Your first week is probably going to suck, and that’s ok. My first few assignments as a travel nurse were true crisis assignments, and we hit the floor dealing with all that travelers deal with plus Covid. My first week was so bad! I didn’t have immediate access to things like the charting system and medications. I was learning a brand-new hospital, charting program, staff, and unit procedures. My first few shifts I just kept telling myself, “I know how to be a good nurse and that’s gonna have to be enough”. And some days that was it! But by week 2-3 I had most things figured out and by the end of my contract, I has forgotten how brutal my first week was and was in love with travel nursing.
When I started my second contract, I was surprised with a mandatory Covid swab and then hit the floor running – I had one shift of orientation, and again it sucked! But this time I remembered how bad that first week was on my first assignment and I started journaling about it. Now, when I’m having a rough first few shifts or even week, I will read what I wrote about my other rough first weeks and know that it is normal for it to be tough at first and to give myself some grace. I have found that I don’t need to look back as often now, but it is a good reminder that first weeks normally suck! Every time a staff nurse or a new travel nurse ask me for my tips and tricks, my number 1 is YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE SOME SUCKY FIRST WEEKS, AND THAT IS OK!
Has anyone else found that something like this helps them? Or do you have a tip for getting through those first few shifts when nothing is going right?