My first year a nurse I didn’t cope well. Still today, the occasional nightmare visits me. I dream about missing assessments and drugs not passed in time and I haven’t been a floor nurse in 12 years! I’m happy to say things did get better but that inaugural year was tough. Awash with anxiety, I really couldn’t put my finger on the one thing making bonkers. Overwhelmed with what was expected of me and what I expected of me- I dreaded going to work. I’m embarrassed to say, I called in to my supervisor many times stating I was sick and wouldn’t be working because I could not deal.
So you can imagine how things went with my first code. The hours of 7p-9p are a busy time on most nursing units. That night I was hustling. Attempting to assess and introduce myself to all 10-12 of my patients, field phone calls, review the drugs and administer them on time and make sure I had working IV’s. Despite the pace, I felt I was starting to get the hang of things. Life, however, was about to play a cruel trick.
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