5 Pieces of Advice From Experienced Nurses to New Nurses

Becoming a nurse can be both exciting and daunting. There’s so much to remember from school and even more to learn on the job.

The good news for new nurses is that they’re not alone; a big part in keeping one’s sanity in the health care field is having a community of experienced colleagues to help.

“Friendships at work are often the best source of emotional support. Nurses with strong connections to other nurses reported experiencing lower stress levels than those without these relationships,” noted Nurse Journal.

ScrubsMag recently asked experienced nurse for advice for their younger counterparts. Here are five of the best:

Take care of yourself

Aside from getting a good night’s rest — which everyone agreed was crucial — several nurses focused on the relationship between stress and poor eating habits. Stress causes the body to release a series of hormones that cause us to craving bad foods — especially salty foods. If you find yourself rushing to grab some salty snacks, consider something with a squeeze of lemon instead.

“Lemon juice reduces the need to salt food. This is particularly useful when somebody’s on a low-salt diet. Skip the Mrs. Dash and grab a slice of lemon,” advised Scrubs Mag.

Prioritize

Whether you’re working in a hospital or a smaller clinic, health care is always a fast-paced. To help keep a busy schedule intact, it’s important to learn how to prioritize.

“As a nurse, you have many tasks to manage: taking vitals, doing assessments, performing nursing diagnoses, administering medications – and all for multiple patients. At the same time, some patients are more critical, and some tasks more pressing. It’s crucial to find an organizational technique that works for you,” noted Nightingale College.

Finding a vein

Finding someone’s veins can be tricky — and can be made more difficult based on anything from what the patient has eaten recently to the temperature of the exam room. If tapping on the arm doesn’t make the vein come forward, hot patches can help.

“Heat will help dilate veins (dilation is where a vein gets bigger). Keeping warm before injecting will make them easier to find,” said Injecting Advice.

Medicine taste

If you have a patient who that doesn’t like the taste of medicine, drinking water might not be enough to flush certain tastes out of the mouth.

“Potato chips eaten immediately after taking metronidazole will keep the nasty metallic taste of the medicine at bay,” noted Scrubs Mag.

Always ask questions

As a health care professional, you’ll never stop learning. Although your years of school, tests and exams are over, you’ll constantly learn new things. That’s why it’s so important to ask questions.

“Asking about tips and tricks to better manage your tasks can help you develop a routine that works for you,” said Nightingale College.

(This story originally appeared in AJC.com.)