I am currently a nursing student, and will be getting my BSN in Aug of 2024. Is it normal to feel like you’re never fully prepared? I am still trying to work out what i want to specialize in, where i want to live, etc. I just feel unprepared
Please don't worry you are not married to the choose you make. You can change careers within nursing that most nurses don't even realize the jobs are out there. You can start by writing down all the areas you think you may like. This may help to remove some areas from your list. If you can find a health system that offers an internship that you can spend a few weeks in different areas. Many nurses don't stay in the same area their entire career. I have to say Nursing is an amazing profession with endless opportunities. Yes it is a HARD job, don't let anyone tell you it isn't . Best of luck and remember when you have some experience you can be a travel nurse and go to different places and see which places you like before moving.
From one RN to a very soon to be RN
My son will also graduate at the same time. I will share the advice I give to him: It will take a year before things truly click. Start in a Trauma 1 teaching facility. Most will have a residency program for new RN’s. The one I went through was two years long. I have only been a nurse for 4 years and doctors and senior RN’s are surprised by that. I will always learn new things, but I got a rock solid foundation to build on. I swear by it.
As a new grad your are not a fully trained nurse, you are a novice nurse. You have learned the basic, but there is so much more to learn and each specilaity has it own knowledge base. So yes, every new grad fells unprepared as they enter the profession. Even nurse that have been practicib=ng fell unprepared and often overwhlmed when they change specialities. It is just part of the process.