A common 'new grad nurse horror story' involves being short - staffed during a busy time. For example, a new grad nurse might be responsible for more patients than they can handle. They have to deal with patients' various needs such as changing dressings, administering medications, and answering call bells all at once. And if something goes wrong, like a patient falling because the nurse couldn't get to them in time, it can be a really horrible experience for the new grad nurse. It makes them question their abilities and adds a lot of stress to their new career.
One horror story is when a new grad nurse was assigned to a very busy night shift on her own. She had multiple critical patients and the experienced nurses were too occupied to guide her properly. She almost gave a patient the wrong dosage of a strong medication due to misreading the chart in the chaos. Luckily, another nurse double - checked just in time.
One common element is lack of experience. New grad nurses often face situations they haven't been fully trained for, like handling complex medical emergencies. For example, a new nurse might not know how to deal with a patient having a severe allergic reaction right away.
Sure. There's the story of a new grad nurse who was asked to start an IV on a very young child. The child was extremely uncooperative and kept moving, and the nurse, being new, had a hard time finding the vein. It was a very nerve - wracking experience for the nurse.
One horror story is the never - ending workload. I had a semester where I had to read countless research papers, write multiple long reports, and prepare for weekly presentations all at the same time. It felt like there was no end in sight and I was constantly sleep - deprived. Another is dealing with difficult professors. Some professors were so strict that they would nitpick every little detail in your work, even if the overall idea was great. It made getting good grades feel almost impossible.
A common one is the stress of thesis writing. You spend months or even years on it, and there's always the fear that your advisor will reject it. For example, I knew a student who had to rewrite their thesis three times because their advisor kept changing their mind about the direction. Another is the lack of funding. Some students struggle to pay for their studies and living expenses, which adds a huge amount of stress.
I'll tell you about the never - ending workload. There were weeks when I had to pull all - nighters just to keep up with the assignments, readings, and lab work. My advisor kept piling on more tasks without considering our other commitments. For example, I had three major papers due in the same week along with regular lab experiments. It was like being in a never - ending cycle of stress and exhaustion.
Plagiarism accusations can also be a horror story. There was a case where a student accidentally included some text without proper citation. It was a genuine mistake, but the university took it very seriously. The student had to go through a long and nerve - wracking process of investigation. Even though he was eventually cleared, it left him very shaken and made him overly cautious about every little thing he wrote in his papers.
A new nurse was assigned to a very fast - paced operating room. During a complex surgery, she was so nervous that she dropped a crucial instrument. The whole surgical team had to pause for a moment while they sterilized a replacement. It was extremely embarrassing for her and she was afraid she'd be fired. But the more experienced nurses and doctors were understanding and helped her learn from the mistake.
One new nurse horror story I've heard is about a nurse who accidentally gave the wrong medication to a patient. It was a really serious mistake as the patient had an allergic reaction. The new nurse was so panicked and felt extremely guilty. Thankfully, the medical team managed to stabilize the patient in time.