten, you do. Take the thirty seconds. You’ll thank yourself later when you do not have to strain to remember what someone’s skin looked like or find yourself missing supplies when you are gowned up and halfway through a dressing change. The moments when you find yourself thinking, “I need to move quickly,” are the moments when you most need to slow down. So ultimately, my advice at this stage boils down to asking for help, trusting your gut, and remembering to slow down on busy days. Good luck out there, and thanks for reading! New Grad Corner