Picture this: you’re fresh out of university and ready to enter the big wide world of nursing. As a new nurse, you may have a placement at a hospital and are keen to make a good first impression to kickstart your career.

But what happens if after a few weeks or even months of working on the frontline you’re just not feeling it? You start to feel like you’ve put in so many years of hard work and are now questioning whether you’re in the right career or not.

So how do you know if it’s just new nurse nerves, a bad shift, or nursing just isn’t what you thought it was going to be? Let’s take a look.

Dealing with anxiety and nerves as a new nurse

From the moment you finish your studies right up to your first few shifts, you may experience a whole range of anxieties and nerves as a new nurse. Some causes of new nurse nerves include:

• Finding your feet in a new environment
• Learning how to adapt to the systematic approach on the unit
• Time management/staying on task/prioritisation skills
• Feeling needy or incompetent in your new role
• Lack of confidence and a fear of making mistakes
• Communicating with patients and/or families
• Delegation of tasks to other staff or colleagues
• Communicating with physicians about patients

These are just some of the anxiety-provoking thoughts new nurses encounter, but they’re all completely normal!

There are a few different things you can do to help alleviate these anxieties, including:

• Getting at least 6-8 hours of sleep each night (or before your shift if you’re working the night shift)
• Planning out your day in advance so you feel prepared and organised
• Learn how to deep breathe and use this when you’re feeling anxious, or even before you start to feel anxious. This will help to lower your heart rate and decrease your anxiety
• Talk through your concerns with someone you trust, whether that be a family member, friend, or colleague. Get your worries off your chest
• Where possible, get into the habit of repetition. Try to ask to keep the same tasks so you can master them and gain more confidence
• Remember to make time to look after yourself. Nurses are so busy looking after others that they forget to look after their number one – themselves! Participate in self-care, do a hobby you love, exercise, and eat well.

For more information, read our blog on dealing with anxiety and panic attacks at work.

What happens when the ‘nerves’ don’t go away?

Once new nurses get into a routine and become more confident in their role, these nerves often disappear. But for some, these anxious thoughts and worries can lead to something more serious. Anxiety can strike at any time and have a devastating effect on your health and well-being. When left unchecked, anxiety can lead to depression and eventual burnout.

Nursing burnout is a common condition among frontline workers who have been pushed to their limits both physically and mentally. It can leave those who experience it feeling debilitated and completely drained. It’s important to ensure you’re looking after yourself and taking breaks or time off when you need to, to avoid falling into the trap of burnout. Although some people perceive burnout as simply ‘stress’, it’s much more than that. Some signs to look out for include:

• Feeling like you’re ‘running on empty’
• Agitation
• Becoming isolated and withdrawn
• Losing passion for your job
• Feeling completely overloaded or overwhelmed
• Struggling to stop, even though you’re exhausted
• Increased errors
• Isolation, loneliness, and depression
• Increased absence from work
• Loss of motivation

For more information, read our blog on burnout in nursing.

When is it time to reassess your career?

If it’s been a while and the negative feelings aren’t going away or are getting worse, it may be time to reassess whether you’re in the right career. If you’ve had a few tough shifts or months, it’s important to know that this doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in the wrong career. Everyone goes through rough patches in their career and working in a high demand role, it’s understandable to go through rough patches and feel overwhelmed. If the feelings of having a ‘bad shift’ aren’t going away, it may be time to check in with yourself. Some ways to tell if you’re in the wrong career include:

• You start calling in sick more frequently
• You start to ignore areas or aspects of your job
• People keep saying you’d be great at something else
• Your body is protesting through ways such as anxiety, depression, and burnout
• You’re mentally exhausted
• You’re bored
• You have more focus on other things including hobbies or adventures
• You’re not doing your best
• You dread going into work even days before a shift
• Your pay is the only job satisfaction you get

If you feel like some of these statements are ticking some serious boxes for you, it may be an indication that you’re in the wrong job. First things first – don’t panic and don’t beat yourself up about it. You’ll know if there comes a time when something isn’t right for you and it’s important to remain positive. It can be easy to get bogged down in thoughts such as “I wasted all that time at university and then at work,” or “I can’t use any of this knowledge in another career,” but this isn’t necessarily the case.

Just because this career path didn’t turn out to be the right one for you, doesn’t mean you ‘failed,’ it just means you tried something, and it didn’t work! Forget the past and what you’ve done and focus on the present moment. This job didn’t work out but that doesn’t mean you wasted any time. In fact, it has helped to shape who you are and what you want out of a career. Stepping away from a job into a completely new industry is a huge change but realising what you don’t want in a career will also help you realise what you do want. Focus on the things you love and find your passion. There are plenty of ways to find what roles you may be suited to, including career quizzes.

Beginning your nursing career can be overwhelming, but it’s important to know that it’s not for everyone, and if you are struggling, you’re certainly not alone and you certainly shouldn’t force yourself to stay in a job you’re unhappy in. Identify whether it’s just new job jitters before making a call as to whether you’re in the wrong profession or not.

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