How To Build Up Your Confidence As A Student Nurse

Even once you’re qualified it can take a while to find confidence. Student Nurse, Alexandria, offers her advice on how to develop those skills early prepare yourself for a career in Nursing.

Topics covered in this article

Introduction

Confidence Comes With Time

Ask Questions

Do Your Own Research

Keep On Top Of Your Work

Ask For Feedback

Take Risks

Believe In Yourself

Introduction

Hi guys, it's Alex, this video is going to be about how you can build up your confidence as a Student Nurse which is something that I felt like a lot of people find very hard to do.

I find it difficult as well.

So that kind of leads into my first point which is that confidence in Student Nursing comes with time.

Confidence Comes With Time

I've heard from a lot of people as well.

Even once you qualify, the confidence still isn't there a hundred percent because with Nursing is that you will never know everything.

So it comes with consolidating your knowledge, knowing what you're talking about, practicing your skills and just becoming more confident within your profession.

And within your role wherever you're working and whatever placement you're doing, or even in Uni and doing very well as well.

Everyone builds up their confidence at different times and at different paces.

So if you are a lot less confident than someone else that's in the same year as you, you just need to focus on your own journey because not everyone learns at the same rate, not everyone progresses at the same rate not everyone kind of has the same belief in themselves.

So it's really important that you don't compare yourself to other people and that you just trust in your own ability.

Ask Questions

Another thing is that, building your confidence is really easy to do or is much easier to do, when you ask questions.

This can be uni, so asking your lecturers or teachers, even your peers or your friends on your course.

If you're not sure about anything or you need help on a certain subject, or you just need some moral support and also in placement as well.

I think a lot of the time in placement you are just observing, particularly in first year when you don't have that many skills under your belt, you're kind of learning the foundations.

So a lot of what you're doing is either doing very simple tasks or you're observing.

About observing, it's best to not just watch and watch in silence is best to actually ask the Nurse or whoever you're shadowing "what are you doing?"

What's this called?

Why are you doing this?

How long do you need to do this?

For how much of this do you need to give?

Like simple questions like that.

And then making notes along the way is really important.

I know it can be quite daunting.

I'm quite shy when it comes to asking questions just 'cause that's naturally who I am.

It has to be done at every age of learning.

And it's easier than just like constantly going to Google to it for an answer when you literally have someone who knows the answer and is showing you what to do right next to you.

So make use of the people around you who are experts and who do know what they're doing.

Once you become confident enough to ask them questions and get involved more, then that will help to build your confidence.

Do Your Own Research

And that kind of leads into also being able to do your own research, whether this be on placement or whether this be outside of placement.

And in uni, if you have anything you want to know more about, if you have anything that you're confused about Google is your best friend.

Books are your best friend, articles are your best friend when you don't have an actual person to ask, going to other resources is really useful just to build your knowledge.To read around things you're interested in, or if you have a passion, then just you should really go for it and kind of dig deep into the knowledge of that passion because you're more likely to retain information if it's something you're interested in and it's something you enjoy learning about.

So if you wanna go down that route then just do that by all means.

That's really important, finding different ways the work for you to be able to retain information and to be able to kind of find out things for yourself is good.

So you can remember as much as possible and you can kind of build your confidence in researching, asking questions and all of that.

And all of that in one will help you to become a better student.

Keep On Top Of Your Work

Another thing, which was kind of simple is to just do your work and revise.

If you keep on top of the work that's being set for you, you're learning the right things, you're doing what is expected of you as a student.

And then you're revising on top of that to make sure that that information stays in your mind, then that's automatically gonna build your confidence.

The more knowledge you have, the more confidence you'll have in what you're talking about.

This is particularly useful in practice because honestly there's no better feeling than when a patient or a family member of the patient asks you a question and you know the answer.

I know that sounds stupid, but it just makes you feel like you really do know something because sometimes parents and family members, even if you introduce yourself as a Student Nurse which is what you should do, sometimes they do kind of get a bit confused and they don't really know how much you know so sometimes they can ask you questions and you might be like thinking, "Oh my God, I have no idea what they're talking about".

Then simply all you need to do is just say, I'm not sure I will ask someone else for you and I will come back to you.

Though actually knowing that question really helps with your confidence because you're proving to yourself that you know something, and also being able to educate a patient about what you're doing to them or about their condition or being able to educate the parents or whoever you're looking after whatever branch of Nursing you're going into.

That is really good for your knowledge and your confidence as well because you're showing to yourself as well as them that you know what you're talking about and that is a huge confidence booster.

Ask For Feedback

Another thing that's also really good for your competence is actually asking people for feedback.

Obviously as part of your competencies when you're on placement, you need to ask for feedback.

You get a feedback from the people you work with, you get feedback from patients, from parents, from whoever that is really good to have on paper.

But even just asking someone, was that okay? How did I do with that? Or having that reassurance and knowing that you're doing something right or even if you aren't doing something right knowing what you can do next time to improve can really improve your confidence as well.

Asking for feedback isn't a bad thing.

It doesn't make you seem like you're doing too much or that you're arrogant or that you're like begging for praise.

It's not like that at all.

You're showing that you really want to become a better person you want to become a better Nurse, become a better student.

So that's using your initiative and that is definitely something that will build your confidence as well because having someone else tell you that you're doing well, will just make your day,

Especially if it's coming from a patient or whatever, or a parent because their thanks means the most.

Take Risks

Another thing that's important to do is to take risks.

When I say take risks, that does not mean taking risks by doing something clinically that you've never done before and doing it without supervision and potentially harming someone.

That is not what I mean.

I mean, take risks in coming out of your comfort zone to ask questions.

Coming out of your comfort zone, to be like, you know what, I want to try and do that, or asking someone to teach you to do something in practice.

There's no harm in kind of reaching out and trying something new as long as it's within your scope of practice and within your own competence, then it's fine.

Especially if you're like an introvert or you're someone that's quite shy or takes a while to warm up being able to kind of build up the courage to put yourself out there can do wonders for your confidence.

So I think that's another really important thing to consider as well.

Believe In Yourself

And lastly, just believe in yourself.

Self-belief is the biggest thing for confidence, especially as a Student Nurse, even if you have difficult patients, difficult parents who are giving you a hard time if you have difficult mentors that are giving you a hard time.

You know yourself, you know whether you are doing one or something or whether you're not you know, whether you need to put more effort into something or not, you know yourself best.

And if you don't have that self-belief then how can you expect anyone else to believe in you?

That sounds really clingy, but it's true.

You have to be able to believe in yourself, trust in your own ability.

And even sometimes like you can have bad days, where you feel like giving up, or you feel like you can't do it you feel like it's too difficult.

You will get there.

Everyone feels like that.

Some more than others, but as possible to get there we're all gonna get there, it's a long journey.

It's a long three years, but at the same time it goes quickly and you'll grow so much as a person.

And I think all the things I've said are really important things to consider and taking all of those things into account will eventually over time help you to build up your confidence and just make you believe in yourself more and believe in your own abilities as a Student Nurse.

Yeah, that's all I have to say for this video.

Thanks for watching. I will see you in my next video.

Bye.