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Being a nurse can be just as daunting as it is rewarding. Even if you have several years of experience under your belt, there are always those occasional moments when your confidence is tested. I’ve certainly had my moments where I didn’t feel sure of myself, and those feelings still hit me now and then. However, you can turn your apprehension into confidence with the right approach. Just remember to give yourself grace and trust the process. So, here are five ways you can build confidence as a nurse!
Understand The Journey
Developing confidence as a nurse is quite a large learning curve, especially if you are a new grad or learning a new specialty. Recognizing that confidence builds over time and through varied experiences is important. For many nurses, achieving a sense of confidence can take anywhere from several months to over a year. This timeline can be further influenced by how complex your unit is (imagine starting your career in a CVICU), if you have a support system in place, the overall morale of your unit (is your unit toxic?), and your own personal coping mechanisms.
Be Patient With Yourself:
This is so important. Nowadays, the medical field changes so frequently that it’s only natural to feel overwhelmed and uncertain. The tricky part about being a nurse is that you must adapt to these changes quickly. If you shift your mindset to viewing each day as an opportunity to learn something new, you’ll find adapting easier.
Set Realistic Expectations
It’s impossible to know everything. Asking questions is a sign of strength and not weakness. It’s better to ask for help when you don’t feel confident about something than to risk your license. Not to mention, it’ll take a lot of pressure off of you. Nursing is about continuous learning, so don’t stress yourself out by trying to learn everything all at one time.
Build Confidence As A Nurse With Mentorship
Mentorship is a cornerstone in building confidence as a nurse. Having a mentor gives you a safe space for learning, asking questions, and receiving feedback. Experienced nurses can offer guidance, support, and insights that textbooks alone can’t provide. Mentors are necessary for translating theoretical knowledge into real-world applications.
Seeking The Right Mentor
Finding the right mentor is about seeking someone who not only has the expertise but also the willingness to invest time in your growth. This mentor could be a senior nurse in your department, a nursing educator, or even a clinical nurse leader whose work you admire. The most important thing is to have someone who inspires you and pushes you towards being a more confident nurse.
Take Advantage Of Educational Resources
Most hospitals offer classes that are free for their employed nurses. Find out if your hospital offers additional training in skills such as balloon pumps, crrt, IV pumps, etc. These resources are valuable, especially because it’s difficult to learn these skills while caring for an unstable patient. Educational resources like the Nurse’s Pocket Guide and Nursing Badge Reference Cards are super helpful when you’re strapped for time and need a quick reference.
Network With Other Nurses
Engaging with professional nursing communities, both online and offline, is also a valuable source of learning and support. Nurses can build their confidence by networking with other nurses. This allows everyone to exchange experiences, advice, and encouragement. It also provides a wider perspective of the nursing field beyond your unit.
Reflect On Your Skills
Occasionally, thinking back to where you started and how far you’ve come since then is a good way to identify your strengths, identify areas that need improvement, and set realistic goals.
Make Yourself A Cheat Sheet!
While pre-made cheat sheets are helpful, creating your own will help you retain the information you need. Personalizing a cheat sheet that is tailored to your specific unit can be a game changer in your journey. Here’s how you can create one of your own:
- Identify Frequently Used Information: Start by noting down the information you constantly refer to or find challenging to remember. These can include certain drug concentrations, patient care protocols, or emergency procedures specific to your unit.
- Keep It Concise: An effective cheat sheet is concise and to the point. Include only the most important information in a clear and easily digestible format. Use abbreviations and symbols where appropriate to save space.
- Format For Quick Reference: Organize the Information in a way that makes it quick and easy to find what you need. Group related information together, use bullet points, and consider color coding different categories.
- Review and Update Regularly: As you know, protocols are always changing, so don’t forget to update your cheat sheets to remain current.
Even with cheat sheets, remember to balance them with regular learning so that you don’t rely on them forever.
Take Care Of Yourself Outside Of Work
- Physical Health: I’m sure you’ve heard this a thousand times, but you have to take care of your body. After working three twelve-hour shifts, spending your days off sleeping and watching Netflix is easy, but this pattern will negatively affect you with time. Regular exercise, good nutrition, and getting enough sleep are often thrown to the wayside when you are in the midst of going back and forth to work. However, your physical wellness directly impacts your energy levels, mood, and overall health, all of which are necessary for your confidence and ability to perform your job effectively.
- Mental and Emotional Health: Mindfulness practices, meditation, or yoga are activities promoting mental health. It’s easy to let work consume you, but making time for your hobbies outside of work can also provide a much-needed mental break and a sense of achievement.
- Social Support: Maintaining strong connections outside of work is vital. Sometimes, in order to grow, you need to detach yourself for a little while. I used to say that I got “amnesia” after work. Letting go and spending time with your friends and family will help you to bounce back with a fresh mindset.
- Set Boundaries: Learning to say ‘no’ and setting healthy boundaries will keep you from getting burned out.
- Address Low Self-Esteem Directly: What is the root cause of your not feeling confident at work? Is it the difficulty of the unit? Do you feel alienated from the rest of the staff? Do you feel comfortable with the people you work with? Do you actually like the unit that you’re on? Do you want to transition to a different one but don’t know how? Being honest with yourself about these feelings will lead you to a resolution.
Celebrate Your Achievements As A Confident Nurse
When you work in a demanding, high-pressure environment, it’s easy to overlook small achievements. Acknowledging your progress, even in a personal journal, can have a significant impact on your self-esteem. Even if it’s as simple as administering a new medication, receiving positive feedback from a patient, or efficiently managing a critical patient, each victory is a step forward in your career.
Setting And Achieving Goals
Goal Setting: Set realistic and achievable goals for your professional journey. This could range from learning a new skill, improving your communication with doctors, or taking on leadership roles in small projects.
Track Your Progress: This will help you stay on top of your learning and build confidence as your goals are achieved.
Celebrating Milestones: When you reach a goal, take the time to celebrate it! This recognition will motivate you to keep going.
Remember:
The path to becoming a confident nurse is unique for each person. Your journey to confidence will be marked by continuous learning, self-compassion, and resilience. By embracing each step of the journey, you will gradually build the confidence to excel as a nurse. What are you doing to build your confidence as a nurse? Let me know in the comments below!
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