Hello all! I wanted to share what has been the hardest aspect of my nursing journey so far. Keep reading if you would like to hear my perspective. Please keep in mind everyone’s experience is different. This post is simply to share a different view.

For those who are not familiar with my journey, I am a new-graduate nurse working in a Level One Adult Emergency Trauma Center. I have been working on my own for a little over half a year. I was doing a little bit of reflecting during a slow night at work. A question came across my mind “What has been the hardest thing so far?”

I know a lot of people say “Nursing school was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life”. I disagree. The reason why I disagree is because in my opinion the academic aspect of nursing was not too much of a challenge for me. In my experience, the most difficult aspect of the nursing program was simply the lack of education quality. For me the hardest part of this entire nursing journey so far has been working as a new graduate nurse.

Finding my own has been tough. I went through a rough time during orientation and times have still been rough as a newbie. Of course the situation of being in an Adult ER has been rough on me when my heart is Peds, but also ER (and sadly that door of opportunity wasn’t available for me). There have been many times where I have pulled up to work and had to gather myself together and put on a brave face. Most shifts are full of frustration and irritation. I have not felt anger in years and I feel it at least once a week in this place. I feel out of place most shifts and I am tired of people making comments about how small I am (I know, it sounds silly but it is something I am extremely self-conscious about). I also feel like I have no respect from coworkers. Trying to find confidence in my nursing ability has been a big challenge.

Everyone says the first year is the toughest (I agree) and I am halfway through that rough point. I just try to remind myself that “Things will get better”. Time flies by and before I know it I pray I will be the type of nurse I could look up to. Thanks for reading!