u/Organic-Profile-3339

I have been in the NICU for almost six months now. For context, I am in a new grad residency that is a year long and completed a 12-week orientation for a level 4 nicu. I have been off orientation, without a preceptor, for about 6 weeks now. Everyday I question if I am good enough to be a NICU nurse. I have extremely bad anxiety before and during my shifts. I feel like each hour I’m just surviving until the next. It’s truly such a huge learning curve. I know some of these feelings are normal and it will get better with time, but this particular issue is something I hope I can do something to make better.

I feel complete distrust from the parents I interact with. I am a put together, responsible, type A person. I’m 25 years old,  but I look very young. Most people think I am younger than 25, and I’ve dealt with people making comments like "you look like you're in high school" “are you even old enough to work here?” since starting my first medical job when I was 18. I feel like every parent can sense that I’m new and questions if I know what I am doing. I’ve even had some parents ask me if I’m a nursing student or if they can have a different nurse take care of their baby that “isn’t a new grad”. Meanwhile, the other new grad I work with has been praised by parents for being an amazing nurse. People have asked him if he’s done it for years and he’s even been told that it’s his calling. I don’t know how to better establish trust with my parents. Is this a normal experience for anyone else who started in the nicu as a new grad? Is there anything I can do better to help parents trust me more? I honestly feel like a big part of it is just that I look very young. It doesn’t matter how confident I seem or how well I answer questions, parents never seem to feel comfortable with me. And I get it, I would rather a nurse with 20+ years of experience take care of their baby rather than me. The whole situation is just further feeding into my self-doubt, anxiety, and me constantly questioning myself if I belong in the nicu and if I’m cut out to be a nicu nurse. 

I have been in the NICU for almost six months now. For context, I am in a new grad residency that is a year long and completed a 12-week orientation for a level 4 nicu. I have been off orientation, without a preceptor, for about 6 weeks now. Everyday I question if I am good enough to be a NICU nurse. I have extremely bad anxiety before and during my shifts. I feel like each hour I’m just surviving until the next. It’s truly such a huge learning curve. I know some of these feelings are normal and it will get better with time, but this particular issue is something I hope I can do something to make better.

I feel complete distrust from the parents I interact with. I am a put together, responsible, type A person. I’m 25 years old,  but I look very young. Most people think I am younger than 25, and I’ve dealt with people making comments like “are you in high school?” “are you even old enough to work here?” since starting my first medical job when I was 18. I feel like every parent can sense that I’m new and questions if I know what I am doing. I’ve even had some parents ask me if I’m a nursing student or if they can have a different nurse take care of their baby that “isn’t a new grad”. Meanwhile, the other new grad I work with has been praised by parents for being an amazing nurse. People have asked him if he’s done it for years and he’s even been told that it’s his calling. I don’t know how to better establish trust with my parents. Is this a normal experience for anyone else who started in the nicu as a new grad? Is there anything I can do better to help parents trust me more? I honestly feel like a big part of it is just that I look very young. It doesn’t matter how confident I seem or how well I answer questions, parents never seem to feel comfortable with me. And I get it, I would rather a nurse with 20+ years of experience take care of their baby rather than me. The whole situation is just further feeding into my self-doubt, anxiety, and me constantly questioning myself if I belong in the nicu and if I’m cut out to be a nicu nurse.