You are inspirational! I cannot wait to be in your position in a year! I have 2 semester left! Please pray for me! I am in medsurg/pedi now! Congrats!!
I personally didn't have any prior medical experience before nursing school either. Honestly I think that answer will depend a lot on your personality and what kind of program you are in. My program was based on quarters so every 10 weeks basically I had a new class that I was starting. I really didn't have time to devote to both a job and school so I stuck with school figuring that way I would be able to complete the program faster than stretching it out. I'm also considered an extrovert by most but internally I feel like I am very much an introvert. So for me not having any medical experience and starting a new job I just really was determined and told my self I was gunna do it and try my best. The great thing, I was open with my interview and informed them that I was a new graduate nurse with no prior experience. I told my charge nurse on my first night as well. I thankfully was blessed so far with great superiors who were very understanding. I took each new thing as a learning experience and if it was something I was uncomfortable with I was honest. the first week I asked for help all the time and felt like an imposition to everyone but if it was something I personally hadn't done in nursing school I asked to watch and then the next time I did it while someone watched to make sure I did it correctly and didn't miss anything. I also orientated for 6 weeks with another nurse so I was able to bounce tons of questions off of her without feeling bad. Most hospitals will set you up with someone to orient especially as a new nurse. Soak it up like a sponge and asks TONS of questions but be confident, not so confident its cocky and you put the patient at risk, but be confident in yourself and what you did learn in nursing school. I still don't regret not working during school because I was able to focus and study better and in the long run I feel like I learned and retained more information. I think ultimately this is a personal question and you'll have to do what's best for you but if you can afford to finish without working and can focus on school, thats great. I don't think not having experience will hurt or make working as a nurse bad. However, CNA's/tech's I greatly respect my techs. I made a video recently and mentioned this but they will be so helpful if you treat them well. There are times I'm crazy and ask "Can you please...." and they'll do it. But then I also know when I have down time during the night, if I do have time, I go and ask what I can do for them, or i try to answer call lights and put patients on the bedpan, bedside commode etc to help them out because then I know they are more willing the next time I need something that I'm asking because I really need it. Does that make sense? If you still have questions on the topic feel free to ask and I'll try to walk through or brainstorm or whatever with you to help. I personally did not work during nursing school though and I don't think that it has hindered me personally.
Thank you so much Jess for this great reply! It did help me not to be so stressed out because I was thinking for the past few weeks that I should work and need to work. 75-80% in my group have had medical experiences, and some of the just became techs since we started. I was feeling that I should do that too. Thank you for your reply. Since I have the summer off, I will try to get a job as tech or nurse extern, but if I didn't, I will not be hard on myself. Thank you Jess! All your videos are helpful, and I will continue to watch them!
I'm glad I could help. If you have the summer off I would definitely recommend trying maybe a tech position. I think you'll be able to understand more than some what it feels like and what they go through as well. Plus you always have the option of once school starts up if it's too much stopping for a while so you can focus on school while still getting that experience. Like I said I had no prior experience but I'm sure even working three months you will learn TONS!
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thank you and congrats
You are inspirational! I cannot wait to be in your position in a year! I have 2 semester left! Please pray for me! I am in medsurg/pedi now! Congrats!!
I personally didn't have any prior medical experience before nursing school either. Honestly I think that answer will depend a lot on your personality and what kind of program you are in. My program was based on quarters so every 10 weeks basically I had a new class that I was starting. I really didn't have time to devote to both a job and school so I stuck with school figuring that way I would be able to complete the program faster than stretching it out. I'm also considered an extrovert by most but internally I feel like I am very much an introvert. So for me not having any medical experience and starting a new job I just really was determined and told my self I was gunna do it and try my best. The great thing, I was open with my interview and informed them that I was a new graduate nurse with no prior experience. I told my charge nurse on my first night as well. I thankfully was blessed so far with great superiors who were very understanding. I took each new thing as a learning experience and if it was something I was uncomfortable with I was honest. the first week I asked for help all the time and felt like an imposition to everyone but if it was something I personally hadn't done in nursing school I asked to watch and then the next time I did it while someone watched to make sure I did it correctly and didn't miss anything. I also orientated for 6 weeks with another nurse so I was able to bounce tons of questions off of her without feeling bad. Most hospitals will set you up with someone to orient especially as a new nurse. Soak it up like a sponge and asks TONS of questions but be confident, not so confident its cocky and you put the patient at risk, but be confident in yourself and what you did learn in nursing school. I still don't regret not working during school because I was able to focus and study better and in the long run I feel like I learned and retained more information. I think ultimately this is a personal question and you'll have to do what's best for you but if you can afford to finish without working and can focus on school, thats great. I don't think not having experience will hurt or make working as a nurse bad. However, CNA's/tech's I greatly respect my techs. I made a video recently and mentioned this but they will be so helpful if you treat them well. There are times I'm crazy and ask "Can you please...." and they'll do it. But then I also know when I have down time during the night, if I do have time, I go and ask what I can do for them, or i try to answer call lights and put patients on the bedpan, bedside commode etc to help them out because then I know they are more willing the next time I need something that I'm asking because I really need it. Does that make sense? If you still have questions on the topic feel free to ask and I'll try to walk through or brainstorm or whatever with you to help. I personally did not work during nursing school though and I don't think that it has hindered me personally.
Thank you so much Jess for this great reply! It did help me not to be so stressed out because I was thinking for the past few weeks that I should work and need to work. 75-80% in my group have had medical experiences, and some of the just became techs since we started. I was feeling that I should do that too. Thank you for your reply. Since I have the summer off, I will try to get a job as tech or nurse extern, but if I didn't, I will not be hard on myself. Thank you Jess! All your videos are helpful, and I will continue to watch them!
I'm glad I could help. If you have the summer off I would definitely recommend trying maybe a tech position. I think you'll be able to understand more than some what it feels like and what they go through as well. Plus you always have the option of once school starts up if it's too much stopping for a while so you can focus on school while still getting that experience. Like I said I had no prior experience but I'm sure even working three months you will learn TONS!