Pre-shift anxiety is something that most new grads and experienced nurses face. There are different ways to work with pre-shift anxiety as a nurse, so here are my recommendations. As a disclaimer, these are tips that work for me, but may not necessarily work for you. Try them out yourself and let me know in the comments how they worked for you!
Have Something To Look Forward To After Your Shift
Whether it be your favorite food, hanging out with your friends the next day, or going home to your pets, having some type of motivation to get through the shift can help. I like to wind down with some board game nights and hang out with my friends and boyfriend. Having go-to music playlists to help wind down or pump yourself up can definitely give a serotonin boost to get you going through the day. My go-to playlist includes lots of Kehlani, Japanese Indie Rock/Pop, and Lo-Fi music.
Have a “Brain Notebook” To Study Before Shifts
My anxiety stems from the possibility that I could accidentally kill my patients. While I practice safety as much as I can, I try to be as prepared by having my brain notebook with me at all times. During my new grad program, I wrote down important notes such as policies, common medications, procedures, codes, phone numbers, etc. Having this notebook can help tremendously when blanking out about what to do during critical events. Writing down notes on a Google Document can be helpful as well, just in case you lose that notebook!
Understand that there are things you can and cannot control
You cannot control other people’s reactions and actions. I still get anxious when talking to the physician, expecting the worst answer or reaction, but in the end, you can’t control what they say to you. However, you can control your own actions and reactions! As long as you do what you feel is right and advocate for your patients, you’ll build the confidence you need to overcome the problems encountered in nursing. In the emergency department, you can’t control what comes through those doors, so having a flexible and open mindset will go a long way.
Thank you again for reading my post! If you made it this far, I truly appreciate your time and welcome you to the introverted nurse community :-)) Reach out to me here for any comments or questions you have!