4 Things I Learned in My First Year of Neuro Nursing

In nursing school I worked in a long term care facility as a floating nurse aide. That meant that I went between our Alzheimer/dementia, and rehab units. Occasionally I would work in the assisted living facilities next door that were all owned by the same company. I grew to love the elderly population. Once I finished nursing school I thought about what I wanted to do/specialize in and I remember thinking, “Anything but neuro. Neuro will be too hard.” Low and behold I ended up right in neurology. In a way it was a perfect fit for me because of my background. Most of the patient population I have the privilege to take care of is elderly men and women who have suffered a stroke. The other portion is an admixture of off service patients and head traumas. My first year of nursing was met with many challenges, learning curves, and growth. I know now that I absolutely love neuroscience and wouldn’t change a thing. My coworkers are amazing and we are a tight knit group that keeps the unit going on a daily basis. So here are 4 things I learned in my first year of neuro nursing.

1.  Time management, time management, time management! Man oh man I learned a lot in my first year about time management. New nurses are typically very task oriented and are notorious about not seeing the bigger picture. Being on a Neuro MS/PCU combination floor there was really no luxury of taking a long time to get my time management skills down. I will say though that I think my previous experience as an aide in a nursing home helped a lot with this skill development. I can post another blog post some time about a typical day at work to help others get some inspiration to how their day should go. Leave a comment below if this is something you are interested in.
2.   Patience. Loads of patience. People that have traumatic brain injuries or deficits from a stroke are usually not the fastest at responding, or doing what you need them to do. It takes a lot of patience to care for them and also to care for their families that come in worried sick and full of questions about every little thing you are doing to their family member. 
3. Adaptability. I learned a lot on how to be adaptable. This ties in with time management as well. On any given day you are usually guaranteed to discharge and admit at least one patient. Along with that you have tests that you have to prepare to transport your patient to (we have patients on telemetry and typically they need a nurse to travel with them). The tasks throughout the day just keep piling up and you have to practice good time management and be adaptable to any situation throughout the day to provide the best care for your patients and to keep a level head.
4.  How to be a better student. Now that I am out of nursing school I am open to so much more learning opportunities than I ever was before. It’s amazing how being out of a structured school environment can wake up your inner student. I have absorbed any and all information that was offered to me. Trauma classes, stroke code simulations, ACLS certification, you name it I wanted to do it. I would never have been that interested in nursing school. The coursework in nursing school was overwhelming all on its own. If your hospital offers you any classes that you may be interested in, and they are paid for, then what are losing!

These are four of the most important skills that I have learned in my first year. I may go more in depth on certain topics in the future but these four are a good place to start. I still learn so much every single day and I know many veteran nurses that will say the same thing. Healthcare is always changing and you always have to be ready to go with the flow or you risk drowning and burning out. That’s all for now!      

Thank you for reading my post! Leave a comment below about what you learned in your first year of nursing I would love to hear from you!

Kellie