Welcome back to our Ask-a-Nurse corner! A few weeks ago, one of our learners asked, “How do you build confidence in yourself and your abilities?” Osmosis Nursing Content Manager, Kelsey Lafayette, DNP, ARNP, FNP-C, shares some encouraging advice below.
True confidence will come with time. It’s that kind of confidence when you can walk into a patient room without hesitancy or worry; when you can trust your brain has most of the answers you’ll need. I didn’t gain true confidence until I had been a nurse for 2-3 years, which seems like a long time. However, this is a pretty standard feeling and timeframe for most new nurses and new nursing students.
Until this time…what can you do to “act” confident or give the air of confidence? I suggest honesty. Real-world nursing is not like nursing school. You don’t have to have every step of a procedure memorized on day one; you don’t need to have all the side effects of all your patient’s medications memorized; and you don’t need to memorize every normal lab value range. It’s okay to tell your patient, “I don’t know the answer to that question, but let me find out.”
While your clinical instructors and professors may expect memorization of all these things, most reasonable instructors will also acknowledge the intelligence it takes to say, “I don’t know, let me consult my resources.” Be the nurse that knows their limits, accepts those limits, and knows how to problem solve. Your patients will value your honesty over your prowess and, hopefully, your instructors and professors will see the critical thinking you employ. The most dangerous nurse is the nurse who thinks they know everything and are skilled at everything.
So, as you grow as a nurse, you will gain all the skills and knowledge you need, but always be honest with your patients, know your limits, and use your resources.
– Nurse Kelsey Kelsey Lafayette, DNP, ARNP, FNP-C is a Nursing Content Manager with Osmosis.
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