Dear New Nurse: Don’t Fake It Until You Make It

From The Beginner’s Guide to Nursing: What They Didn’t Tell You in Nursing School.

Don’t do it!

There are many new nurses graduating and entering the health care field right now. And too many of them are scared. Scared of nursing in general. Scared they don’t know enough. Scared of encountering this unstable health care environment that’s been blasted by COVID19.

You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘fake it till you make it’ . . . that’s horrible advice! Especially for nurses.

So don’t let fear turn you into a fake!

As a veteran nurse, I promise you . . . there are no advantages to faking it.

Reasons to avoid faking it until you make it

Faking it is exhausting. It will wear you out and run you down in no time.

Faking it means that no one will offer to help you or teach you anything, because you come across as already knowing it all.

Faking it means that you’re not being authentic in your endeavor to be the best nurse you can be.

Instead of pretending, act confident

This may sound contradictory, but there’s a difference between faking it and being…