I am a LPN student at present and my question is this- when does it all "come together?" When did you guys feel more like nurses than students?Just curious,seems to go up and down with me and I am looking forward to feeling more confident and "nursey" . I am also very undecided about where to focus on for a perceptership ?Thanks for the feedback.

Honestly there are those days when you don't feel you have ANYTHING together as a nurse LOL

One of the first times it really sunk in for me, was when some called "Nurse can you help me?" and yes, I am a nurse and can help you Even a student nurse is still a nurse. You will have days when it seems like you know nothing and then you will have days that are "Yes, I know stuff"

Your practicum experiences should help you get a feel for the different places where you can work - basically acute care or extended.

Personally I am an acute care person along with my Palliative/Hospice area. I would ultimately want to specialize in Palliative Care as I truly love working there.

All the best in your continued studies and I look forward to hearing how you are doing.
Yours in nursing

the day they give you a "predictable and stable patient" who isn't...

then after its all over you and your interdisciplinary team do victory laps, punctuated with fist pumps of awesomeness

or something like that

For me anyway it took a long time before I felt confident. The first few months were really nerve racking. I wish LPNs had a longer and more gentle orientation to hospital units like the RNs do. We are lucky if we get a couple day shifts and a couple night shifts buddied up with someone and then we're thrown right into it. It's just not enough to get a feel for all of the policies, find everything, get to know everyone etc. LPNs should really be asking for more orientation.

I felt shaky for the first six months and then it really was a year until I felt ok. Then about the two year mark I really felt confident, and after that I excelled in my work. The important thing is to ask lots of questions. I still ask "dumb questions" sometimes and, hey - I'll admit that it's a dumb question when I'm asking. If you're a new LPN or new to a unit, you must be asking questions. If you're too proud to ask questions then you're going to make mistakes and that's never a good thing. There's so much you'll be learning after you graduate - really it's amazing how much more there is after graduation day, so it's only natural that it'll be some time before you are feeling confident.

Good luck and all the best!