I'm so excited to have celebrated my first official Nurses' week!!! It may not seem like much but it is a great deal to me. I'm so thankful to be a nurse. I do not want to forget this feeling of appreciation and excitement! It is such an honor to be able to have such a challenging, yet rewarding career and to finally wear that damn RN after my name!
In honor of Nurses' Week, I wrote: 5 Tips for the New Grad RN:
- Carry a Handy Dandy Notebook:
- Chances are you are going to walk in on your first day and be bombarded with a million and one things you need to know. And if you are anything like me.. you are probably going to retain about 15% of it. That is why it has been very helpful for me to jot all the key things down in my handy dandy notebook, which I still carry with me every shift! I may not always open it but, it is nice to have it with me to refer to if I needed. It is in a way my security blanket.
- It is also fun shopping and picking out a cute little notebook! The one I chose is this cute, red pocket-sized Moleskine.
- ASK all the stupid questions:
- So I learned this tip the hard way.
- If you are unsure of something or have any questions, no matter how stupid you may think a question is, do NOT hesitate to ask a fellow nurse or your charge nurse for the answer. It is wayyyyy better to look or feel dumb asking a "stupid" question than to make a mistake simply b/c you didn't ask!
- Oh and I know people may say that there are no stupid questions, but I'm here to tell you that there are definitely plenty of stupid questions. But you are going to ask every single one of them. GOT IT?
- Okay, let's move on!
- Wear comfy shoes:
- Believe it or not, the shoes you choose make a HUGE difference in your day. My feet have chosen the Nike Free 4.0 Flyknits. They are so comfortable and cute at the same time. But everyone has different feet so chose what's comfortable for you!
- Take care of yourself:
- Pick a hobby that has nothing to do with nursing. Yes I said it! Nursing is one of the most challenging jobs in the world. And have you heard of nursing burnouts? THEY ARE REAL. And even more real for nurses in their first year. It is important that you have some form of hobby or outlet to balance out the stress from work.
- Here are some of things I like to do:
- Coffeeshopping
- Traveling and everything that comes with it!
- Exploring San Diego
- Working out (ONLY if I'm in the mood.. hehe)
- Singing
- BLOGGGGING!!
- Get to know your team:
- Because you are going to need every single one of them! I know that in my unit, when a crisis arises, I can always count on my colleagues to be there to support me. A typical team may consist of all the nurses around me, respiratory therapists, doctors, a social worker, a pharmacist, the unit clerk, and I can't forget our amazing volunteers.
- I make it a point every morning when I start my shift to find out who my patient's RT and Doctor is.
- You also want to make sure that you have a resource nurse around you. This does not have to be an official assignment, but someone you assign in your own head.
- I have found myself drawing towards the same nurses. Get to know the nurses around you. Remember those stupid questions we talked about? It's definitely easier to ask those stupid questions to a nurse you can trust [:
Hope you find at least one of these tips useful!
My triple shot of the week:
- My Nike Free 4.0 Flyknits and rainbow compression socks.
- My Moleskine aka Handy Dandy Notebook aka Security Blanket
- My last travel destination at the lovely 49th Parallel Coffee paired with Lucky's Doughnuts in Vancouver, BC, Canada
Feeling blessed,
Soojung
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