WE.MADE.IT.

Happiest of New Years to you my fellow nurses, we made it. To commemorate this grad event, I want to share with you 22 things I wish I knew as a new grad nurse and hopefully, this will help you on your journey from novice nurse to experience nurse in the year 2022.

#1 I am my greatest asset, in nursing and in my Life!

You CAN improve any aspect of your life, your career trajectory, your job etc. for the better at any point and it all starts with you. You do not need to look any further.

#2 Invest early, like, as soon as I earn my first paycheck early, invest.

Invest in whatever area you take the time to learn. Stock, bonds, real estate, day trading, crypto currency, a new business, startup businesses, or sales. Take the time to learn and have your money work for you.

#3 when going to buy a car, don’t tell them that you are a nurse

You probably don’t have much credit build up yet as a new nurse, DTI ration may be high due to loans, so unless you go in prepared you will get the higher interest rate for your car purchase and car dealers will think you make a lot of money and will want to upsell you.

#4 Whatever your weakness is a nurse, turn it around to be your greatest strength this year.

Focus on how it is an asset to you and not a liability. For example, if you are detailed oriented, as I am and it would cause me to stay later after work to double check my documentation and make sure everything was done, use it as your superpower and focus on how you get things done thoroughly and will help you to be confident that your license is protected should anyone question your documentation/patient care.

#5 Nursing school teaches you safety, nursing orientation teaches you competency and skills, working independently as a nurses teaches the art and science of nursing.

In every area of the journey, be present and take the value from each experience.

#6 Safety first, safety for yourself, your professional license, and your patient.

Safety is the name of the game, it should continue to remain and pivotal priority and integral part of the care you provide to your patients at all times. If is not safe, do not do it. Period.

#7 Colleagues are going to talk about you and misunderstand you and often misrepresent what you intended, however, let it be.

No one is perfect and do not hold yourself that that standard. They will continue to talk and gossip no.matter.what.

#8 You are more than enough. Always.

#9 Take a lunch break, re-invest time and energy into yourself each shift.

Whether it’s taking coffee break, having lunch alone, or going to a walk to enjoy some fresh air, replenish yourself each shift you work.

#10 Start you med pass / tasks / dressing change / bath / charting etc. earlier than you think;

It often takes longer than you expect.

#11 Drink more water!

Hydration is key, it helps to remain focused and clear, and it’s good for our own bodies.

#12 Talk positively to yourself and about yourself.

#13 Don’t take things personally

Majority of the time, it has very much less to do with you than you think. If you walk into a patient room and the family doesn’t acknowledge you, let it go, it has nothing to do with you. There will be many, many more examples of what can happen in any given scenario, either way. Do not take it personally.

#14 Stand up for yourself

Whether it’s an unfair assignment, micro aggression, pay negotiation etc. Stand up for your rights! Similarly, how we advocate for our patients, at this time in the nursing environment/ pandemic era it is important to respectfully and unapologetically stand up for yourself.

#15 Help your colleagues as much as you can, but not at the expense of not getting your assignment/tasks done in a timely manner.

Often times as a new nurse we want to be liked and feel we always have to say yes to helping other or feel afraid to delegate tasks to others. At times you may feel like you always have to say yes when someone asks “Can I you help me with …” But you do not. if you’re not able to safely help your colleague or do it in a timely manner for your patient care assignment, “no” is a perfectly acceptable answer

#16 Focus more on your strengths.

Then you will become an expert and add more value to yourself and others. Focus on your strength and it may be a way to increase your value to your nursing unit and your patients. For example, if you are skilled at putting in IVs on patient who are hard to get IV access, then consider doing class and getting certified as an infusion nurse or work as part of the PICC team where you can advance your pedigree of nursing skills.

#17 Incorporated so exercise/self-care practice into your day

i.e stretching/strength training/yoga/meditation. It is immeasurable the benefits and it will repay your way more overtime for the effort you invest.

#18 There is a first time home buyer program for nurses and healthcare workers, to provide grants up to $6,000 and down payment assistance up to $10, 681 to purchase ANY home on the market.

Who knew?? Nurse Next Door National Home Buying Program. Check it out at teachernextdoor.us (it was initially created for teachers, but now medical professionals can benefit as well).

#19 New Nurse Anxiety will get better, if you get better.

Each new nurse experiences some for form nurse anxiety as sometime between 0-18 months as a new nurse. Focus on the areas that you can control. For example, time management, If you feel like you get anxious about not getting tasks done in a timely manner and staying late after report to finish tasks then focus on creating a better time management system for yourself. Focus on where you can make a positive change and use your power there.

#20 This too shall pass

Especially a crazy, unpredictable shift. Some shifts are so long, hard and seemingly inexplicably difficult, where it can feel like its dragging on for forever. Thankfully, that is not the case, and you will get though that rough shift. For more tips and trips, check out the previous blog post on 5 tips to surviving rough shift.

#21 You will experience you first code at some point and you will never feel prepared.

Just be aware of that fact. A lot of new nurses I’ve worked with will take on a personal reasoning for why something happened with their patient. Like “I feel so bad that Mr. B is so sick, I thought I had fixed him and then this happened.” You are not personally responsible for how the patient responds to therapy/interventions. As long as you practice safe nursing care under a physician’s medical guidance, you do not have the power to feel as though you dictate the patient/s outcome. Unless you were neglectful and blatantly unsafe with your patient, it is not your fault/control/predict how they respond medically to care order.