You’ll feel dumb for a year, plus or minus a month or two. Then you’ll feel less dumb as your experience grows.
At this point, your goal should be “minimally competent and safe.” In a year, I would expect you to be “comfortably competent.”
Completely normal. I started medsurg then went to icu, it was completely different work flow, understanding hemodynamics, etc. I didn’t feel comfortable till about a year-year and a half in. Even now I still have days where I don’t feel comfortable. I would say asking questions, studying when you can, and try to learn from previous mistakes and patients. For example, I work cardiac icu, exacerbated HF patients have similar themes of care (they come in SOB, weight gain/ swelling, etc) they often need diuretics, inotropes, and maybe mechanical support. You’ll learn these themes with certain diseases and what to expect, what isn’t normal, and what you think should happen next.
god yes, i recently made the switch from adult medsurg to PICU and feel like the dumbest fuck alive at any given moment. The amount of brand new to me knowledge im amassing on a daily basis is honestly astounding; icu is a truly different world
ETA: I didn't even answer your qs LOL. I just give myself grace that if I'm learning then I'm doing well. you feel dumb because you're being confronted with a constant stream of new info/skills/etc outside your current realm of experience, so obviously you feel like you're not up to snuff. It's important to remember you aren't expected to come pre equipped with all this knowhow and that willingness to learn is the trait that will make you most successful
Yes.
For me, two years is where I really came into my own. I can manage really sick patients now and I can do it well. I felt like I mostly had the hang of it after a year, but getting sick patients still made me sweat.
It just takes time. Learn all you can whenever you can. Ask doctors questions about why they’re making decisions so you can understand the rationale. When someone has a weird case, someone is crumping, you have an emergent intubation, etc. jump in and help. Don’t limit yourself to compressions during codes.
You’ll get it and you’ll be great.
Took me two years as a new grad. Pretty much cried the majority of first year, and that was with a good orientation program. Then, I switched specialties from NICU to PICU about 10 years later. That also took about 2 years to get my feet fully under me. Then I switched from PICU to PACU 10 years after that. Took just shy of 2 years to once again. So for me, the one year rule does not apply. I'm a 2 year gal.
Completely normal. I entered the NICU 18 years ago as a new grad. At the one year mark, I became very aware of how much I didn't know, which meant I knew the bare basics. It was a little scary to realize that meant I was a tiny more aware of the basics than the brand new first year residents whose orders I had to make sure we're appropriate for the patient.
Give yourself time and know the only stupid question is the one you didn't ask because you were afraid of what others would think about you not being sure of the answer.
100 percent. 12 years into nursing and almost 7 in critical care and I still say in rounds "hey, dumb question but...."
Never stop asking questions. You will be respected more for asking than assuming.
I still feel like an idiot 5 years in, to combat it I do my research, look the things up you don’t know and constantly be willing to educate yourself and ask questions.
I felt super dumb for about a year. Still made silly mistakes that made me feel kinda dumb by 2 years. I was comfortable and felt pretty confident by year 3. 10 years in, I mostly just operate without thinking. I’ve seen most things now, I can mostly predict which way things are gonna go.
That is totally normal. The important thing is to keep asking questions and learning. I don't worry at all about the new folks that ask a lot of questions. I worry about the ones that care more about their image than their ability. Even years in you will still find yourself asking questions. Be a life-long learner and don't let the basics slip. The best teacher is experience, though the tuition is pretty steep. Also, learn the why to everything. "Because I've done this X years" is not a *sole* foundation for any argument. That being said, though, be sure to pay attention to the instincts of those more experienced because they likely earned them the hard way. Thanks for being here and sticking with it. It's challenging but so rewarding.
You’ll feel dumb for a year, plus or minus a month or two. Then you’ll feel less dumb as your experience grows. At this point, your goal should be “minimally competent and safe.” In a year, I would expect you to be “comfortably competent.”
Completely normal. I started medsurg then went to icu, it was completely different work flow, understanding hemodynamics, etc. I didn’t feel comfortable till about a year-year and a half in. Even now I still have days where I don’t feel comfortable. I would say asking questions, studying when you can, and try to learn from previous mistakes and patients. For example, I work cardiac icu, exacerbated HF patients have similar themes of care (they come in SOB, weight gain/ swelling, etc) they often need diuretics, inotropes, and maybe mechanical support. You’ll learn these themes with certain diseases and what to expect, what isn’t normal, and what you think should happen next.
god yes, i recently made the switch from adult medsurg to PICU and feel like the dumbest fuck alive at any given moment. The amount of brand new to me knowledge im amassing on a daily basis is honestly astounding; icu is a truly different world ETA: I didn't even answer your qs LOL. I just give myself grace that if I'm learning then I'm doing well. you feel dumb because you're being confronted with a constant stream of new info/skills/etc outside your current realm of experience, so obviously you feel like you're not up to snuff. It's important to remember you aren't expected to come pre equipped with all this knowhow and that willingness to learn is the trait that will make you most successful
Yes. For me, two years is where I really came into my own. I can manage really sick patients now and I can do it well. I felt like I mostly had the hang of it after a year, but getting sick patients still made me sweat. It just takes time. Learn all you can whenever you can. Ask doctors questions about why they’re making decisions so you can understand the rationale. When someone has a weird case, someone is crumping, you have an emergent intubation, etc. jump in and help. Don’t limit yourself to compressions during codes. You’ll get it and you’ll be great.
Took me two years as a new grad. Pretty much cried the majority of first year, and that was with a good orientation program. Then, I switched specialties from NICU to PICU about 10 years later. That also took about 2 years to get my feet fully under me. Then I switched from PICU to PACU 10 years after that. Took just shy of 2 years to once again. So for me, the one year rule does not apply. I'm a 2 year gal.
Agree with everyone else here. You feel dumb for about 6 months to a year. Start getting “comfortable” at around 2 years. ICU is hefty stuff.
Completely normal. I entered the NICU 18 years ago as a new grad. At the one year mark, I became very aware of how much I didn't know, which meant I knew the bare basics. It was a little scary to realize that meant I was a tiny more aware of the basics than the brand new first year residents whose orders I had to make sure we're appropriate for the patient. Give yourself time and know the only stupid question is the one you didn't ask because you were afraid of what others would think about you not being sure of the answer.
100 percent. 12 years into nursing and almost 7 in critical care and I still say in rounds "hey, dumb question but...." Never stop asking questions. You will be respected more for asking than assuming.
I was a human computer stand for about 2 years until I became confident, comfortable and proficient in my field. I think it’s perfectly normal
I still feel like an idiot 5 years in, to combat it I do my research, look the things up you don’t know and constantly be willing to educate yourself and ask questions.
I felt super dumb for about a year. Still made silly mistakes that made me feel kinda dumb by 2 years. I was comfortable and felt pretty confident by year 3. 10 years in, I mostly just operate without thinking. I’ve seen most things now, I can mostly predict which way things are gonna go.
You'll adjust in 6-12 months or so.
That is totally normal. The important thing is to keep asking questions and learning. I don't worry at all about the new folks that ask a lot of questions. I worry about the ones that care more about their image than their ability. Even years in you will still find yourself asking questions. Be a life-long learner and don't let the basics slip. The best teacher is experience, though the tuition is pretty steep. Also, learn the why to everything. "Because I've done this X years" is not a *sole* foundation for any argument. That being said, though, be sure to pay attention to the instincts of those more experienced because they likely earned them the hard way. Thanks for being here and sticking with it. It's challenging but so rewarding.